November 2015
Tank Times
Published by THE TANK MUSEUM, Bovington, Dorset, UK, BH20 6JG
Tel: +44 (0) 1929 405 096
Little Willie Gets Telegram From Queen
www.tankmuseum.org
FROM THE WARDENS RAY PARROTT
Ray Parrott The role of The Tank Museum’s Wardens.
The world’s first tank, ‘Little Willie’, on display at The Tank Museum, marked its 100th birthday in September. To commemorate the occasion Little Willie was covered in a tarpaulin, similar to the one used to conceal the new invention during testing in 1915 and unveiled by descendants of one of its inventors. On 21st September 2015 The Tank Museum received this message from Her Majesty The Queen: “I was most interested to learn that today marks the centenary of the Birth of the Tank. I have fond memories of my visit in 2009 to The Tank Museum at Bovington, where I saw examples of the Tank’s development and evolution. As Colonel-in-Chief, I send my greetings to the Colonels Commandant, Officers,
Other Ranks and present members of the Royal Tank Regiment and the Regimental Association, and to all at The Tank Museum, on this notable anniversary. ELIZABETH R.” Although ‘Little Willie’ never saw active service, its creation marked the start of 100 years of tank design, the results of which can be seen on today’s battlefields. In 1915 the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, created a Landships Committee to tackle the problems of trench warfare. After many experiments and false starts an agricultural firm,
William Foster & Co. of Lincoln, was contracted to build a prototype machine. Its designers, William Tritton and Walter Wilson came up with a set of workable tracks which were fitted to the ‘Landship’ now known as ‘Little Willie,’ said to be an irreverent nickname for the German Crown Prince, Kaiser Wilhelm. By the time ‘Little Willie’ was built, Wilson and Tritton had already come up with an improved idea of a machine with tracks running all the way around the vehicle, which would become the classic British tank design of the Great War. Thus, ‘Little Willie’ was redundant almost as soon as it was built.
The Tank Museum’s Warden Team is a mix of volunteers supported by a cadre of full-time staff who together are the primary and initial point of contact for our visitors. This usually involves meeting and greeting and generally welcoming them and describing precisely what the Museum has on offer at this world class facility. For example, visitors often ask to see the type of tank in which their parents, grandparents, or other family members served, which then involves Wardens directing or accompanying them to the various exhibits of particular interest. Wardens are also active in visitor safety issues and are trained in various aspects to ensure the visitor experience is uneventful. Some are First Aid trained and with tanks being large lumps of metal that take no prisoners, Wardens ensure visitors leave the Museum in the same condition as they arrived. Visitor safety is of primary importance. Wardens also provide free guided tours and talks throughout the Museum, explaining to our visitors how tanks work, or how a particular tank may have been used in battle. Some talks deal with the history of tank evolution over the past 100 years since its invention. One
Inside… ● ARCHIVE AND SUPPORTING COLLECTION EXPERIENCE ● THE LINCOLN MACHINE ● FIRST CREWS ● WHAT’S ON
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THE TANK MUSEUM - THE WORLD’S BEST COLLECTION OF TANKS An Independent Museum and Registered Charity No 1102661