[HERB COLLECTOR]

A Tank in Your Town.
Short articles, with photo, about WW1 tanks in Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells, Maidstone, Ashford, as well as other non-Kentish towns.
tank100.com/category/homefront/

The four photos below are of the Royal Tunbridge Wells tank. Orphan photos from the collection of the IWM.
The two lower photos show it being cut up in March 1937.

[filmer01]

S4, the estimate from Knowles only relates to sections 1,2 & 5. The note written across the estimate says that he is unable to carry out the traction of the tank, and he and others think that the expensive iron railings will not be required.

I see that posts and chain are added along the Green in 1921. It is still so defined. The very easily identifiable windows in the old photo are the Lion Hotel, and a quick GSV along the road finds that a small steam waggon could still get water in the same place. Thanks for pointing that out, I had missed the detail, most interesting.

[Sentinel S4]

On a side note. The pic of the tank at Farningham seems to have a Steam Waggon of some sort taking water from the river. I do love these old pictures for the background detail. However it seems that the six foot high fence is missing from around the tank, this was specified by the Parish Council, down to the locks that had to be fitted.

S4.

[HERB COLLECTOR]

In a previous post LenP posted a photo of the Folkestone tank being cut up. We can now give a date.

SOLD AS SCRAP IRON

Folkestone War Souvenirs

London, Wednesday:- (7 April 1937) Deciding to sell the town's war souvenirs as scrap iron, Folkestone Council accepted 22/6 per ton for a British tank, a field gun and a German howitzer, which was presented to it by the National War Savings Committee in recognition of the town's support of the war loans.
The "News Chronicle," in a leader, says: "So memorials of the war to end war, set up so proudly, now go back into the melting pot to help in the preparations for the next war."

22 shillings 6 pence = £1. 12 1/2 pence.

[HERB COLLECTOR]

The Farningham tank.
Acquiring and installing the tank was a complicated affair as shown in Farningham Parish Council minutes.
Link with photo http://www.felhs.org.uk/Ww1/50.%20THE%20FARNINGHAM%20TANK%20WAR%20TROPHY.PDF 804 KB.

[HERB COLLECTOR]

Hythe's presentation tank and the German gun beside it were broken up in April 1937 and sold as scrap at £3 per ton.

For details of what is missing from the Ashford tank, ie the interior.

http://www.landships.freeservers.com/mk4_walkaround.htm

Broken link, here's the new one. http://youtube.com/watch?v=E3WeDtoyyOw

While looking for Scammel and Pickfords images on a different thread, I came across this link for a WW1 tank being trailered somewhere without its guns: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/transport/article3619667.ece

The photo was taken at Woolwich 22 June 1932.

[Far away]

While looking for Scammel and Pickfords images on a different thread, I came across this link for a WW1 tank being trailered somewhere without its guns: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/transport/article3619667.ece

[S/9134]

Dear All,
           does anyone have a picture of the Tank that was situated at the road junction of London Road outside the General Post Office Building. I understand that it was there up until the beginning of the Second World War.
                               Kind regards,
                                                     S/9134 From Tunbridge Wells. Kent

[Andrew401968]

Just out interest regarding the WWI tanks, when I was doing some research a Bovington, I either read or was told by David Fletcher (Librarian at Bovington and Author) that the only reason the WWI tank exhibits survived the scrap drive in WW2 was because the Museum staff were able postition them at local junctions and justifiy their exclusion from the scrap drive as being useful for local defence as static defence points. I know one was used as a target, you can see the holes. Unfortunately, many exhibits where scrapped if they could not be used in a similiar manner or for training.

[John Thomas]

I can remember a WW1 tank being situated in Rochester Castle Gardens which we used to play on.

[unfairytale]

That's a great photo. I guess that the building behind is the barracks that once stood in the castle until they were bombed in WW2.

[keniff]

In the photo of the Deal tank, you can see a field gun poking out from behind it.

Deal again, and here is a picture of the field gun with a tank poking out from behind !!

[Far away]

In the Hythe picture with the field gun, is that field gun an 18 pounder? I seem to remember from somewhere that many WW1 18 pounders were converted to 25 pounders.

Although I used to live in Ashford, and remember the tank well - and fondly, these days I am geographically closer to those used as memorials in Ukraine.

[unfairytale]

In the photo of the Deal tank, you can see a field gun poking out from behind it.

[JohnG]

Walmer used to have a field gun, it used to stand on the triangle of grass by the pedestrian crossing at the Walmer end of the Strand.  JohnG