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Post by shred on Apr 9, 2011 22:25:02 GMT
I knew that a lot of towns and cities had a WW1 tank on display after the war but I didn't know Salford had one. Attachments:
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Post by shred on Jun 22, 2011 15:20:58 GMT
Published in May 1919. The tank's number was 214. Can we glean any information from this? Attachments:
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Post by prospectroad on Jun 25, 2011 8:04:48 GMT
Garry, as far as I know the tanks were given names which related to their unit; for instance there was a tank named Irlam in WW1 which meant it was the 9th Royal Tank Corps (9th letter of the alphabet). In WW2, the names were recycled and there was a tank named Irlam.
The Royal Tank Regiment has an excellent website and they've been helpful in the past. I've asked them for more info on tank 214. I'll post when they reply.
Cheers
Pete
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Post by prospectroad on Jun 27, 2011 9:05:03 GMT
I received the following reply from the regimental secretary of the Royal Tank Regiment:
I can tell you that the tank is a Mark IV female, and that the fact it is fitted with unditching beam support rails implies that it has seen service in France. However the number 214 suggests a training tank. Salford was one of about 265 towns and cities throughout England & Wales that received tanks after the war, mostly from Bovington, in recognition of the funds they had raised (calculated per head of population) in the National War Savings Committee War Bond scheme. The tank would be delivered by rail, driven to the chosen site and then disabled by the crew to prevent it from being used by malcontents. This is also why female tanks were preferred since, with the machine guns removed, they could not shoot. The delivery ceremony was usually accompanied by speeches from the Mayor, other civic dignitaries and the officer in command of the delivery crew. I cannot see clearly from this photo but the field gun is probably German and we think (although we can't prove it) that these were presented to towns that were the homes of one or more VC winner.
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Post by shred on Jun 27, 2011 15:20:18 GMT
Thank you, Pete.
I will take a look in the Salford Reporter, for that year, when I next visit the library. Any article may inform us if the tank had seen service in France.
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Post by shred on Jun 30, 2011 21:08:23 GMT
A little more information on Salford's tank stating that Salford men had been in the crew. Attachments:
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Post by shred on Jun 30, 2011 21:16:11 GMT
This piece was published May 5th 1927 headed "Destruction of Tank and Removal of Guns" The article indicates that there were two guns and also confirms, as suggested in Pete's post, that they are German guns. Attachments:
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Post by shred on Jun 30, 2011 21:20:24 GMT
How times change; this article uses the words "unwelcome gift". Attachments:
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Post by shred on Jun 30, 2011 21:46:07 GMT
This article gives a little insight as to the political views of late 1920's Salford people. It also tells us that Salford had Russian cannons that had been captured at Sevastopol. Attachments:
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Post by shred on Jul 6, 2011 19:08:31 GMT
It would seem that tank 214 had seen action.
The Salford Reporter on the 5th April 1919 has an article reporting that the tank had been offered to Salford and it was suggested that the tank would make a tour of all the Salford parks, being put on display for a short period at each park. This idea never came to fruition.
Another article in the Salford Reporter, May 24th 1919, states:
"214 had been well disciplined in France. It could travel a road orderly as well as smash its way over trenches, cross hillocks as though they were level ground and bring terror and destruction to the Huns.
It was fashioned for that sort of work, and now it has come to more peaceful Salford, to serve as a permanent reminder of its daring exploits in France."
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Post by shred on Sept 7, 2011 21:17:25 GMT
The Russian cannons were scrapped in 1940 for the war effort. Attachments:
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Post by shred on Dec 29, 2012 14:06:12 GMT
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Post by sidearm on Jul 3, 2015 19:37:51 GMT
Published in May 1919. The tank's number was 214. Can we glean any information from this? Well, yes and no. The number is a training or home service number. All British WW1 tanks with three digit numbers starting with 2, like 214, were Mark IV Females. As we can tell that much just by looking at the tank, the number doesn't tell us anything. On the other hand, careful analysis of these numbers suggests that this tank may have been built by the Patent Shaft and Axletree Company at Wednesbury. I'd want to emphasise though that this suggestion is very tentative as analysis of these numbers is ongoing. Is the source of this photo known, please? Gwyn |
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Post by prospectroad on Jul 3, 2015 21:55:06 GMT
Hi Gwyn, Shred is on holiday at the moment but he'll answer the question as soon as he can.
Regards
Pete
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Post by shred on Jul 5, 2015 18:21:52 GMT
Hi Gwyn,
Thank you for posting. The image of the tank was found in a book held at the Salford Local History Library. I can try and find out the title of this book, but it may be a while as the library has closed for a couple of months.
Garry
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