Centurion wrote:

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...It is tempting to wonder if this is the event shown in photo D1 although this looks more like a house than a barn and the sailor looks out of place... 

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The tank in that photo also appears to have been given a camouflage scheme at some point.

Right here is my latest version. Any more and it'll be better as an article Interested Peter?

This includes more conclusions, locations, photos, details etc.

 In 1917 and 1918 a British Mk IV Female tank was to be seen in parades, demonstrations, expositions and various fund raising exercises across Canada and the USA. In publicity material, newspaper reports and various eyewitness accounts it is almost universally referred to as ‘Britannia’. An examination of the photographs available indicates that in fact there were at least two different Mk IV tanks involved. One tank has the name Britannia stencilled across the front plate between the horns. This tank is also painted in some form of camouflage scheme. This tank appears to have been commanded by Captain Richard Haigh MC. Other photos show a tank, or possibly more than one tank, with no name on the front plate and no camouflage pattern, in one photo a banner with the name Britannia is carried. The dating and locations of the various photos make it extremely unlikely that there was only one tank that had been repainted. Such a tank would have had to have the name and camouflage painted out, painted back in and then out again between its various appearances, in at least one case with only a day between them (barely enough time for the paint to dry). There is also a report in late 1918 (in California) of two British tanks being loaded on a train. Given the time span over which the tanks were used and the sheer number of appearances it would seem logical to have had more than one tank if only to allow time for maintenance and to provide a backup in the case of serious mechanical failure.

 

A number of the reports assert or make the suggestion that the tank ‘Britannia’ had arrived “straight from the battlefield”. References were made to her crew having all been wounded whilst manning the tank in France. There are some problems with this. Richard Haigh had indeed been the commander of a tank named Britannia at the Battle of Arras when he led a section of tanks in 11th company, D Battalion. Given that the tank name did not begin with a D this would suggest that the original Britannia was a Mk II. It certainly could only have been a Mk I or Mk II and not a Mk IV. It is not clear if it were in this action that he won his MC but D Battalion did win four MCs in this battle. He did command a tank at the Battle of Ypres and this would have been a Mk IV but as he was part of D Battalion of the Tank Corps and normal practice at the time was to ensure that the names of the tanks reflected the battalion letter so this tank would have had a name starting with a D. It may have been D1. There are also suggestions in some contemporary sources that the tank had been in action at Cambrai, given that there are some accounts and photos of both the tanks in North America in early and mid November 1918 this is clearly nonsense.

 

The earliest date, based on a history of Forest Park St Louis, given for Britannia being in America is mid 1917. However this is out of line with all the other sightings and there is no photographic record so this needs further confirmation. There are photographic records of different two Mk IV tanks (both said to be Britannia) being present in Canada in November 1917. These were used as part of the Victory Loan fund raising. At least one and possibly two  ‘Britannias’ were also in New York at the end of November and into early December of that Year as part of another fund raising event. Thereafter ‘Britannia’ was used in displays at US army camps, presumably to raise morale rather than funds, the last of these appears to have been in February 1918.

 

In February 1918 it was publicly announced that a British tank would tour the United States. Thereafter ‘Britannia’ appeared in towns and cities right across America. In many (and possibly all) this seems to have been organised or at least coordinated by a body called the British and American Recruiting Mission that had its headquarters in New York. The following accounts refer to some of these visits but probably do not represent all of them. In some cases photographs appear to exist but are only available as hard copy or negatives in archives in the United States and would require a physical visit to the appropriate state or even county institution to access them. As far as possible I have tried to present the detail in chronological order. However in some cases the amount of time the tank spent in a particular location cannot be determined as only a single date is available (as in “on Thursday the nth I saw the tank in Somewhere Square”). It should be noted that in general the tank usually spent a week at each location and in some cases considerably longer. I have only listed those instances when one can be sure that it was a real British tank. There were some cases where a dummy dank was displayed (for example Orange and Knoxville). As well as dummy British tanks at least one dummy St Chamond was about, this may have been the one used in Knoxville (a dummy St Chamond being an easier shape to mock up). Renault FTs were also used in some cases, especially where a US base was within easy reach by lorry. I have not listed these.

 

Forest Park St Louis Miss. Sometime between April and Sept 1917

It was reported that “the Army tank 'Britannia' gave a demonstration in the park. Thousands of patriotic citizens followed the tank around the park”. This took place some time between the 6th of April 1917 when “a photograph shows members of 'A' Battery firing a cannon salute in Forest Park” and the 16th of September 1917 when “a photograph shows the 3rd Battalion, 5th Infantry marching through”. Unfortunately there appears to be no photo of this event.

 

Hamilton Ontario 2nd – 18th Nov 1917.

