The First Tank Crews - Commenorating Flers-Courcelette

[Stephen White]

On 15th Sep 1916, the first tanks went into action between the villages of Flers and Courcelette. Exactly 100 years later, I joined a party of relatives of the first "tankies" and the Exiles of Fourth Royal Tank Regiment, to commemorate the crews, their fallen and study their actions on the battlefields. We were joined in France by serving soldiers of the Royal Tank Regiment and French officials and Ancien Combattants.

Thanks to exhaustive research by Lt Col Stephen Pope, we now know the names of every crewman manning the 49 tanks that went into action that day. If you want to read about them and what they did, his book is well worth getting:

http://www.helion.co.uk/published-by-he ... -1916.html

Stephen's website is here:

http://www.firsttankcrews.com/

We commemorated the battles, we remembered the fallen at their graves and we studied the battles on the ground. It was unique and quite memorable, particularly in the company of the relatives. What follows is a short set of impressions.

Remembrance:

Wreaths and individual crosses at the gravesides:

Serjeant Robert Pebody:

Serjeant Pebody died of wounds on 16th September, when his tank, D14, was hit by artillery between Flers and Guedecourt, the furthest penetration achieved. D14 had taken part in the capture of Flers the previous day.He had dismounted with his driver, Pte Laurence Upton, to work out how best to cross the next trench system. Those inside the tank were killed immediately and have no known grave. Pebody and Upton were mortally wounded and are buried in the Australian Imperial Force burial ground near the site of D14's demise. We will remember them.

Laying the Field of Remembrance at the Tank Corps Memorial at Pozieres:

Commemoration, with the French and the serving Royal Tank Regiment:

Flers ceremony:

Battlefield tour:

Stephen Pope narrates the battle, Pozieres:

The centre of Flers:

I found this text very moving (and very Australian):

Field of Remembrance to the 7000 Australians killed liberating the village of Pozieres. Of the 7000 killed, 4,112 were never identified and have no known grave. The crosses represent the rising sun on the Australian cap badge and the long axis points to the Memorial at Thiepval to those without a grave:

Tank Corps memorial at Pozieres:

Example of the ground over which the tanks advanced, from the Windmill Site, Pozieres, looking NW towards Courcelette:

From the German perspective, looking SW from Martinpuich towards the ridge from which D20 successfully supported the infantry into the village:

And finally, a short video clip taken at the Heilly Station Cemetary. Heilly was the main Casualty Dressing Station for the tank crews. Those who survived were evacuated to Boulogne by train from the station. Those who did not are buried here:



Fear Naught

Stephen

[Kevin Hunter]

I suspect this was a very moving few days you spent in France.
Thanks for posting the photos
We will remember them...

Kevin

[Chris Hall]

I've been there many times, but never for an occasion like this .....

I've always wondered why the Tank Corps Memorial features bronze models of a Mark IV, a Mark V, a Whippet and a Gun Carrier, but not a Mark I ? It's also interesting to note that some of the models show bullet marks, allegedly from trigger-happy Germans in 1940, despite Hitler ordering that the WW1 memorials be left untouched.

And the memorial is surrounded by tank drive chains supported by 6pdr gun barrels. Always worth a visit if you're passing.

Thanks, Stephen !

All the best,

Chris

[Michael Cecil]

Chris,

An interesting spot along 'the Roman road', just across the pavement from the Windmill site.

One confronting WW1 memorial was removed by the Germans in 1940: the bronze on the 2nd Australian Division memorial at Mont St Quentin which showed a Digger driving his bayonet through a prostrate German Eagle. Probably reasonable in the circumstances!

An image of the original memorial can be seen here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Sain ... r_memorial

Mike

[Graham Hough]

If you are ever near Delville Wood, Somme and stand on the road half way between the east side of Delville Wood and Ginchy this is where D1 Capt. H.w.Mortimore's tank crossed the road in one of the first actions of the first ever tank battle on the 15th September 1916 in the attack on Flers.

As to the bullet damage on the model tanks at Pozieres I was told that they were damaged in action during WW2. Apparently the Germans sited a 88mm gun near the memorial to cover the exit from Pozieres, they destroyed the lead Sherman coming out of the village thus blocking the road. A carrier crew squeezed past the damaged Sherman and noticed that the 88mm gun was jammed and whilst its crew were trying to repair it, the carrier raced up the road and wiped out the gun crew with its Bren and in doing so also damaged the monument.

[Stephen White]

Graham, this is an account of that action based on Stephen Pope's excellent book. Harold Mortimore's daughter, Tilly, was with us on the day.

© Stephen Pope, The First Tank Crews. Helion. ISBN 978-1-910777-77-0

Regards

Stephen

[Graham Hough]

Thank you Stephen. Very interesting account. I also recommend Trevor Pidgeon's 'The Tanks at Flers'.

[Stephen White]

Thanks Graham. It was published in 1995 and is now out of print. It commands very high prices on the second hand market (the cheapest I could find was £95). The good news is that Helion, who publish Stephen Pope's book, are also reprinting Pigeon's book. It is due to be published on 15th Oct at £31.50. I might get a copy.

I'd always regarded the first use of tanks at Flers as premature and not hugely successful. The accepted wisdom was that the ground was unsuitable, the crews lacked training and the premature use compromised Cambrai the following year.

The RTR celebrates Cambrai as our Regimental day and so I suppose Flers was always sidelined. Having now seen the battlefield and studied the battle, I'm inclined to revise my views in all respects. The more I read, the more I think the pioneers were worthy of the greatest respect. They were undoubtedly successful. I'm glad that we've now commemorated their efforts and sacrifice in a fitting way.

Stephen

[Chris Hall]

I wouldn't revise your opinions too much, Stephen - the crews were undertrained, the supporting infantry were largely unaware of the tanks purpose (or even existence), and the ground (especially High and Delville Woods) was dire. But the secret couldn't have been kept much longer - security was dire, too.

But all this takes absolutely nothing away from the courage of the crews, and the level of their achievement. And the lessons learnt (tactics, co-operation with other arms, shortening the 6pdr barrels so they didn't stick in the mud, losing the useless tail wheels) led to the improved Mark IV and the even better Mark V.

So Cambrai (which was also a failure in some respects) could not have happened without Flers-Courcelette, Arras, Messines and 3rd Ypres. "The longest journey starts with a single step".

I'm glad to own an original copy of Trevor Pidgeon's book (both volumes). Didn't realise it was so valuable ! Would you like me to bring them to TankMod for you to have a look at, or even borrow ?

All the best,

Chris