Video of Deborah featured in BBC Museums project

[johntaylor]

Like many people I'm wondering when I'll have my next chance to visit the Western Front, and thought I would whet your appetites by sharing this amazing video telling the story of Deborah, the tank that was buried on the battlefield after taking part in the attack on Cambrai on November 20, 1917, before being rediscovered and recovered 80 years later. Deborah is now the centrepiece of an impressive museum in the village of Flesquières, which is obviously closed for the duration like everything else.

 

The BBC is running a social media project today called #MuseumFromHome to publicise the rich heritage currently locked away due to the pandemic - and hopefully to encourage people to visit when the lights come on again all over Europe. The video, called The Friend Making Machine, can be seen here:

 

Edited 30 April , 2020 by johntaylor

[stripeyman]

The music was nice, pity about the quality of the video which 90% of the time was breaking up.

However the subject was excellent......

[tootrock]

I think the poor film quality must have been due to your Internet speed - it was absolutely fine for me.

Martin

[Marilyne]

Great movie! 

Makes me want to go see her even more. 

I remember the opening of the new museum was discussed here on the forum early 1918... I was in Mali and built my whole "back-from-mission-holiday-tour" around going to Cambrai... that was before Boyfriend told me he could have leave after all and preferred taking me to Prague than going cemetery-hopping on the Somme ... so instead of a tank I went to see a bridge... BUT... plans are just postponed a bit, no more... 

 

M.

[johntaylor]

Hi, sorry to stripeyman about the video quality but I think it must be a bandwidth issue - I've also been having major download problems as everyone is using the wireless at the same time. The video was shot in broadcast quality by two professional film-makers who have followed the project closely from the start, so I know the original footage is fine.

 

Marilyne, sorry to hear you missed out, but Deborah won't be going anywhere! Unfortunately neither are we any time soon, but that must end at some stage. I must say it's great that you wanted to visit the battlefields whereas your boyfriend preferred the tourist hotspots, as it doesn't always work that way round in a relationship. I'm lucky - my wife is as involved in the whole project as I am, and I couldn't have stopped her from going.

 

If you do get the chance to visit, try to come for the anniversary celebrations on the closest weekend to November 20. Philippe Gorczynski always lays on some events, and it's a good chance to meet everyone, despite the unpredictable weather.

 

Hope to see you there,

 

John

 

 

[crickhollow]

Hello John

 

I enjoyed your WFA  Zoom presentation on 'Deborah' last night -thank you.

 

Q: one of your photos ( photo 'Burying of a Tank', Tank Museum) showed a tank being buried but not 'Deborah' as the RH front was undamaged.  How common was this practice? Why was this done and were the tanks stripped of parts before they were buried? Does this mean there many more tanks still buried on old battlefields? Is it obvious where they are?

 

Thanks

 

 

[johntaylor]

Hi Crickhollow,

 

Many thanks for your message and for watching the presentation, and I'm very pleased you found it interesting. Regarding the photograph, I believe this does show Deborah - the front right side isn't clearly visible in the photo but it appears to be missing - see section of photo below. However the proof is that the shell-holes visible on the left-hand side and sponson of the buried tank exactly match those on Deborah - again see relevant sections of photo bellow.    

 

In answer to the question, burying tank hulks seems to have been uncommon as the accounts say that if they couldn't be salvaged, the usual practice was to pack them with gun-cotton and blow them apart, and either bury or remove the remains. We assume this wasn't done with Deborah because she was beside a building, though that was itself badly damaged. The other reason why it wasn't standard practice to bury a tank was because there probably weren't that many holes of a suitable size! In this case, it was clearly unusual enough to merit a photograph.

 

We know at least one other tank was buried at Cambrai because it was discovered by workmen building the motorway several decades ago, who unfortunately destroyed and removed most of the remains. Many people have searched for others but none has ever been found, so it remains to be seen if any more will turn up!

 

All the best, John

[crickhollow]

Hello John

 

Many thanks for your prompt and informative response.

 

I did not have time during your presentation to examine the photo of the 'burying of a tank' to check which way it was pointed - my impression was that the side shown was looking along the front RHS of the tank (pointing away from the village ) and it appeared undamaged - which rather confused me since you described that the damage done to the tank on the RHS was probably after the initial attack.  So it seems the front was pointing the other way towards the village and therefore showed the undamaged LHS?    Is this the correct interpretation?

 

Thanks again

 

Chris

 

 

 

 

[johntaylor]

Hi, in fact I'm not sure whether the buried tank is pointing towards the village or away from it, but that's not really significant as it had been pulled in all directions by the tanks that dragged it into the hole. The point is that the photographer chose to show the undamaged LHS of Deborah, but you can just see that the RHS horn is missing so she was obviously in her present state. This is what you'd expect because the sequence of events was (as far as we know):

Nov 1917: Deborah knocked out during attack by shells entering on LHS

Mar 1918: Germans capture Flesquieres - two photos show Deborah with RHS largely undamaged

Sep 1918: British forces recapture Flesquieres - photo taken in late 1918 shows Deborah with RHS missing, so damage assumed to be inflicted during second attack on village

Mar 1919: several photos show Deborah still in situ in village street with extensive damage to RHS

Undated, but assumed to be later in 1919: photo in Wenger's album shows Deborah in hole prior to burial. Photo mainly shows LHS but you can just see that front RHS is missing

 

I hope this clarifies things!

 

All the best, John

 

 

[crickhollow]

Thanks John, for taking the time to respond and for the detailed explanation of the circumstances relating to the final days of  'Deborah' at Flesquieres

 

I have now ordered your well-reviewed book so can have another look at the 'Burying of a Tank' photo!

Rgds

Chris

 

 

[johntaylor]

Thanks Chris - in fact it took many years to clarify this sequence of events as more evidence became available, so it's far from straightforward. Anyway the book contains virtually all the wartime photos of Deborah, so I hope it repays the investment and that you enjoy the read!

 

All the best, John 

[Marilyne]

YES!!! 

 

Finally made it to see the old lady !! 

"Looking good as ever, Miss D, good as ever!"

 

 

M. 

 

[johntaylor]

That's fantastic news - I'd heard the museum was open again, and it's wonderful that you were able to visit. I imagine you probably had the place to yourself!

 

All the best, John