This was part of the Victory Loan campaign. The tank gave a number of displays including the crushing of a boxcar. A photo of the tank shows the name Britannia stencilled across the front plate between the horns. The tank may also be painted in a camouflaged pattern See photo C1

 Montreal Quebec 19th Nov 1917

‘Britannia’ took part in the Victory Loan parade on Sherbrooke Ave. Photos (C2 & C3) show that this tank did not have the name Britannia stencilled on the front plate. There appears to be no camouflage pattern.

 

New York City Nov 24th – 12th Dec 1917

‘Britannia’ took part in the Heroland Exposition and Allied Bazaar. (Photos P1, P2 and  N3) The tank in N3 appears to have the camouflage pattern. One photo (N2) said to be of this time clearly shows the name Britannia stencilled on the front plate, however the crowd are wearing summer clothing (straw boaters etc) so that this dating has to be doubtful. Another photo (N1) also said to be taken at the time shows a tank without the name on the front plate. There is a New York policeman in the shot and the crowd appear more appropriately dressed for the date

 

Camp Upton, Yaphank  Long Island Dec 19th  - ? 1917

The tank ‘Britannia’ visited the training camp and spent some days there giving various demonstrations including knocking down trees etc. It also fired its Lewis Guns at various targets. A newspaper account also states that the tracks were fitted with spuds at some point. A foggy photo (U1) exists; no name is visible on the front plate. Contemporary accounts state that ‘Britannia’ had come directly from the Heroland Exposition. It may be of interest to note that one of those who would have viewed the demonstration was a Sergeant Irving Berlin whose musical Yip Yip Yaphank was to open on Broadway in 1918.

 

Camp Dix (Now Fort Dix) New Jersey Feb 1918

‘Britannia’ spent some time (2 weeks?) giving demonstrations. This event was probably organised by Col Dwight D Eisenhower. The first event was climbing six feet of perpendicular frozen ice and snow-covered sand-bank just north of the Hostess House, unfortunately the tank turned turtle. However on other days it broke trees and its finale was the demolishing of a wooden barn. It is tempting to wonder if this is the event shown in photo D1 although this looks more like a house than a barn and the sailor looks out of place. This tank has the camouflage pattern. Photo D2 shows the tank at a US army camp, possibly Fort Dix. This one has no camouflage.

 

Boston Mass 10th – 17th April 1918

As part of the Third Liberty Bond Drive a tank referred to variously as Britannia and Britannic gave a demonstration where it knocked down a number of 2 foot thick walls in “the old Technology buildings on Trinity Place”. See photo B1) This site is now occupied by part of MIT. Local newspapers suggested the tank had previously been touring in Canada. Captain Richard Haigh who supervised the wall crushing demonstration commanded this tank

 

Washington DC April 1918

President Wilson was photographed (W1) in the hatch of a tank as part of the Liberty Bonds drive.

 

Philadelphia April/May 1918

‘Britannia’ arrived late April and spent some time doing demos organised by the British and Canadian Recruitment Mission at Parkway. Richard Haigh MC commanded this tank shown in photo Ph1..

 Duluth Minnesota 17th June 1918

A British tank demolished a car as part of demonstration organised by the Canadian Army, probably under the auspices of the British and Canadian Recruitment Mission. This tank had Britannia stencilled on front plate and was camouflaged (Du1)

 

Detroit Michigan 19th – 26th? June 1918

A ‘Britannia’ tank was based in Cadillac Square and is recorded in a high school pupil’s diary. “As I passed Cadillac Square, I saw the British Tank "Britannia." This tank took part in the battles of the Armes and at the Marne. It certainly is some big clumsy thing. It arrived in the city last Wednesday and will remain here during the War Savings Stamp campaign. Next Sunday it is going to demolish three of the old houses around the M.C. Depot.”

 

San Francisco, California 7th – 21st July 1918

It was reported that “the famous tank ‘Britannia’, and its crew” took part in the Allied War Exposition, San Francisco. Unfortunately I can find no photo. It’s not known what was demolished or squashed at this event. Richard Haigh commanded the tank.

 Chicago 2nd - 15th Sept 1918

As part of the US War exposition a tank took part in a simulated attack across no mans land. An account in a letter runs-
” They had a regular ‘no mans land’ and a battle twice a day with the trenches and everything as near a battle field as possible. With Y.M.C.A. huts, dressing huts, wire fences (mines), charges, lots of shooting, bombs, two red cross dogs, carrier pigeons, and the greatest thing was the Tank Britannia which came lumbering across a big pile of wood and over the trenches when the U.S. boys were charging”

The tank took part in a parade down Michigan Ave. (Ch1)

 New York City 27th Sept 1918

Britannia took part in the Liberty Bond parade down 5th Ave. Both photos (N4 & N5) show the tank with armoured cars of the NY National Guard in the background. These cars are to be found in other photos of this event at which President Wilson was present. The tank has no name on the front plate or camouflage but carries a banner with Britannia on it.

