August 2015
Tank Times
Published by THE TANK MUSEUM, Bovington, Dorset, UK, BH20 6JG
Tel: +44 (0) 1929 405 096
TIME TRAVELLERS WILL STEP BACK IN AMAZEMENT
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HEAD OF COLLECTIONS CHRIS VAN SCHAARDENBURGH
What Herbert George Wells could only imagine, The Tank Museum delivers - taking time-travelling visitors back to bygone eras in a stunning two-day event.
Chris van Schaardenburgh
The weekend of the 19th and 20th September not only heralds our dramatic ‘Warfare Through the Ages’ pageant but also brings down the curtain on the Museum’s 2015 season of breath-taking ‘action spectaculars’ when over 1,000 of Britain’s most skilled and knowledgeable re-enactors converge on the Museum to set up their encampments. There’ll be cannons, horses, and cavalry of all kinds, bowmen, pikemen, archers, camp followers, Cromwellian and Royalist troops, and General Ulysses S. Grant’s Union Army recreating the 1865 attack on General Robert E Lee’s Confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. These highly skilled and knowledgeable devotees who are the cream of the UK’s re-enacting crop includes the Sealed Knot, the Southern Skirmish Association, The Great War Society, 29th Infantry Division, the Napoleonic Association, and the best medieval groups offering two truly spectacular days of non-stop entertainment. The various
re-enactor encampments dotted around the battlefield where visitors can get up close and personal with the life and times of ordinary soldiers and noncombatants alike.
At the close of each day’s entertainment all the re-enactor groups feature in a grand parade enabling a unique photo opportunity, followed by a short drumhead memorial service to all fallen soldiers and civilians of conflicts past and present. In addition The Tank Museum is showcasing a selection of its historic vehicles in two displays each day, plus a First World War battle re-enactment along with a demonstration of Second World War and Cold War era tanks.
Each day’s programme starts at 10am allowing visitors step back in time to walk through history to witness drill displays, battle re-enactments, and spectacular sieges.
Being that ‘Warfare Through the Ages’ is a Special Event Day, pre-existing annual passes will NOT be valid. However, our fantastic value Tank Museum Season Ticket is valid allowing admission every day the Museum is open including entry to our Special Event Days such as ‘Tiger Day’, ‘Tankfest’ and ‘Warfare Through the Ages,’ enabling savings - up to 50% on normal admission prices - and 10% discounts in the Museum’s shop and restaurant. All tickets are available online.
Inside… ● TANKFEST 2015 ● ARMOURED CARS OF SDF ● ORDE WINGATE ● TANK MEN - NEW EXHIBITION ● WHAT’S ON
THE TANK MUSEUM - THE WORLD’S BEST COLLECTION OF TANKS An Independent Museum and Registered Charity No 1102661
I joined The Tank Museum in April 2015 as the Head of Collections, taking over some of the responsibilities from Curator, David Willey, which allows him to spend more time in his curatorial role. My new position involves working closely with the Archive, Exhibitions, Education, and Workshop teams, thus helping to manage and give our visitors greater access to the Museum’s incredible collection. Currently we are working on the re-vamp of the First World War exhibition and the new exhibition, named, ‘Tank men: The story of the first crews’ is scheduled for launch in March 2016. The education team is attracting more and more school groups for organised educational sessions at the museum, while the workshop team are preparing the ‘Tanks in Action’ fleet for the summer holiday season while simultaneously servicing vehicles in the historic running fleet. Apart from the day to day management of the collection, my role involves me in looking at how best we operate our vehicles for shows and events, and deciding where best our maintenance, conservation and restoration priorities lie. Indeed, The Tank Museum is investing additional Continued on page 2...
THE TANK MUSEUM - AUGUST 2015
HEAD OF COLLECTIONS
www.tankmuseum.org
! T U O D L SO
CHRIS VAN SCHAARDENBURGH Continued…
display performed against clear skies by one of the Second World War’s fastest Spitfire’s thrilled the crowds.
funding into the collection and preparing a funding bid for a new workshop which is planned to be ready by the end of 2017. Just a little more about my background: I am Dutch, born in Amsterdam, and am an engineer by trade and always had an abiding interest in historic machinery of all kinds. Following my studies, I worked for a year on historic aircraft at Duxford followed by four years at The National Air and Space Museum in the United States. After returning to the UK in 2006 I spent eight and half years as the Curator at the Coventry Transport Museum. Here we operated several historic vehicles which gave me an invaluable insight into the kind of challenges faced when operating a fleet of historic armoured vehicles.
