This 1920 memoir was written by Maj. W.H.L. Watson (D.S.O., D.C.M.) who joined the HBMGC in December 1916, and was posted to the command of 11 Co., D Bn. He led the company in their costly attack at 1st Bullecourt in April 1917, and subsequently was in action with them at 2nd Bullecourt, 3rd Ypres and Cambrai. He returned to Bovington in early 1918 to raise a company of supply tanks, which he later led at Amiens, the Hindenburg Line and Le Cateau. The book is a trove of details and anecdotes about the Tank Corps in the Great War. It has never been reprinted and has been difficult to obtain, although his preceding Great War memoir "Adventures of a Despatch Rider" is available as an e-book. I was able to obtain a copy of "A Company of Tanks" from the Canadian War Museum library and, since the book is a rarity and out of copyright, I've made a copy as a pdf file. Those forum members who would be interested in a copy for non-commercial research purposes, free of charge (insert standarddisclaimershere ) should contact me via e-mail.
In order to help ease eyestrain from reading the original, I have typed up "A Company of Tanks" in an A4 format. It will also print out just fine in A5 or two pages to a sheet on A4. The page numbers are not the same as the original but the single internal cross-reference has been altered to take this into account. Many thanks to Rhomboid for providing scans of the maps.
Thanks Peter, Unfortunately, there are still a few typing errors to be weeded out. It's amazing how you can't spot them when looking at a computer screen but they jump out at you when you read them on paper. These errors are small but irritating; however they should not greatly affect the book. I'll repost when I've eliminated them all. As a typist, I make a great train driver.
Hi Finally finished , but i think Im going to read it again this time taking notes! the biggest problem seemed to be keeping the tanks operational.....Thanks for a great read..
Also many thanks from to Rhomboid and Mark for the chance to get on the book this way. Will dash tomorrow for a big cartridge to print out the saved download. Just overflowing the text i must say very very interesting material.
sincerely Gerd
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Steel can be helpful - you have only to bring it into the "right form "
Finally, as far as I can tell, all the typo's have been corrected. If anybody finds a typo I have missed, please let me know. There are some unusual/old-fashioned spellings (waggons instead of wagons) in there but I have left these in except for one misspelling in Chapter 6, page 90 of the original (Chapter 6, page 43 of this copy) workships. The text makes it clear that the word should be workshops.
I'd certainly have had a clip round the ear (very non PC) or even worse a scathing remark from my old English master one "Basher Urwin" (better known as Dr. Urwin chief examiner in English for one of the GCE boards, a visiting prof at Manchester University and an 8th Army veteran) if I'd spelt waggon with one g. "Who do you think you are Robinson, some sort of colonial?" he would have said (he was very definitely non PC). But today I guess we all follow imperial American standards. Quibbling apart - you've done a great job Mark, many thanks
I'd certainly have had a clip round the ear (very non PC) or even worse a scathing remark from my old English master one "Basher Urwin" (better known as Dr. Urwin chief examiner in English for one of the GCE boards, a visiting prof at Manchester University and an 8th Army veteran) if I'd spelt waggon with one g. "Who do you think you are Robinson, some sort of colonial?" he would have said (he was very definitely non PC). But today I guess we all follow imperial American standards. Quibbling apart - you've done a great job Mark, many thanks
Ah yes... the perennial problem of being nations divided by a common language! I think that this is the English language's greatest blessing and curse, its omnivorous appetite for adopting, and adapting, words from wherever it pleases and spellings that please some of the people all of the time or all of the people some of the time.