Mk IV tank in Huddersfield

[geoff turner]

Hi, I just wondered if anybody had any information about a MK IV tank on display in Huddersfield in 1919, Not when one visited for tank week for the war bonds. The war office donated/gifted 265 tanks to various towns, However there is just one left on  display in St Georges Square in Ashford Kent. The rest either scrapped or just going into general disrepair. Any information gratefully received Thank you.

Geoff

[johntaylor]

Hi Geoff,

I'm sure someone will have specific information about the Huddersfield tank, but this is the most definitive source of information on presentation tanks in general: https://www.friendsofthelincolntank.co.uk/merchandise/

All the best John

[mancpal]

Geoff,

I am by no means certain but I have a vague memory that the Huddersfield presentation tank was sited in Greenhead Park. The reason I’m not sure is that in the course of researching a local recruit into the RFA  I found some photos showing field guns (circa 1914/15) in the same park which I may be getting confused with. 
While on the subject of such presentation tanks I believe they were awarded to towns and cities whose overall contribution to the war effort was in some way notable whether through heavy engineering , munitions production , recruitment numbers etc. The towns of Ashton under Lyne and Stalybridge border each other and were  awarded a tank each for recruitment (Manchesters, Lancs Fusiliers and Cheshires amongst others), mining, heavy engineering and munitions production (see munitions explosion of June 1917). What I was surprised by is that they were both placed in the same park. I wonder if any other towns had two placed in the same place?

Simon

[geoff turner]

47 minutes ago, mancpal said:

Geoff,

I am by no means certain but I have a vague memory that the Huddersfield presentation tank was sited in Greenhead Park. The reason I’m not sure is that in the course of researching a local recruit into the RFA  I found some photos showing field guns (circa 1914/15) in the same park which I may be getting confused with. 
While on the subject of such presentation tanks I believe they were awarded to towns and cities whose overall contribution to the war effort was in some way notable whether through heavy engineering , munitions production , recruitment numbers etc. The towns of Ashton under Lyne and Stalybridge border each other and were  awarded a tank each for recruitment (Manchesters, Lancs Fusiliers and Cheshires amongst others), mining, heavy engineering and munitions production (see munitions explosion of June 1917). What I was surprised by is that they were both placed in the same park. I wonder if any other towns had two placed in the same place?

Simon

Thank you, 

[mancpal]

Geoff,

The majority of these disappeared to be ‘recycled’ for their metal (approximately 30 tons each) for the later war. 
As you have an interest in tanks, it may be worth (if you haven’t already) googling the Poelcapple tank. In short an original tank broke down and became a tourist attraction post war to those who visited the battlefields and graves of their loved ones. That particular tank met the same fate as the presentation tanks although on this occasion it was Germany that benefited from the scrap. Roll on a few decades and 2 brothers decided to replace the original with one they built themselves! 
Somewhere on the forum there is a thread about it. You will also find a few short films about it on YouTube. Oddly, the ‘new’ Poelcapelle tank, despite advances in materials and technology plus the fact that it is a replica that wouldn’t be required in warfare, it weighed more than an original. 
Sorry if you already know this.

Simon

[ilkley remembers]

November 1919 a presentation tank was given to Huddersfield in recognion of the amount of money raised the previous yaer by the town. It was a Mk IV female which had seen service in France in 1917 but later relegated to a training role. Initially it was placed in front of the Peel Memorial on St Georges Square...basically in front of the Railway Station. later it was moved to a location on Lindley Moor on the edge of Huddersfield where it remained until 1930 by which time its condition had deteriorated significantly,  had sunk into the ground, and the council wanted it scrapped.. A local man and ex-serviceman called Joseph Walker from the Marsh/Lindley area bought the tank along with one of the German artillery trophies and moved them onto his land about 300 yards away. The whole operation took 3 days and the tank and gun remained behind his home until the 1940s.. Apparently he had the tank designated as an air raid shelter whilst the gun seems to have been located so as to point down New Hey Road. No idea what happened to it after that possibly scrapped or buried in situ...who knows it might still be there!

First came across the tale of the Huddersfield Tank when I joined the police in the 1980s and was sent to Huddersfield. 

Not sure if the Ashford tank is the only presentation tank still left as it is claimed that the Gloucester Tank was located in the 1940s and sent to a museum in Lincoln.

[johntaylor]

Hi, the unique feature of the Ashford tank is that it's the only one still in situ, mainly because it was used to house an electrical sub-station.

Fascinating to think that the Huddersfield one might still be there somewhere!

John

[ilkley remembers]

10 minutes ago, johntaylor said:

Fascinating to think that the Huddersfield one might still be there somewhere!

It would be interesting if it was still there........ I remember in the 1980s a WW1 German field gun was discovered buried in the village of Esholt just outside Bradford. its now at the Beamish Open Air Museum in County Durham

[mancpal]

Ilkley remembers,

thanks for the information regarding the Huddersfield tank. It was clearly the field gun photos I was thinking of in Greenhead park. I particularly like the fact that it became an air raid shelter. It’s a modern word that I’m not fond of but this is surely a fine instance of ‘upcycling’. Likewise the sub-station.

Simon