I was told by my father that there was a tank on display in my home town of Kendal to commemorate the First World War and it was cut up for scrap during the Second World War . I always wondered where it was displayed and what sort it was ? and I was overjoyed when somebody put this photo on a local historical groups page on Facebook . It's next to the river on Aynam Road on the Putting Green (which I can just remember as a child) and it's a Mark IV 'Female' type armed with machineguns in smaller sponsons . What a shame it had to be scrapped for World War Two .
Very interesting. Evidently one of a wider series of events.
ReplyDeletehttp://cumbrianwarmemorials.blogspot.com/2011/01/great-war-tanks-in-cumbria-and.html
Thanks for the link very interesting
ReplyDeleteGreat photo. That is a shame it was scrapped, but "needs must" I suppose.
ReplyDeleteYes a shame indeed ! . My old junior school's railings were cut down as well probably at the same time . ,
DeleteShame about the tank disappearing - maybe they were worried about German spies photographing it in 1939? Smashing photo - thanks for sharing.
DeleteSchool railings - one day someone will tell us the full story about all that nonsense. My grannie used to tell me that they were taken away to make Spitfires. Cast-iron Spitfires would not have been a very potent weapon. As a nipper, I used to imagine they had planned to use the railings as spears or something. I think it was probably a way of getting the public involved in the war effort (though many of them were also sending their relatives to fight in the services). No, I give up. We can only hope that a few scrap metal dealers went bust in the confusion.
I read somewhere that a large proportion of the scrap gathered was of little use , good for morale though.
DeleteSad in a way to realize that chunks of our History have disappeared in all manor of things including MkIV Tanks...I recall a story that here in Sydney a vast number of wooden clinker Life Boats were pilled high and burnt to retrieve the 'Monel' metal from the nails...beautiful boats- all destroyed.
ReplyDeleteProbably each generation does it in it's own way .
DeleteI know Kendal a little, and was wondering where the putting green was - is this photo taken near Miller Bridge? I think things have changed a bit.
ReplyDeleteYes the putting green is now further upstream (on Gooseholme), the picture is taken further down from Miller bridge , near a footbridge and looks onto the old Waterside which was warehouses and small factories , long since demolished and replaced be some hideous flats (that won an award !?)
ReplyDelete