The first (Mark I) tanks - allocation to units

[delta]

In trying to answer the thread on "Tank 515"; I treid to establish a simple list of which Mark I tanks were allocated to which company. Using Trevor Pidgeon's book opf "Flers", I have produced the attached; can anyone help fill in the gaps

Manu No Type Tac No and Name Comd Dvr

501

502

503 Female C4 “Chablis” 2Lt George Campbell Pte Daniel Cronin

504 Female C6 “Cordon Rouge” 2Lt John Allan Pte Joseph Barton

505

506

507 Female C7 Capt Henry Hiscocks Not recorded

508 Female “Casa” 2Lt Victor Smith Pte Stewart

509 Female C14 “Corunna” 2Lt Francis J Arnold Pte SL Heath

510 Female C16 2Lt Eric Purdy Not recorded

511 Female D25 2Lt Edward Colle Pte John Maude

512 Female C24 “Clan Cameron” 2Lt HRC Cole Not recorded

512 Female D21 2Lt Alex Sharp Pte Herbert Wilson

513 Female Lt TEF Murphy Not recorded

514

515

516 Female D4 2Lt Charles Storey Pte William Shortland

517

518

519

520

521

522 Female C2 “Cognac” Lt Frank Bluemel Pte Herbert Ledger

523 Female C20 Lt George Macpherson Not recorded

524

525

526

527

528 Female D23 Capt George Mann Pte “Jack” Rossiter

529

530

531

532

533 Female C22 Lt Basil Henriques Not recorded (wounded)

534 Female D14 2Lt Gordon Co(u)rt LCpl Lawrence Upton

535 Female D10 Lt Harold Darby LCpl Earnest J Phillips

536

537 Female D15 Lt Jonathan Bagshaw Pte Albert Rowe

538 Female D16 “Dracula” Lt Arthur Arnold Pte Samuel H R Workman

539 Female D2 Lt Hugh Bell Cpl Ernest Keats

540 Female D5 “Dolphin” 2Lt Arthur Blowers Pte George Thomas.

541

542

543

544

545

546 Female D9 “Dolly” 2Lt Victor Huffam LCpl Archer / Sanders

547 Female D11 “Die Hard” Lt Herbert Pearsall Pte Frank Still

548 Female D13 “Delilah” 2Lt Sampson LCpl PA Bloomfield

549

550

551

552

553

554 Female 2Lt Charles Ambrose Not recorded

701 Male C3 “Chartreuse” 2Lt SDH Clarke Pte Alfred Boult

702

703

704

705 Male C19 “Clan Leslie” Lt A Holford-Walker Not recorded

706

707

708

709

710

711

712

713

714 Male Lt Leonard Bates Not recorded

715

716 Male C13 Lt Sir John Dashwood Not recorded

717

718

719 Male D12 Capt Graeme Nixon Cpl Robert R Murray

720 Male D8 Lt Herbert Bow(e)n Pte Bertram Young

721 Male C1 “Champagne” Lt AJC Wheeler Pte Horace Brotherwood

721 Male C5 “Crème de Menthe” Capt Arthur Inglis A/Cpl George Shepherd

722 Male C8 2Lt Alex Arnaud Not recorded

723

724

725

726

727

728 Male D3 2Lt Harold Head Pte George Simpson

729 - 739

740 Male C21 Lt Harold Vincent Not recorded

741 Male C17 2Lt Jethro Tull Not recorded

742 Male D7 Lt Alfred Enoch Pte Sydney Barnes

743 Male D18 Lt Leonard Bond Pte Frederick Burrows

744 Male D20 2Lt Harry Drader Pte Alfred Bowerman

745

746 Male C18 Lt John Clarke Not recorded

747 Male D6 2Lt Reginald Legge A/Sgt Herbert Thacker

748

749

750

751 Male D24 Lt Walter Stones Pte Frederick Wood

752

753 Male D19 Capt Stephen Sellick Pte Thomas (?) Hinds

754

755

756 Male D22 Lt Frederick Robinson Pte Ernest Howes

757

758

759 Male D17 “Dinnaken” Lt Stuart Hastie Pte Charles A Wescomb

760 Male Lt Herbert Elliot Not recorded

765 Male D1 "Daredevil I" Capt Harold Mortimore Pte Albert Wateridge

7** Male C23 “Clan Ruthven” 2Lt Andrew Henderson Not recorded

Stephen

[dycer]

Stephen,

This is much as I've got.It's a quote from a pamphlet entitled "The Humorists at War" written by George Findlay in 1961.I cannot identify Regiment.

