stevehowarth Posted 7 August , 2006 Share Posted 7 August , 2006 John Edmund Beecroft was born in 1894 and lived in Long Preston, Yorkshire. He was a captain in the Tank Corps, gained an MC in 1918 (nothing specific in LG) and survived the war. My hope is that a soldier with these particulars might be known to a Pal(s) and it would be great to find out more. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delta Posted 7 August , 2006 Share Posted 7 August , 2006 He gained his MC, in Jun 1918, as a 2Lt whilst serving in 2nd Field tank Coy. Given this was not an immediate award, it was pobably awarded for sustained efforts. In Nov 1918, as an Eqpt offr, he was promoted Capt in a Tank Field Bn; a post he held until 2 April 1919. Unfortunately my tank histoiries give no detail of these units. Looks like a good trial to run down so let's go On.....on.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehowarth Posted 8 August , 2006 Author Share Posted 8 August , 2006 Thanks, Delta, for your response. I appreciate the new info. on Beecroft. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delta Posted 9 August , 2006 Share Posted 9 August , 2006 Tank Field Bns were the units who salved damaged or dead tank- see the WFA article at :http://www.westernfront.co.uk/thegreatwar/articles/factsandfigures/organisationadministrationtankcorps.htm Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delta Posted 19 August , 2006 Share Posted 19 August , 2006 Field Companies (also known as Salvage compaies) provided spare parts for crews to fit onto tanks in the field; they also acted as the second line repair who moved forward (often under cover of darkness ) to repair / recover tanks which had broken down or been knocked out. Where a tank could not been recovered, the useful parts were removed including 6lb guns, engine and transmissions etc. The Williams Ellis book "The Tanks" states that in their two years of existence, the Field Companies recovered two or three million pounds worth of stores at no light cost in casualties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delta Posted 28 October , 2007 Share Posted 28 October , 2007 A cigarette box for 2nd Field Company was auctioned on e-bay earlier this week with Beecroft's signature Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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