WW1 Tank Tested In the grounds of Hatfield House Hertfordshire

[hertsmil]

I am a Hatfield man and I am doing some research into the testing of the tank that took place in the grounds of Hatfield House Hertfordshire.

As a child I climbed on and in the tank that was on display in the grounds of Hatfield House, this was moved in 1969 to the tank museum but it had been on display for 50 years as it was presented to the 4th Marques of Salisbury on the 8th May 1919 as thanks for the use of his land for the testing in 1916, and it was removed on the 7th May 1969.

I have some details but they are still a bit sketchy in places, I know that the first test was on the 26th January 1916 and the second test took place on the 2nd February 1916 and the 3rd test was on the 8th February 1916 this was when King George V was the first monarch ever to ride inside a tank.

I know that the tank used for the test was named Big Willie and built by William Foster & Co, Lincoln, this is where details start to dry up.

I have found some information that the driver for the trials at Hatfield was Chief Petty Officer Hill, of 20 squadron Royal Naval Air Service, CPO Hill is credited as being the first ever tank driver,

does any one know any thing else about CPO Hill, such as first name service details.

have done searches online, been to the National Archives at Kew and looked in the books I have about the early tanks but no information can I find about this man, if any one could help with information or even where I might find the information it would be a great help.

Many thanks in advance, Andy

[Gareth Davies]

Hill doesn't get a mention by Fuller, L-H nor in Richard Pullen's book 'The Landships of Lincoln'. But none of them offer an alternative name of the driver. Where did you get his name from?

[Kitchener's Bugle]

This is the only surviving Mark I and the world's oldest surviving combat tank. It is painted to represent Number 705, C19, Clan Leslie although its identity and wartime history are unknown. The indications are it may have served as a driver-training tank and it has been suggested it is Number 702, which would make it the second Mark I built.

After successful trials at Hatfield Park in January 1916, where the tank crossed a 9ft. wide trench with a 6ft. 6in. parapet, it was decided to demonstrate the new tank to Britain's political and military leaders. Under conditions of great secrecy, Kitchener, Secretary of State of War, Lloyd George, Minister of Munitions, and Reginald Mckenna, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, were invited to Hatfield Park on 2nd February, 1916 to see Mark I in action. Initially the Royal Navy supplied the crews for the tank. The tank was in many ways merely an extension of the principle of the armoured car. Armoured cars were popular on the Western Front at the start of the war, since at that stage it was very much a war of movement. Their use only dwindled with the onset of static trench warfare, when their utility was questionable.

The Royal Navy's role in tank development may seem incongruous but was in fact merely an extension of the role they had played thus far in the use of armoured cars. The navy had deployed squadrons of armoured cars to protect Allied airstrips in Belgium against enemy attack. It was this experience that Churchill drew upon when offering his department's support for the 'landship'.

A usefull book if you could get hold of it would be:

Ellis, Chris; Chamberlain, Peter (1969), No. 3: Tanks Marks I to V, AFV Profile, Profile Publishing

[centurion]

I don't think George V went anywhere near the testing of 'Mother' AKA 'Big Willy' AKA 'The Slug' at Hatfield. The tank he has been filmed riding in is a Mk IV

[centurion]

George V in the tank ride - the tank is a female Mk IV

I don't know who the dog is!

[hertsmil]

http://landships.activeboard.com/t38129451/the-first-military-tank-driver/

The information about the first driver comes from the above web site, as for the information about King George V at Hatfield on the 8th February 1916 and taking a ride on the tank this information comes from two sauces, the first is a book called Tanks 1914 - 1919 The Log Book of a Pioneer, by Lieutenant - Colonel Sir Albert.G.Stern. K.B.E. C.M.G. and the second place I got the information from was the archives of Hatfield House, which both my father and mother worked for over 50 years and I also have works on the Hatfield House Estate.

[Sidearm]

The best account I know of is in John Glanfield's "The Devil's Chariots". This has no mention of King George attending Hatfield, though Lloyd George was there - is there some confusion perhaps?!

There's also some discrepancy in dates, as Glanfield states that Mother didn't arrive at Hatfield until the night of 27/28th January 1916, so the first trial couldn't have been on the 26th. A.J. Smithers, in "A New Excalibur" gives the date of the first trial as 29th January 1916.

Gwyn

[Andrew Upton]

...this information comes from two sauces...

Tomato and brown?

