Westbury Town Council’s Great War working group will be marking the 100th anniversary of the first use of tanks in modern warfare with events during June.
Tanks made their debut at the Battle of Messines from 7th-14th June 1917 and the Council will be holding two events to mark the centenary.
There will be a talk at The Laverton entitled ‘The first tanks: Britain’s secret weapon’ given by local historian Lt Col Andrew Field MBE. During the talk he will cover the effects of tanks and how tactics used against the enemy changed following their introduction.
The talk on Friday 9th June is free as is parking, which is opposite The Laverton. Doors open at 7pm and the talk will start at 7.30pm (pay bar available).
The second event is a series of WW1 related displays near Soisy Gardens (next to the Library) which will take place on Saturday 10th June from 10am – 3pm. The highlight of this event will be a scaled working model of a WW1 Foster tank, which will be put through its paces by owner Ian Douglas. There will also be very realistic representations of a WW1 trench and casualty treatment unit as well as other memorabilia. At the same time, children will have the chance to make their own model tank at a craft session in All Saints Church Hall (just behind the library) with the prize of a family ticket to the Tank Museum at Bovington, Dorset for the best entry. All children accompanied by an adult. Both events are free.