"In early dawn of September 15th,the infantry gazed with astonisment at the weird sight of these slow,cumbersome monsters steering their way towards Combles.

Our Battalion fell in behind one of them,named "Holocauste," and,at a snails pace,we went forward over "No man's land".

------------.

The attack on Combles was a great success and we gained nearly as many kilometres in this stunt as we had done for the whole period from July 1st."

George

[delta]

George -Holocauste is a new name for me

C14 and C16 were used in support of the attacks near Combles; both tanks leading the infantry - C16 was known as Corunna and not C14 as stated above. C14's name is not known.

Stephen

[dycer]

Stephen,

No other info on the tank but this is how the attacking troops saw them in action for the first time and an appraisal of their worth.

"After the first Battle of the Somme,in the autumn of 1916,the British Army had advanced very little,but the appearance of the tanks for the first time had so put the wind up Fritz that by the end of September,we were able to say we had gone a good few Kilometres

In the early dawn of September 15th,--------. "No man's land"

It had been a carefully guarded secret and,for once in a way,the Germans were quite in the dark and when these strange creatures toppled over their barbed wire entanglements as if they did not exist and crawled over their very carefully prepared trenches,Jerry did not stop to argue.This was just like him.We had seen it before.When our "Stokes mortars" came on the scene his "Minnies" soon dried up and it was just the same when we got to work with our "Mills bombs," he soon realised his "tater mashers" were but toys in comparison with our new bombs and,being a sensible fellow,took good care not to "wait for it."

But this new monster of frightfulness was the last word and the steel-grey clad troops of Fritz'a army skedaddled for all they were worth.

Hundreds of them took to their dugouts.Ostrich like they thought if they went down below and did not see the monsters they would be safer.The result was a huge bag of prisoners who thought themselves well out of it,against a foe who could think of such fearful novelties in warfare.

The attack on Combles--------for the whole period from July 1st."

George

[delta]

George -

Many thanx indeed- can you give me the source of the quote?

S

[dycer]

Stephen,

It's from a Pamphlet entitled "The Humorists at War" by George Findlay printed by J&G Innes Ltd,Cupar,St Andrews,and Leven in 1961.(Ref D27014)

Innes' was a Bookshop in Cupar,Fife,Scotland(I think it's long gone).I was visiting the Town with my Parents in the early 60's saw the Pamphlet in the Shop and decided to buy it.

If you want a photocopy of the pages PM me a contact address and I'll pop it in the post

George

[delta]

Thanx for the offer of the Photocpy but the above provides enough info if the units are not mentioned.

However does the book give any clue as to who the "Humorists" were?

[dycer]

Stephen,

It's the Author's humoristic Autobiography of his time in the Forces in WW1.It commences thus

"Although one was supposed to join any unit that one had a preference for, I am afraid this was only eyewash.At any rate I found it so.I was orginally in the Northamptonshire Regiment.A few days later I was at Hounslow in the Royal Fusiliers,but another day or two saw me off to the Sussex Coast."

He may have been in the Cornwalls ",Jock was foisted on to me,probably because I was a fellow Scot and was the only one of the Cornwalls who could understand what he said."This is likely to be 1917 as Jock was an "Orphan" as his Division had been drafted to Italy whist he was on leave.

Christmas 1916 he was in a kilted Battalion stationed in the wood of St Vaast."Blimey,I wish I was down the Mile End Road instead of this blinkin' hole," said Cockney Joe who found himself in a kilted Regiment."

He ended up in a pioneer Labour Company as he says himself."After leaving the P.B.L.I having acquired the doubtful honour of being designated one of the "war worn troops" I was transferred to a pioneer Labour Company.Our duties were mainly to fill up the craters and shell holes which Fritz made overnight when he was in one of his frightful moods."

George

[delta]

Got around didn't he?

Have you found anything more about his service from the offical records?

