Collection: The Tank Museum

Collection-level records:

• Collection overview (Cornucopia)

  Arms and Armour Collection

  The museum maintains the finest collection of tanks in the world, which is the main strength of the museum and the collection for which the museum received Designation. There is a firearms collection of some 400 items. It includes a silver-plated Webley revolver carried by Oliver Locker-Lampson MP when he commanded British armoured cars in Russia in 1917. There is also a rare armoured version of the gas-operated Vickers machine gun, c.1942, and an almost definitive range of tank-mounted machine guns. The tank collection ranges from the first tank ever built, ‘Little Willy’, an experimental vehicle built in 1915, to an unparalleled range of recent armoured vehicles from all over the world. There are ten tanks surviving from the First World War, two of which are maintained in running order. This group includes one French and four British tanks which are the sole surviving examples of their type. Notable in the collection are the Rolls Royce armoured car and the Humber Scout Car, both of which have important histories. The vehicles from the D-Day landing are also important: a swimming Sherman tank; an airborne Tetrarch light tank, displays inside part of a Hamilcar Glider; a mine-clearing Flail tank; and the amphibious DUKW and Buffalo tanks. There is also a Churchill Crocodile tank. There is a British Centurion tank, the post-War design which combined the qualities of mobility, firepower and protection, the three essentials in tank design. The 105mm gun carried by Centurion became the NATO standard for the next 20 years. There is also the Challenger Mk I, which equipped the Armoured Corps in the Gulf War of 1991. Foreign tanks are well represented, particularly those of American and Russia, including: Russian T34, Panther (Panzer Mk V) and T72 tanks. There is also a selection of Iraqi vehicles captured during the Gulf War.

  Subjects

  Armour; Weapons and War; Weapons; Armoured vehicles; Army; Arms and Armour; Transport; Military transport (land); Service (military); Life in wartime

  Medals Collection

  The First World War selection includes two Victoria Crosses awarded to officers of the Tank Corps. Both medal groups held with citation and the portrait of the recipient. The medals of Lt W Hayward (Tank Corps) include both a Military Cross and a Military Medal and represent a most unusual group. The Second World War medal groups are also impressive and the museum displays one of the two Victoria Crosses awarded to members of the Tank Corps. This was awarded to Lt Col H R B Foote for his outstanding courage whilst in command of the 7th Royal Tank Regiment at the Battle of Gazala in 1942. Equally unique are the award of a Military Medal with three Bars to Sgt F Kite for bravery throughout the Second World War, and the United States Bronze Star presented to WO2 J Norman for helping American prisoners of war to escape. Post-1945 awards include several from Korea, Aden and Northern Ireland, and United Nations medals awarded to WO2 S C Eaton RTR for his service the Yeoman of the Guard: this award is a personal gift from the Queen. Foreign awards include the Order of the Rising Sun (Japan); the Order of the Striped Tiger (China); and the Order of St Maurice and St Lazarus (Italy). The medal collection reflects awards to members of the Royal Armoured Corps and its predecessors. Spanning the period from the First World War to the present, the collection has 550 medal groups to both officers and soldiers; campaign and gallantry medals; two remarkable family groups; and several foreign awards. It is a strength of the museum.

  Subjects

  Coins and Medals; Weapons and War; Army; Service (military); Medals

  Costume and Textile Collection

  The uniform collection comprises clothing worn by all ranks in the Cavalry and Royal Tank Regiment from the First World War to the present day. The collection includes examples of the First World War tank crew leather helmets and chain mail masks, reflecting the harsh conditions inside early tanks. A large collection of Nazi insignia and accoutrements is on loan to the museum from a former Royal Tank Regiment member.

  Subjects

  Weapons and War; Costume (uniform/regalia); Army; Costume and Textile; Costume (workwear); Service (military); Life in wartime

  Source: Cornucopia

  Date: Not known, but before 2015

  Licence: CC BY-NC