It was billed as the biggest and best and Tankfest 2015 didn’t disappoint, breaking all records; everything from visitor numbers - all 19,000 of them - through to the number of sausage rolls sold. It was noisier, more raucous, and dustier than ever with its action-packed arena displays while in air the roaring aerobatic
For many visitors the bringing together of the four mechanical ‘stars’ of the film FURY; the three Shermans, ‘Fury’, ‘Old Phyllis’ and ‘Lucy Sue’ along with our Tiger 131 for a unique photo call really hit the spot. The Grand Finale in which FURY’s famous duelling scene was recreated was not easily outclassed. Traders reported brisk business with some making record sales. Tankfest 2016 takes place on the 25th & 26th June book online and SAVE with 2015 prices until the end of September 2015!
To say that I’m very impressed with The Tank Museum, its collection and displays is an understatement, and am equally proud to be part of the team here at Bovington and look forward to facing new challenges with my new colleagues. I am doing my best to learn more about the history of tanks and armoured warfare along with the histories of the Royal Tank Regiment and the Royal Armoured Corps.
Tel: +44 (0) 1929 405 096
IN BRIEF Wheels of Steel Sunday 6th September 2015 Dorset’s Newest Ride-In Event! This end-off-season motorcycle riding fundraising event provides a great social atmosphere with proceeds going to The Tank Museum and other local charities. On show will be; trade stands, and Classic Bikes along with the usual quality catering facilities. Ride-In bikers will be able to enter the Museum at a discounted rate during this event, by quoting ‘Steel 1’ at Admissions on the day. Taking place at 11.30 in The Tank Museum, Movie Stunt Co-ordinator, Jim Dowdall* will be giving a lecture - Mechanised Armour in the Movie’s: Tanks and Tank Chases. The lecture is free of charge for paying museum visitors and though the lecture hall can seat up to 100 visitors, seats will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. *Jim Dowdall’s appearance is subject to availability.
Rare WWI Machine Gun Motorcycle
I have always had an interest in military history and military vehicles. My dad and I collected some military vehicles over the years, and I managed to get his wartime Harley over here and took it out for first spin last week to explore Dorset.
The British Motorcycle Charitable Trust were successful at auction on Saturday 20th June in saving a rare WW1 Matchless Vickers 8B2/M motorcycle combination for the nation. The bike has been placed on loan to The Tank Museum where it had previously been exhibited at special events. This particular Matchless Combination was originally ordered by the Russian Government from Britain in 1917 – but the Revolution caused the cancellation of the order and the vehicles became available for British Service.
May I take this opportunity to thank everyone for warmly welcoming me to The Tank Museum.
It is one of only three surviving WW1 motorcycle combinations in the UK and David Willey the Curator at The Tank Museum said, ‘It is a magnificent addition to the collections here, and helps us tell the story of those first men who ventured out in tanks nearly 100 years ago’.
Chris van Schaardenburgh Head of Collections
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THE TANK MUSEUM - AUGUST 2015
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FORD ARMOURED CARS OF THE SUDAN DEFENCE FORCE
By David Fletcher My interest in the East African Campaign was rekindled when reading the Official History and the picture it painted of the Sudan Defence Force (SDF). However, I was a little put out to find that in my book collection the only title I could find that had anything to say about the Sudan Defence Force’s armoured cars was the one I had written, The Great Tank Scandal (HMSO 1989). Armoured cars and a few light tanks were involved in the campaign at various times and during the years between the wars the SDF was equipped with various armed, and a few armoured
via four-speed gearboxes. Possibly a facility existed in the Sudan regarding A right hand drive Model B Ford with a Vickers their armour, but this begs machine-gun firing over the driver’s head. the question; if it was real armour, what was its origin? We know over the turret, the kind of thing little about the amour’s dimensions or normally used to deflect hand-grenades; even the thickness of the plate. suggestive of possible close-quarter These armoured cars were large; their combat situations. long hulls topped by circular, open top Armoured car crews consisted of four, turrets, with mountings for the Boys .55” or even five men, though it is unclear anti-tank rifle, a Bren gun, and a Vickers what role the fifth man played. The water-cooled machine-gun, invariably vehicles’ interiors were roomy enough seen on an anti-aircraft mounting. Some for the installation of wireless sets, but vehicles sported a wire mesh covering no evidence exists that they were so equipped. Operated by the SDF’s six Motor Machine-Gun Companies the cars are said to have operated in company with unarmoured Ford pick-up trucks equipped with machine-guns. We are told that although armoured car drivers were issued with British Army boots many of them preferred to drive with bare feet!