 

Suisin California Oct 1918

A British tank was reported in the local press as having arrived by train from Napa

 

Toronto?

An account of Britannia visiting Toronto states that it crushed a car (automobile). There is a photo (C4) of a tank doing just this. It has been ascribed to both Chicago and New York but I can find no specific account of such car crushing event in either city so Toronto seems most likely (however so also see Duluth). By the dress of the crowd it looks like summer but which month or even year is unknown. It might be related to that photo of the tank with Britannia stencilled on the front sometimes said to be in New York (see above)

 

Buffalo?

There is a passing reference to a tank day in Buffalo but no other detail. Given the rail connections it would seem logical to assume that St Louis, Chicago and Buffalo would all be part of the same leg of a tour.

 

Pittsburgh?

There is a reference to a British tank having visited Pittsburgh

-- Edited by Centurion at 19:19, 2007-03-23

The D Bn. war diary shows Capt. R. Haigh of 11 Coy. being transferred to the Heavy Branch HQ on Aug. 5, 1917, prior to proceeding to the home establishment. At this time the battalion was encamped at La Lovie Chateau, with it's tankdrome at Oosthoek Wood near Ypres. The battalion went into action at Third Ypres on Aug. 21. I can't find any earlier mention of Capt. Haigh in the war diary. 
11 Coy. had been engaged at 1st Bullecourt on Apr. 11, 1917, and lost almost all of it's vehicles in that engagement. None of the accounts of that battle which I have read make reference to the names (if any) of the tanks, although their company and WD numbers are known, as are most of their commanders. A search of the London Gazette for Capt. Haigh's MC award was unrevealing, but there is a record of a Lt. R. Haigh MC (R. Berks.) being promoted to temporary captain on Apr. 12, 1917, along with some other tank officers. 

Here is that gazette reference
http://www.awm.gov.au/honours/honours/person.asp?p=MC0484

And yes the 'Britannia' Haigh was indeed William Richard (although I suppose there could be two of them).

Wel well well - it appears that there were indeed two William Richard Haighs and the gazette refence I showed was not related to the Britannia guy. A weird coincidence if they both won MCs. However I find it hard to believe that the British authorities would allow some one to go gallavanting all over the USA with a tank belonging to His Majesty and claiming a decoration to which he was not entitled!

Stephen Pope ("Delta") over on the Great War Forum has been researching the Bullecourt tanks, and has a copy of "Life in a Tank" - he may be able to answer some questions about Haigh.

Centurian,

Here's a photo from the US Library of Congress collection of a tank in Chicago in 1918.  http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?cdn:21:./temp/~ammem_aIIg::@@@mdb=eaa,magbell,rbpebib,cdn,coolbib,coplandbib,mfdipbib,papr,fine,fmuever,ngp,hurstonbib,alad,molden,mmorse,pan,presp,denn,fpnas,runyon,lhbtnbib,detr,lhbumbib,horyd,hawp,nfor,sgp,sgproto


and another http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?cdn:40:./temp/~ammem_aIIg::@@@mdb=eaa,magbell,rbpebib,cdn,coolbib,coplandbib,mfdipbib,papr,fine,fmuever,ngp,hurstonbib,alad,molden,mmorse,pan,presp,denn,fpnas,runyon,lhbtnbib,detr,lhbumbib,horyd,hawp,nfor,sgp,sgproto




and another
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?cdn:64:./temp/~ammem_aIIg::@@@mdb=eaa,magbell,rbpebib,cdn,coolbib,coplandbib,mfdipbib,papr,fine,fmuever,ngp,hurstonbib,alad,molden,mmorse,pan,presp,denn,fpnas,runyon,lhbtnbib,detr,lhbumbib,horyd,hawp,nfor,sgp,sgproto


MarkV

A big thanks to Mark V for an e-mail I've just had from him ( I'd have acknowledged it earlier but AOL dumped it in the spam folder and I've just found it. Its got a lot of corroborative info from newspapers of the time and dates, dates  dates. Given the times needed for transit these very strongly support the idea of at least two Britannias being around. I'll spend some time using this to update the material I've already posted. 

Two things I can point out already - the officer walking in front of Britannia down 5th Av New York is Richard Haigh and Britannia visited the city at least three times (and not always the same 'Britannia').

