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  • Churchills

    Hello,

    Perhaps members will be interested in the story of the Churchill that is now a Gatekeeper at Dunmore Park. See: http://www.nih.ww2site.com/nih/Articles/17-4-2.html

    The photograph of the Churchill, posted in the Forum, is of a Mark IV with the long-barrelled Mark V 6-pdr gun. One of her sisters knocked out a Tiger, the first by another tank and, in Italy, Churchills were the first tanks of the Western Allies to knock-out Panthers - two of them.

    With best wishes to you all,

    Gerry Chester

  • #2
    Great pics Gerry!

    Thanks for posting them.

    Kinda crazy/sad that the tank was buried in the first place - but then again at least it survived in one piece and has been now been well restored.
    Well done to all involved in her restoration - a top job !
    IRISH AIR CORPS - Serving the Nation.

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    • #3
      Here's a pretty good site with some very detailed pictures of an impressive restoration project.

      Last edited by yooklid; 3 December 2005, 22:51.
      Meh.

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      • #4
        Very nice restoration project and a very good result. ty for answering the mystery of what happened to the buried and then dug up tank. I sometimes drove down to the Glen of Imaal of an evening to have a calm look out over the range from Leitrim Wood gun position. One day I noticed the disturbed earth where I knew that an Churchill was buried and wondered why or who had dug it up.

        Here is the story of the tank as we knew it. Someone some where decided that the tanks were doing damage to the roads on the way up to the firing point which was Leitrim Wood at the time Gr ref 981/945 glen map 1:25000. So they had the bright idea of parking the Churcill at the entrance to the gun position without its main armament and of only bringing up the gun when it was needed to fire.
        Well that was the opinion of the billet experts and so it must be true. the other idea was that it was waiting to be towed up onto the anti tank range when the one up there was reduced to metal rubble at that time the old Ford armoured cars were being used as targets too. ( When falling plates competitions came into fashion we mingied steel from these wreaks to make our own set of plates as the first ones we made out of mild steel just stood there when hit as the .303 rounds went through them like butter)
        Anyway the tank was there for years and several of the unwary when laying out their Field battery in that position put their directors too close to the tank with predictable results on their orientation and fixation of the guns.
        The tank became a tourist attraction for the trippers and I have even here in the bush of NSW pic of my unit ppl crowded on it. true to the image of the avoidance of blame , some officer decided that it should be buried in case blame would attach to him , and so it was buried in situ but we all knew that it was there and as the years went on some one somewhere thought that like Lazerus it should rise again and be born again.
        The lesson here is not very obvious but is very valuable if you can work it out.


        Be very careful of anyone who is not in a line unit.
        If they ask you anything give them an evasive answer.
        ( for those who might be confused just tell them to " F*** O**")
        For they may send you to your death, bury you and later on dig you up again and place you in some ceremonial place and bless you every year and drink copious amounts of beer in your name.
        Never think those who dump arms will forget where they did so/ if they did so.
        Drink copious amounts of beer yourselves at every opportunity as tomorrow may see the sudden appearance of forgotten beer drinkers and Fenton's/Bob Allen's may run out.

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