Photographed negotiating the remains of a road block in the Donglaas Gorge during the Battle of Keren, Eritrea in March 1941. This car is fitted with the protective wire roof on its turret.
Many questions remain unanswered and there’s more than ample room for further research. Indeed, the whole East African Campaign would benefit from further detailed investigation, including the involvement of ‘B’ Squadron, 4th Royal Tank Regiment and its Matilda tanks in Eritrea towards the end of 1940.
vehicles including a handful of ancient Rolls-Royce armoured cars. The SDF’s Second World War vehicles, clearly showed some British influence in their construction and these saw active service fighting the Italians. Let’s look at the armoured cars. Apparently forty-five were built, based on Ford’s 30-cwt chassis. Their precise country of origin remains a mystery, though America, Britain, and Canada, seem the likely candidates but judging from some photographs the British Fordson WOT 3 chassis is a possible contender. They were built in large numbers and powered by Ford V8 85bhp engines laying down the power
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Major General Orde Wingate DSO & Two Bars
Orde Wingate rose to prominence for his creation of special military units in 1930’s Palestine, Abyssinia, Sudan, and in Burma during the Second World War. Arguably his greatest achievement was founding the ‘Chindits’; airborne deeppenetration troops trained to work behind enemy lines in the Far East against the Japanese during the Second World War. Wingate named his special forces ‘Chindits’ in respect to the Chinthe; the mythical creature said to be half lion, halfflying griffin, that symbolically guards Burmese temples. At the outbreak of the Second World War, he went to the Sudan to commence operations against the Italians then occupying Ethiopia. Under William Platt, the British commander, he created the Gideon Force - a guerrilla band comprising British, Sudanese, and Ethiopian troops - so named after the biblical judge Gideon. With the blessing of Ethiopia’s Emperor, Haile Selassie, the group began operations in February 1941 and aided by local resistance fighters, they harassed Italian supply lines while the regulars attacked the main Italian army. Wingate’s 1,700-strong Gideon Force finally took the surrender of 20,000 Italians towards the end of the campaign, and was mentioned in dispatches in April 1941. He received a second DSO in the December. On 27 February 1942, Wingate, left Britain for Rangoon. Here he set about organising guerrilla units to fight behind Japanese lines, and his ideas for the formation of longrange penetration units resulted in the famed Chindits. Wingate died along with nine others in a plane crash in March 1944. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia.
Rolls-Royces photographed at their depot in Khartoum in 1921 probably from 3rd Armoured Car Company. The commanders have been identified as Stuart and Craig, though their ranks are unknown.
THE TANK MUSEUM - THE WORLD’S BEST COLLECTION OF TANKS An Independent Museum and Registered Charity No 1102661
JH
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THE TANK MUSEUM - AUGUST 2015
FROM THE
EDITOR
www.tankmuseum.org
TANK MEN:
September’s Wheels of Steel event on Sunday 6th is a must for bikers of all ages, and two-wheel buffs, with trade stands, Classic Bikes, and the usual quality catering facilities. Then on the 10th October we scale everything down for TankMod - in association with 1/6th scale armour model group ARMORTEK - an absolute ‘draw’ for all modellers and Annual Passes are valid for this event. However, if you fancy a quiet night in at the Museum that is - then the 17th October should get the juices flowing when renowned writer, author, and tank expert, Mark Healy, does his usual popular and entertaining stuff in the form of a lecture here at the Museum, based around his bestselling book, Zitadelle: The German Offensive against the Kursk Salient 4 - 17th July 1943. You’ll need to get off the grid faster than Hamilton for a ticket. At £10.00 a throw they go like hot cakes. Roaring up behind Mark comes October’s Half Term Hols - 24th October to 1st November 2015 – and our Events Team have (again) put the pedal to the metal with The Secret War, a series of engaging talks, tours, trails, code-breaking, and espionage. Fab fun for budding 007s of all ages. On Saturday 31st October, the Museum proudly presents, An Evening with Andy McNab, the former SAS man turned writer who shot to international fame with his blockbuster, Bravo Two Zero, and who now writes the bestselling Nick Stone thrillers. Tickets are £14.00, or, with a curry, £21.00. It’s not often you’ll get to meet a legend so; if you dare, you’ll win. Book early for tickets. So there you have it; four months of great evening, holiday, and weekend entertainment. All it needs is you.