Centurion,

While searching for information on the Shattuck steam tank mentioned in another thread, I just stubled across another potential "Britannia" sighting. This time in Shattuck, Oklahoma on June 30, 1918. Take a look at the photo:



For some reason the hyperlink button is inactive in the forum editor so here is the address: http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ok/county/ellis/bouse/bouse2.html


Just for grins, here are some other images that show the tank "Baby Doll" in Minneapolis in July of 1919 from the Minnesota Historical Society's archives (http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/search.cfm?bhcp=1) :








MarkV

-- Edited by MarkV at 23:24, 2007-03-27

Mark V and Gwyn many thanks - Mark V I'd have said thanks for the Baby doll photos earlier but for some unaccountable reason although I've viewed the photo of the Shatuuk tank on your posting when you posted, the photos of Baby Doll have only just become visible - very odd I don't know if its the forum or my ISP
Gwyn - There was a section of Boston that until recently looked very like the photo you sent (I mean the faux Boston not the real one in Lincolnshire) so it certainly looks US. I'll try and blow up the photo tomorrow.

In the meantime I've just received a very good clear photo of Egbert Starboard side and part front. I shall check it against the various other shots before i comment further (and I'll give full credit to the guy who found it).

Hi guys- you were asking about Richard Haigh; I have doen a little work on him/
How can I help?

Stephen

There's a new photo of Britannia up for sale on eBay. It's item 270168077499 if anyone's interested. Ignore the seller's allegation the picture was taken in Germany, that's a figment of a fevered imagination!

(Incidentally, I have no interest in the sale, other than wishing the photo a good home.)

Gwyn

Gwyn, how do you find the clip using the clip number? I have tried using it as a search item but with no success.

Thanks for that Gwyn. I should have looked a bit harder.

Looking at the stills from the clip, I see three possibilities. T 51, T S1, or T 81. I looked at the preview in 1 second interval stills and I think that variations in the light is what causes the different appearances, at least to my eyes. If you want my best guess I'd go for T 81 but it is only a guess. There is also the possibility of a further number just barely visible (to me anyway) in the still at the 24 second point.

I used the stills provided by British Pathe. I've attached the relevant stills here.

A "4" would be more likely than an "A" if it's a serial. If it is 451 I would expect another number either before or after.

Gwyn

Gwyn Evans wrote:

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Centurion,

Wondered if you'd come across film 1878.07 on the British Pathe website? It shows a Mark IV in the Liberty Bond rally. The site is www.britishpathe.com

I think there may be a serial number painted on the rear of the tank in a very unusual position near the radiator. Can anyone confirm this, or read it?

Gwyn

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Gwyn - somehow I missed this first time round. Do you have anything that dates the shots. Are they specifically labeled Liberty Bond Rally? I have identified a number of shots of the tank in the Liberty bond rally (by matching the contents of the photos with the NYT description of the rally) and in all of these there are two flag staffs (one for the Union Flag and one for the Stars and Stripes both attached to the cab not the rear of the tank. I've also found(in a Guternberg project book) a still photo that represents the end of the sequence with the crew lined up by the tank. I had thought that it might be the September 1918 parade in NY that President Wilson took part in but evidence in thse photos suggests that this might not be the case. I have wondered if it might not be NY at all but one of the Canadian visits (this would explain why the Union Flag was being flown without the Stars and Stripes). It would be interesting if it were the Toronto visit as they would be lining up to be inspected by Teddy Rooseveldt

The clip of the Liberty parade appears to contain sections of film of at least two different parades. The last sequence of the tank section does show Britannia in the New York Liberty Parade of Oct 1917. Its Lewis guns are mounted and the two front flag staffs and the banner on the tank top (along with the frame work holding it up) can be seen. These are missing in the first sequence of frames which I think are from some time in early 1918. In addition the Lewis guns are not mounted and one can just get a glimpse the bar behind the fuel tank that I mentioned in another thread. This would place it as  sometime in March 1918 a month in which Britannia made several excursions in New York. Its definitely Britannia as some of the same crew appear in later photos.

Now the 2nd and 3rd clips. Is there any reason for the asumption that they are taken in Vancouver? Its clearly winter so it couldn't be a side trip from the West coast visit (although there is enough unaccounted for time to make that possible) and in any case the tank is uncamouflaged and does not have Britannia on the front plate.  There is simply not enough unaccounted time in Jan, Feb or March to get to Vancouver and back by rail.
 
Has anyone noticed that in both clips the man in the hull hatch has a cine camera? (I wonder what happened to that film). I had wondered if it might be Montreal as the architecture looks similar to some of those in some of the Monteal photos (but it could be almost any North East seaboard city or town. Not likely to be Toronto as the car crushed is different.

Car may not help as American cars sold in Britain (and vice versa) but Captain Haigh and Sergeant Burnside (no 2 in the crew) appear in the clip which makes it very likely that its Britannia in North America