2017 Battlefield Tour Page 22

The tank memorial at Pozieres. On 15 September 1916 tanks were used on the battlefield for the first time in the Battle of Flers Courcelette. From this spot, three tanks were to set off to support the New Zealand Div in their attack on a German strongpoint known as the sugar factory near the village of Courcelette. In the event only one tank made the start line and set off, one threw a track and the other ditched....One of the miniature tanks on the obelisk has battle damage from WW2. In Sept 1944 a P51 Mustang strafed a German convoy passing the memorial on its retreat from Normandy. A 50 cal round passed through one of the tanks, a Type Medium A Whippet. The Tank Corps hadn't come into existence yet. The tank crews belonged to the Heavy Branch Machine Gun Corps.

Graham Taylor