Guy Martin WW1 MKIV Tank build

[Phil Woollard]

Channel 4, 8 o'clock this Sunday for those with a long memory Should be good as he's constructing one. I wonder if Mr Abbott is involved as I believe he has already built one.

[Dennis Jones]

The Mark 1V Vince Abbott built for the film War Horse is now owned by Bovvy Museum. There is a video on Utube somewhere showing the build.

Dennis.

[Adrian Harris]

So, what did people think ?

Adrian.

[Kevin Hunter]

Personally, I enjoyed it, but I am a bit of a Guy Martin fan. That said, I thought there was a good balance of historical info and some great archive film in addition to the build itself, making it a bit more than just another GM self indulgence. To me, the build seemed pretty accurate and certainly gave a good insight into how cumbersome/difficult to drive these beasts were.

The 6 million dollar question (topical on the forum again at the moment) might be what colour paint did they use? I may have to email him and ask

Still hoping to have my Mk IV (4066 "A1") finished for the centenary of Villers Bretonneux next April......

Kevin

[Steve Stuart]

I think I may have to follow the plug and go to the Norfolk Tank Museum to check it out in the spring!
Steve

[simon_manning]

another reminder of how a population get suckered in by the people at the top not doing their job correctly and committing the masses to another futile war, with a relative at that, regards simon

[Paul Wills]

another reminder of how a population get suckered in by the people at the top not doing their job correctly and committing the masses to another futile war, with a relative at that, regards simon

Futile, you would have been locked up or even shot as a dissident insurrectionist for saying that 100 years ago Simon.

Paul.

[John Clarke]

another reminder of how a population get suckered in by the people at the top not doing their job correctly and committing the masses to another futile war, with a relative at that, regards simon

Quoting, never done the quote bit before. works well

War, and every thing that comes with it, is the worst trait of humanity, though without it this forum wouldn't exist would it.

No Tigers No Panthers and no Famo either for that matter.

Still without war, I'm sure we'd still be building exciting models though, like ermm, farm yard machinery, tractors or a working combine harvester.

I did enjoy the Guy Martin program especially the bearing bit, thought it looked tad under engineered, That cast bearing housing was never going last long, especially as it was designed for a conveyor not a 30 ton tank. Nice recovery though.

[Adrian Harris]

Still without war, I'm sure we'd still be building exciting models though, like ermm, farm yard machinery, tractors or a working combine harvester.

It's an interesting question as to where we would be without the accelerated mechanisation and industrial growth caused by the two 'World' wars.

I also wonder where we would be as society without the massive changes to the social order caused by the WW1. Probably wouldn't have a female Prime Minister for a start

Interesting to see the rebuttal on Facebook, whereby TPTB have given their case that they simply asked the production company to put more thought into the tank and its use in the parade, the affect it would have on crowd numbers etc, and the production company shifted the filming to France, without actually having been banned from Lincoln.

Adrian.

[Stephen White]

Your last bit is very true Adrian. As I read it, the Police via the "Lincoln Safety Advisory Group" made additional recommendations for safety measures and the production company decided to go elsewhere. "The event was not refused but further work was suggested to ensure safety". All perfectly reasonable.

The Chief Supt quoted makes a very telling additional point: " We were also minded that the event is a sombre event and that we should respect the occasion......and that the entertainment of the tank (and by implication Guy Martin) did not distract from the importance of remembrance". In the final part of the statement, the Police go on to say that relocating to France would allow (the production company) to "meet all the programme's criteria, which was to recognise the brave people involved with the tank invention, construction and use and also to produce an entertainment programme". (My emphasis but the Lincoln Police's dodgy grammar).

My own view? I don't doubt Guy Martin's personal motives for one moment but the production company is in the business of selling entertainment. I think there was a real risk of grandstanding or turning Remembrance into a spectacle, which doesn't sit comfortably with the underlying purpose. In the end, I thought that taking the replica to France was fitting, very moving and very personal, no crowds, no spectacle, just a way of envisaging more of what went on. I've spoken to a few of my Royal Tank Regiment colleagues and I think that pretty much sums up the reaction. Interesting that last Sunday, when the RTR marched past the Cenotaph in London, the Tank Museum replica Mk IV was present.

Like him or loath him, Marmite man Martin was summed up beautifully by the RTR Subaltern, he'd have to smarten himself up and get those sideburns off (to be a soldier). Grubby bugger but a great engineer and rider, who gets stuck in and has his heart in the right place.

As for the dodgy bearing, well, timing, budgets and the need to create a crisis all added to the drama and really made the point about how good the original designs were, cutting edge technology for the time.

Incidentally, there are a lot of photos of the Cambrai battlefield tour on the RTR FB pages:

https://mtouch.facebook.com/RoyalTankRegt/

Fear Naught

Stephen

[Adrian Harris]

Interesting to see the TM Mark IV is sitting on sheets of wood to protect the ground.

Guy's tank seemed to make quite a mess of the ground wherever it went, so they would have needed to board out the whole procession route.

Adrian.

[John Clarke]

I also wonder where we would be as society without the massive changes to the social order caused by the WW1. Probably wouldn't have a female Prime Minister for a start

The future without previous wars may have been very similar, just skewed time line, our Prime Minister would most likely be called Angela Merkel, we'd all be part of the German federation with the rest of Europe, we'd be fluent in talking German, A VW on every drive and the roads (sorry autobahns) would be pot hole free.

Suppose it doesn't sound so bad, except there'd still be no Armortek site.

Talking of roads, Guy Martins next show takes on Autonomous cars, a subject close to my heart.
What a load of tosh. almost as daft as America's Star-wars program, not the one with Darth Vader, the inter-ballistic missile screen. Sounds more like a black hole to loose some public cash to me. I'd love to meet the dimwits who come up with these ideas. I'm sure they fail to think about all the problems that cannot be resolved or achieved without taking away free will from the masses.

Consider, driving in driver less car, feeling like your stuck in and behind perpetual learner drivers. how would it deal with: push/motor bikes, pot holes, raised drain covers, traffic coming the other way, overtaking, diversions and my favorite.
What does an Autonomous car do when a member of the public steps out in front of it? take avoiding action, risking itself and passengers, or wipe out the pedestrian?
Either way quoting from the "Terminator", it's is out there! It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop.."Costing money". ever . I added the costing money.