[dycer]

Stephen,

I have'nt to be honest.

I'm a bit worried what I might find. He went to France as a Sgt but I think he may have been busted.

e.g."We had been issued with,among other things,a full days rations,one item of which was a slab of pork.The pig must have died from fatty degeneration,for,as far as we could see,it did not contain a single streak of lean.

------

I remember looking into my knapsack and viewing my slab of pork.Railway travelling,and using my knapsack for a pillow had not improved it.I would have thrown it away there and then but one never knew what sort of inspection might be asked for next so I returned it to my knapsack consoling myself with the thought that if it sweated much longer,there would not be much to carry.

-----

I had to thank my stars that I was a good sailor as the ship certainly rolled a bit.It was not long before pale faces under the ghastly light of the oil lamps showed all was not well with the troops-----.I walked among them and,with my slab of pork stuck on the end of my knife,adjured them to get this into them,it would do them good.This had no soothing effect whatsoever.It only served to hasten border-line cases,while others scowled at me and gave such baleful glances that it was quite evident to me my kindly meant ministrations were being misconstrued."

George

[Gerald Moore]

Stephen, here is what I have been able to glean regarding the disposition of the Mk.I tanks. As you are aware, 150 were built.

1) 555 was used as an experimental machine.

2) C Co. took 25 tanks from Elveden to France on 13/8/16. They drew 5 new tanks at Havre on 5/10/16. 16 tanks were reported to be still operational on 22/10/16.

3) D. Co. took 25 tanks to France on 25/8/16. They drew 8 new tanks at Havre on 5/9/16. They report having 16 tanks operational on 19/11/16.

4) A Co. arrived at Yvrench on 14/9/16 with what I assume was 25 tanks.

5) B. Co. seems to have gone to France without tanks.

6) The EEF detachment of E Co. arrived in Egypt on 9/1/17 with 8 tanks.

7) The training establishment at Wool had 15 operational tanks on 17/1/17.

8) 16 Mk.I's were said to be available for the opening of the Arras offensive. 10 Co. had 505, 522, 524 and 565. 11 Co. had 531, 554, 702, 711 and 770. The only photo of a Mk.I at Arras shows C6 operating with 7 Co. (It is the famous photo taken taken from the railway viaduct over the Athies road.)

9) There are photos of 712 and 746 converted to supply tanks in mid-1917.

10) After the war, a Mk.I was sent to Lincoln, and another to Hatfield Park (now at Bovington). Their WD numbers are not known.

[jhill]

Appendix VII of the September, 1916 folder of the War Diary of the Canadian Corps general staff is a copy of the Report on the Operations of the Tanks on September 15th. It includes complete crew lists of the five tanks on the Canadian front. It includes:

Tank No. 709, C.1. Lieut. A.J.C. Wheeler, Pte. H. Brotherhood

It also includes general Byng's famous summary:

"Tanks are a useful accessory to the infantry, but nothing more."

[delta]

thanks indeed for the info and for the links to the Canadian diaries

http://data2.collectionscanada.ca/e/e040/e000997488.jpg

On... on......

Stephen

[delta]

Gerald - most interested to hear about C6 (504) - I undertstood she has been stuck at Thipeval and not recovered. Can you descibed the photo of her at Arras in a little more detail as it doesn't ring a bell.

Stephen

[Gerald Moore]

Stephen, I think the company numbers on the tanks must have been changed when the original companys were expanded into battalions. The "C6" employed at Courcellette and Thiepval was a female tank, whereas the tank in the Arras photo which I posted (also C6) is a male. A correspondent has mentioned to me that he could read the vehicle's WD number in this photo, but he must have a better print. I can't recall what he thought the WD number was, but I'll try to find out.

[delta]

Gerald

Thanks for the clairfication and the offer of help over numbers.

[Gerald Moore]

David Fletcher, in his Osprey book on the Mk.I, gives 752 as the WD no. of the C6 used by 7 Co. at Arras.

[delta]

Gerald

Hadn't read the Osprey book (which is cleasrly an oversight) will have to get it.

Thanx for the infilling

[Lammy]

D51 DEBORAH.

http://www.tank-cambrai.com/en/the-story-of-deborah/