Following in-house and public consultations, it was agreed this was the title that aptly reflects the exhibition’s content; a display about tank crewmen from 1916-18 highlighting in particular, eight individual crewmen. Selecting the eight personal stories proved a challenging task bearing in mind the Museum’s huge archive, the large collection of First World War material and huge array of supporting artefacts from which to choose. Following a series of meetings and debates, eight men were eventually selected: Lieutenant Basil Henriques, Sergeant Walter Ratcliffe, Lieutenant Clement Arnold, Major Elliot Hotblack, Gunner Cyril Coles, Lieutenant Sydney Hadley, Captain Charles Baker and Gunner Archie Smith.
Two shells then hit the tank, causing the petrol vapour to ignite forcing the crew to jump out and roll on the ground to extinguish their burning clothes. The driver was shot and killed as he tried to escape, while Arnold and his gunner were captured and taken prisoner. When the family donated some of Arnold’s personal possessions to the Museum in the 1980s, among them was a rear door key to ‘Musical Box’. Looking far too ornate for a tank key, Exhibitions Assistant, Catherine McGrath, recently carried out some detective work:
10.10.2015
TankMod The return of TankMod; this year in association with the 1/6th scale armour model group ARMORTEK, for a day packed full of miniature machines!
17.10.2015
Mark Healy Mark’s delivering a lecture based on his best-selling book, Zitadelle: The German Offensive against the Kursk Salient 4 - 17th July 1943. Lecture Tickets: £10.00. Book early.
In this article, the spotlight falls on Clement Arnold and his exploits at the Battle of Amiens. On August 8th, 1918, his Whippet tank ‘Musical Box’ serving with 6th Battalion, Tank Corps, found itself isolated in front of the Company. Moving forward alongside Australian infantry, ‘Musical Box’ destroyed an enemy gun position, then pursued Germans troops who were firing on a cavalry patrol. The tank cruised around for some time creating havoc among the departing German troops. Inevitably it attracted machinegun fire which punctured the spare fuel cans on the roof causing petrol to run down into the interior. The crew donned their respirators to counter the fumes. Whippet ‘Musical Box’
Looking at the key it is hard to imagine that it was used to lock a tank. The Yale key looks too modern and decorative to belong to something as robust as a First World War tank. It looks more like a key you would use for your front door. First I researched the history of the Yale keys and the style of this particular key. The Musical Box type of Yale key has been used since the mid-1800s. Digging further, Jonathan Holt, who works in our archive went through photographs we have of Whippet tanks and found a photo showing that Yale locks were definitely fitted to Whippets - most likely so the crew could lock the tanks overnight.
24.10.2015 – 1.11.2015
Half Term Hols! The Secret War. Talks, tours, trails, code-breaking, and espionage. Fun for 007s of all ages.
The key will be on display in the exhibition, alongside a number of other artefacts belonging to Clement Arnold, including his medals set and personal cigarette box. 31.10.2015
Come along and enjoy! John Howland Editor
WHAT’S ON
THE STORY OF THE FIRST CREWS…
…is the Museum’s new exhibition scheduled for launch next Spring. Sarah Lambert, the Museum’s Exhibitions Manager, not only explains what we can expect from the exhibition, but how it all came to fruition.
John Howland
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THE TANK MUSEUM - THE WORLD’S BEST COLLECTION OF TANKS An Independent Museum and Registered Charity No 1102661
An Evening with Andy McNab Tickets: £14.00. Lecture and a Curry: £21.00