In the "Camouflage an markings" article http://www.landships.info/landships/tank_articles.html# written:
Trevor Pidgeon has noted that a well-known photograph of a Mk.I, usually captioned as going into action at Flers- Courcellette, must have been actually taken at Elveden.6 If this is the case, it may be the only known photograph of camouflaged Mk.I taken before the tanks were sent to France, and shows a camouflage pattern similar to Solomon’s scheme as seen on Mother..
However, today I saw a new for me picture. In the annotations to the picture indicated that it was published in the Mirror magazine in Sept. 1916 together with well known C5 Creme the Menthe picture.
It seems to me that it is depicted on the same tank, and this image has already been done in France.
Aaaaaah! I knew I'd seen the bottom picture. I mentioned it a few months ago. I knew I'd seen it, but couldn't remember where or what I'd done with the image. Can't understand why I didn't save it. Anyway, it's here.
Hang on, though. Photos of a British tank, published in a French magazine on September 10th? That's fishy.
-- Edited by James H on Wednesday 21st of December 2016 03:22:10 PM
__________________
"Sometimes things that are not true are included in Wikipedia. While at first glance that may appear like a very great problem for Wikipedia, in reality is it not. In fact, it's a good thing." - Wikipedia.
Why would there be photos of the tanks in a French magazine 5 days before they went into action and before the British press had any?
__________________
"Sometimes things that are not true are included in Wikipedia. While at first glance that may appear like a very great problem for Wikipedia, in reality is it not. In fact, it's a good thing." - Wikipedia.
The first public display of a tank photograph was in the Daily Mirror on Nov. 22, 1916. It was Ivor Castle's photo of C5 taken near Courcelette on Sept. 15.
The photo of the tank with the unusual wire roof is often captioned as one of the first tanks going into action on Sept. 15, 1916. Trevor Pidgeon was doubtful about this, noting that the tanks made their approach at night through a back area congested with troops, waggons and guns. He also notes that the wire roof is not typical of the kind seen on tanks during the Somme battle, and speculated that it might have been used for the tank radio experiments which took place at the tank training ground in Norfolk. To my eye, the open country in the background of the photo looks more like the Somme than the more wooded country of the Elveden estate where the training ground was located. (Those who are interested can reference the Elveden tank training area thread on the Great War Forum, which features a number of photos of the locale.)
Since I wrote the Solomon article, another photo of a camouflaged tank at Elveden has emerged.
"Sometimes things that are not true are included in Wikipedia. While at first glance that may appear like a very great problem for Wikipedia, in reality is it not. In fact, it's a good thing." - Wikipedia.
