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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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tanks
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Armoured chariots have long been familiar in war but an all-metal vehicle, moving on tracks and with the crew concealed inside, was not introduced until World War I. Such a design was proposed in Britain in the first months of the war, but the only politician to show an interest was Winston *Churchill, who was then first lord of the Admiralty. As a result of this accidental origin under naval auspices, tanks still have parts referred to as hull, turret and deck. The name itself was a result of the need for secrecy. Those working in the factory where the hull was developed were told that it was to be a mobile water carrier for Mesopotamia; so they called it the water tank and the name stuck.
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Eleven tanks went into action at the *Somme on 15 September 1916. They had little effect on this first occasion, and it was not until Cambrai in November 1917 that they were used in large numbers. They then proved how effective they were against the most devastating weapon of that war, the machine gun. The Tank Corps of World War I was absorbed into the *Royal Armoured Corps at the start of World War II.
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British tanks have traditionally (but not exclusively) been given names beginning with C; Churchills, Cromwells and Comets were prominent in World War II; they were followed in the postwar era by Centurions and then Chieftains; and the army's most recent tank is the Challenger (made by Vickers), which demonstrated its merits in the Gulf War. At Bovington Camp in Dorset the Royal Armoured Corps has a museum of more than 200 tanks and armoured vehicles, including several from World War I.
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