[hertsmil]

_{Sorry I was reading my notes wrong, it arrived on the 26th and the first trials were on the 29th.}

_{The information about the King is confirmed from original papers held in the archives of Hatfield House for the 4th Marques of Salisbury and also on page 57 of the book by Sir Albert. G. Stern.}

_{On page 49 of the same book it says as follows:}

_{January 26th 1916, and sent by train to Hatfield station, where it was unloaded in the middle of the night and driven up to the special ground in Hatfield Park.}

_{A detachment of squadron 20, under the command of Major Hetherington, had previously been sent to Hatfield.}

_{Large numbers of the 3rd ( Mid Herts ) Battalion Herts Volunteer Regiment and a company of Engineers, lent by the War Office, helped to dig the necessary trenches for the trials, the first of which took place on the 29th of January 1916.}

_{From page 57 of the book it says as follows:}

_{On February 8th His Majesty the King visited Hatfield, when a special demonstration was arranged. He took a ride in the Tank, and said afterwards that he thought such a weapon would be a great asset to the Army possessing a large number.}

_{This information is also confirmed by the papers help in the archives in Hatfield House.}

[Charles Fair]

I think there is a short section on the tanks at Hatfield in Trevor Pidgeon's 'The Tanks at Flers'. just need to go and find my copy.

Charles

[hertsmil]

The book Tanks 1914 -1919 The Log Book of a Pioneer By Lieutenant Colonel Albert G Stern K.B.E. C.M.G. that was first printed in 1919 was reprinted in 2004 and is sold on the Naval and Military Press web site for less than £10.

Also if you do a search on Google for the book there is a full scanned copy online.

[hertsmil]

_{Many thanks for all the reply's to this post,}

_{I have still not been able to put any detail to the driver of the tank used in the trials in Hatfield in 1916 apart from what I know that it may have been Chief Petty Officer Hill from 20 squadron Royal Naval Air Service.}

_{have gone though service record for the R.N.A.S. and R.N. and there are several possibilities but still nothing that I could say that that was the man.}

_{if any one knows of any other details or where I might look, it would be a great help.}

_{many thanks Andy}

[tanks3]

Hertsmil,

I have to disagree that CPO Hill was the first ever tank driver. Surely Charlie Maughan was the first. He was the chief tester and engineer at Fosters and as such was chosen to drive both Little Willie and Mother. He was a Lincoln man. See page 31 of Richard Pullen's book "The Landships of Lincoln - 2nd Edition". Here Richard explains that Charlie collected autographs and he managed to obtain that of the King, during the King's visit to the early 1916 trials. So the King was present. Whether he rode in Mother is not confirmed in Richard's book but I would suspect, after reading Richard's account on how the autograph was obtained, he did. He also mentions that one of the gearsmen for the day was a Royal Navy Lieutenant, but no name is given.

Tanks3

[maxi]

_{Sorry I was reading my notes wrong, it arrived on the 26th and the first trials were on the 29th.}

_{The information about the King is confirmed from original papers held in the archives of Hatfield House for the 4th Marques of Salisbury and also on page 57 of the book by Sir Albert. G. Stern.}

_{On page 49 of the same book it says as follows:}

_{January 26th 1916, and sent by train to Hatfield station, where it was unloaded in the middle of the night and driven up to the special ground in Hatfield Park.}

_{A detachment of squadron 20, under the command of Major Hetherington, had previously been sent to Hatfield.}

_{Large numbers of the 3rd ( Mid Herts ) Battalion Herts Volunteer Regiment and a company of Engineers, lent by the War Office, helped to dig the necessary trenches for the trials, the first of which took place on the 29th of January 1916.}

_{From page 57 of the book it says as follows:}

_{On February 8th His Majesty the King visited Hatfield, when a special demonstration was arranged. He took a ride in the Tank, and said afterwards that he thought such a weapon would be a great asset to the Army possessing a large number.}

_{This information is also confirmed by the papers help in the archives in Hatfield House.}

I am a Welwyn Garden City resident and I was told, though it now seems incorrectly, that Hatfield House had its own private branch line to take the Tank straight into the grounds away from the public gaze.

Maxi

[Gareth Davies]

I don't think George V went anywhere near the testing of 'Mother' AKA 'Big Willy' AKA 'The Slug' at Hatfield. The tank he has been filmed riding in is a Mk IV

Where is it recorded that Mother/Big Willie (aka the Wilson Machine) was also know as The Slug?