The Tank Museum - Bovington - Projects: A tank in your town

A TANK IN YOUR TOWN

We have two for you this month so any useful contributions will be welcome.

[image] Can you identify where this photo was taken?

This is obviously one of those tanks displayed somewhere in Great Britain, but where? It is unusual because, like the Bridlington tank we showed recently, it is a Mark III, and there cannot have been many of them.
There are some quite imposing buildings surrounding the plinth, so does anyone recognise the location.

[image] Can you identify anything about this photo was taken?

The other picture is a bit more of a puzzle. It is a Mark IV female and we have a name and a date etched onto the postcard. But is this the famous Britannia that we have featured before, that went to the USA in 1917 or something else altogether?

Notice that it has a cab roof hatch like the other Britannia but no evidence of a name painted across the front. Notice too that although the officer and soldier standing in front of the tank each seem to have the ‘tank crew’ arm badge neither wears the Tank Corps cap badge. This is not so surprising in the case of the officer but the soldier seems to be wearing the Machine Gun Corps cap badge which would be very unusual for a Tank Corps man in the spring of 1918.

The architecture is a bit nondescript, but someone might recognise the location. It is also odd that the tank has a single track extension plate on the nearside track, a very strange thing to have fitted when driving along city streets.

Any helpful suggestions gratefully received.

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