Landships II

Citizens! Finally got round to writing up on Bovington. Some of this will be old news, because the £16million refit was completed nearly 4 years ago. Anyone who lives within easy reach of the place will wonder what all the fuss is about, but it's a question of time and a 500 mile round trip for me, so I can't get there anywhere near as often as I'd like, and I haven't been since the refurb. And, of course, some landshippers live  much further away than that, so this might be of use to them.

I'm just enclosing my observations. What should be done with them, I don't know. Apart from updating the article on the main site, which seems obvious, I'm open to suggestions as to what use any of this might be put.

As I said the other day, the news is almost exclusively good. The building has been transformed, and the exterior is very impressive. I shan't go into a lot of detail, because the photos speak for themselves, but, as you'll see from the maps, the building has been greatly extended on one side, and the facade has been transformed. The extension houses a new exhibition hall and a huge cafe. The drawing shows how the new part keys into the old, creating an upper floor that opens direct onto the display ground. From what I remember of the old cafe, it was probably overwhelmed on busy days, so the new one will accommodate many more people on big occasions. In mid-Jan there were, I think, six of us - two of them museum staff having a meeting. But the overall effect is great. My good lady is a big fan of the upper floor.

From a Landships point of view, there have been some additions and alterations. The way into the Great War area is unchanged, following the route taken by troops, via the recruiting office, the troop train, and a French village, to the trenches.Then you emerge into the repro German trench under the bows of the "Mk I" as it makes the first tank attack in history.

This is where the first changes from the old layout are noticeable. Little Willie is no longer in this section. He/she has been moved to a display in the new exhibition hall, along with the Mk II, the Whippet, and the Renault FT, and some of the other vehicles have been moved around a little.

The Hornsby Tractor is still there. The removal of the three vehicles means that the Mk IV has been moved closer, followed by the Mk V. The Mk VIII, Mk IX, and Mk V** remain pretty much where they were, IIRC. But the extra space allows two new exhibits: the Peerless armoured car has been brought in from the adjoining hall, and a brand new addition is the replica Mk IV that featured in the film "War Horse."

A bonus is that that you're no longer restricted to viewing the interior of the (real) Mk IV through the sponson door. You can now get aboard and seat yourself inside while from the commander's seat a guide delivers a potted history. This seems to have been introduced quite some time ago. There was only one "Mk IV Experience" scheduled for that day; I don't know whether they're more frequent at busier times. One thing that did concern me slightly is that you have to clamber over the starting handle, grab hold of various things to steady yourself, and sit on the engine frame or inside the sponson. I wonder how much wear and tear will be inflicted if the tours are very frequent.

And parked just round the corner (in the Interwar area, I assume for reasons of space) is the newly-purchased replica A7V. You might recall that Bob Grundy, who built it, told us that it requires a controlled atmosphere. Well, it's under cover. Whether there are any plans to protect it further, don't know. But it is a pleasant sensation to be in its presence.

The Mk V** and Mk IX can still be entered, and the Mk VIII doesn't seem to have moved at all. Minor point of interest: in the Mk V** a recorded commentary is played at intervals. In a rather inconsistent Cockney accent the narrator plays the role of a tanker and describes life inside a Tank. During the talk he states that "more men died of carbon mononoxide poisoning than through enemy action." IIRC, in our discussion of this oft-repeated claim we discovered that there was not one recorded case of fatal CO poisoning. I wonder if this is the origin of the belief? The chap who delivered the talk inside the Mk IV also referred to it, but said it was "probably a bit of a myth" or words to that effect.

As is mentioned in previous posts, the showcases have been changed around a bit (see photos), but the diorama of Cambrai is still there, as are the sponson trailer, 7.7cm Fk, 6pdr, and a lot of other minor but interesting items. There's also now a small reference to Tanks in the Middle East, with a Wolseley helmet that might interest PDA. I think I'm right in saying that the observation platform, from which you could overlook the whole of the WWI hall, has gone. Yes, it must have done, or I'm sure I would have got a photo.

I must say that the staff were amazingly helpful. I'm especially grateful to the gent who arranged for the models to be brought out of the archive. The guides, who are all volunteers, I gather, were most friendly and chatty. Quite a few recent ex-servicemen amongst the ones we met. However, this was on a cold, wet day in January, and we had the place almost to ourselves; at one point we were outnumbered 3 to 2 by guides, having a splendid chat. Whether they can keep that up during the tourist season, I can't say.

Now to the exhibition in the new, big hall. It's called "The Tank Story," and is a kind of fast-track history of the Tank from 1915 to the present day. Thus we have Little Willie (now on a gently revolving podium), the Mk II, the Whippet, and the Renault FT. The Mk II still has its l/h sponson removed so you can see inside, and the gearsman figure has been arranged in a more realistic pose. My only mild criticism is that I was explaining to my very patient and understanding spouse how small the entry/exit door is, but found that a showcase has been sited right next to the r/h sponson, so the door can't be seen.

The Whippet is as you would expect. One observation: we had a discussion a little while ago about whether the crew would stand, crouch, or sit when manning the guns. Having seen the vehicle at close quarters, and knowing what I was looking for, I'm confident that they would have to be seated. The fighting compartment is so low, and the gun mounts sited at such a height that no-one could crouch for any length of time. Obviously, being allowed to clamber on it and try was out of the question.

Now we come to the only real snag. A while ago, the sign describing the Renault was changed from FT-17 to just FT. This was a major step forward, and came in very useful when arguing with some of the more tiresome contributors to Wikipedia. Alas, it has been changed again, presumably at the time of the refurb. Not only is it once again described as the FT-17, but the accompanying history is historically very dodgy. The description on the Museum website contains the same dubious info.  I find this very surprising, and can't help but wonder how such basic errors were allowed to find their way in.

You will also notice that it now has a startling black and red colour scheme. I assume that this is connected with conservation, and not a respray in Manchester City's away colours, with a hint of Sky Blue, in honour of our visit.

So that's it. I've got a lot of photos that I'm happy to share, and, of course, now realise that I should have taken a lot more. We could only spare 6 hours or so, whereas two days might have been more appropriate. I've now thought of lots more things I should have asked, made a note of, investigated, or photographed. If there's anything anyone would like to see, if you want to ask a question, argue with me, or add anything, please feel free. All communications welcome. More photos to follow.