Tank Banks was the name given to a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

fund raising campaign by the

British Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

. Six Mark IV male tanks toured the towns and cities of England, Scotland and Wales, the primary purpose of the campaign was to promote the sale of government War Bonds and War Savings Certificates.

History

In November 1917 two tanks took part in London's

Lord Mayor's Show The Lord Mayor's Show is one of the best-known annual events in London as well as one of the longest-established, dating back to the 13th century. A new lord mayor is appointed every year, and the public parade that takes place as his or her in ...

. The recent successful participation of the tank in the Battle of Cambrai had fired the public imagination: their appearance in the show proved very popular with the spectators who were fascinated by this new "wonder weapon". The

National War Savings Committee The National Savings Movement was a British mass savings movement that operated between 1916 and 1978 and was used to finance the deficit of government spending over tax revenues. The movement was instrumental during World War II in raising f ...

decided to capitalize upon this fascination and use the tank to sell War Bonds and War Saving Certificates. On November 26, 1917, battle scarred Tank 141 "Egbert" was brought over from France and put on display in

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...

.www.bbc.co.uk
/ref> The campaign was soon extended to the whole of the country, the touring tanks would spend a week in a town or city with two young ladies selling war bonds from a table set up inside the tank. A competitive spirit was engendered between the visited locations; the town or city that invested the most

per capita ''Per capita'' is a Latin phrase literally meaning "by heads" or "for each head", and idiomatically used to mean "per person". The term is used in a wide variety of social sciences and statistical research contexts, including government statistic ...

would win the tank "Egbert". The eventual winner of the competition was

West Hartlepool West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland. The former town was originally formed ...

, which raised £31 9s 1d per capita (between the period of October 1, 1918 - January 18, 1919).''The Times'' "Tanks for Towns" (Friday April 4, 1919) "Egbert" arrived in West Hartlepool on 29 April 1919 and was placed on Stranton Garth, remaining there until 1937 when the West Hartlepool Town Council voted on whether to keep the tank as a lesson of war or scrap the 'relic of barbarism'; with 20 votes to 12 the tank was scrapped.

Programme

A tank would arrive with great fanfare; civic dignitaries and local celebrities would greet the tank and speeches would often be made atop it. The tank would be accompanied by soldiers and artillery guns, sometimes an aeroplane would drop pamphlets over the town or city prior to the tank's appearance exhorting the people to invest. The tank would usually put on a show for the crowds in order to demonstrate its capabilities. The visited town or city would have a fund raising target it tried to meet; the amount raised by each location would be reported in the national press, thus ensuring a strong competitive element, especially between the larger industrial cities. The six touring tanks were: * Tank 113 "Julian" * Tank 119 "Old Bill" * Tank 130 "Nelson" * Tank 137 "Drake" * Tank 141 "Egbert" * Tank 142 "Iron Ration"

Proceeds

Total investments in Tank Banks of over £2million: * Glasgow £14,563,714 * Birmingham £6,703,439 * Edinburgh £4,764,639 * Manchester £4,430,000 * Bradford £4,060,000 * London (2 weeks) £3,423,261 * Newcastle £3,068,768 * Swansea £2,180,939 * Hull £2,186,820 * Leicester £2,063,250 * Liverpool £2,061,012 * West Hartlepool £2,367,333 - £37 per head of the population * Sunderland £2,305,000 *Aberystwyth £682,448 - £75.80 per head of population, later confirmed as the highest in the Empire. Their quota was £25,000

Presentation tanks

In 1919 the

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or i ...

agreed to give 264 "war battered" tanks to various towns and cities in gratitude for their financial efforts. The National War Savings Committee decided which towns and cities would receive one of these presentation tanks. Upon receipt, the tanks tended to be sited in parks or commons and due to a lack of funds or general indifference they would subsequently just sit and rust. All but one of these presentation tanks were sold for scrap or otherwise destroyed, prior to the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Only Ashford's presentation tank still survives, mainly due to having an electricity sub station installed inside it in 1929. The tank is now a Registered War Memorial.monklands.co.uk

References

{{reflist

External links

Tank Bank's tour of Scotland
(

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

)
Newsreel of Julian the Tank Bank in Aberdeen
(

Scottish Screen The Moving Image Archive is a collection of Scottish film and video recordings at the National Library of Scotland, held at Kelvin Hall in Glasgow, Scotland. There are over 46,000 items within the collection, and over 2,600 of these are publicly av ...