andrew pugh Posted 6 October , 2018 Share Posted 6 October , 2018 Good Evening All There was a thread on this forum about tanks that were donated to various towns in the UK after the war.Whats the history behind a tank called "Kaffir" it was presented to Bury St Edmunds in December 1919. It was located in the Abbey Gardens until 1933. Kind Regards Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Davies Posted 6 October , 2018 Share Posted 6 October , 2018 (edited) From http://www.stedmundsburychronicle.co.uk/galleryww1/galleryww1page_10.htm In December, 1919, Bury was presented with a defunct mark I British tank sporting the name "Kaffir", to reward the town's contribution of two million pounds raised by the local war savings committee for the war effort. On 12th December,1919, it was driven up Northgate Street to the Angel Hill where it was presented to the committee by Major E E Pearson of the Suffolk Regiment. The council gave it a home within the Abbey gardens where it stood by the Abbey Ruins until 1933. Edited 6 October , 2018 by Gareth Davies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew pugh Posted 6 October , 2018 Author Share Posted 6 October , 2018 Hi Gareth Thanks for replying, that's the one! Regards Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NigelS Posted 6 October , 2018 Share Posted 6 October , 2018 (edited) According to reporting in The Times of Saturday, July 8th, 1933, it still had a bit of a sting in its tail - or should that be horns? - when it was dismantled: 'When the War tank presented to Bury St. Edmunds in recognition of the town's support of the War Savings movement was being broken up yesterday a box of smoke bombs, fire bombs, and detonators was found in the rear part of the machine. The tank, which has stood in the Abbey grounds since 1919, is being scrapped in deference to the local feeling that it is unsuitable for retention in such surroundings.' This appears to one of several similar incidents where unused ordinance was found in presentation tanks years after delivery. It seems that more attention was taken in making sure that they were immobilised once in situ rather than what might have been left in them! NigelS Edited 6 October , 2018 by NigelS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2ndCMR Posted 8 October , 2018 Share Posted 8 October , 2018 Would be interesting to know how and why it came to be scrapped? Only a few months after the Oxford Union debate wasn't it? Temper of the times? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delta Posted 9 October , 2018 Share Posted 9 October , 2018 Not wishing to challenge the contemporary newspaper report but the image appears to be a Mark IV female Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew pugh Posted 9 October , 2018 Author Share Posted 9 October , 2018 Hi Delta Did it have any service history in France or Belgium during WW1 or didn't it see any service overseas? Regards Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanks3 Posted 12 October , 2018 Share Posted 12 October , 2018 Andy Without knowing the tanks WD number it would be difficult to establish this Tanks3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidearm Posted 14 October , 2018 Share Posted 14 October , 2018 The tank's serial number was 8093. This means that it was built as a Male by the Metropolitan Carriage, Wagon & Finance Co Ltd either at Saltley, Birmingham, or at Oldbury. Clearly, when it was presented it was a Female. This is not unusual. Many Mark IV Males had their sponsons removed and replaced with Female ones around April - May 1918. The Male sponsons were used to convert Mark V Females to Composites in response to the appearance on the battlefield of the cannon-armed A7V. The name Kaffir suggests service with 11 Battalion, but we have no further information about its service history. The tank was scrapped by Avis & Co Ltd. Gwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew pugh Posted 17 October , 2018 Author Share Posted 17 October , 2018 Good Evening All Thanks for the information given on this tank.It's a shame that they were nearly all removed between the wars.. Regards Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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