ANYBODY WHO ATTEMPTS such a book as this must first visit the Tank Museum at Bovington and seek the benevolence of those in charge of that admirable institution. There I received help far beyond anything I might have expected. The late Lieut-Colonel Kenneth Hill and the present Librarian, Mr Fletcher, did far more than merely answer questions put by an imperfectly educated stranger; they provided information from their important (and underused) archives that I did not know existed. David Fletcher, author of many books and probably the world’s best informed man on the subject, most kindly found the time to direct me to a number of papers containing essential information that could not be found elsewhere. That done, he initiated me into the workings of Tanks of the first generation. I cannot sufficiently thank him.
On published material, I gratefully acknowledge permissions given to me to draw upon books and papers still under copyright. To Colonel A. J. Aylmer and the Estate of the late Major-General Sir Edward Spears for quotations from Prelude to Victory. To A. P. Watts Ltd. and the Estate of Lieut-Colonel Sir Albert Stern for those from Tanks: the Log-book of a Pioneer. To Newnes Books, a division of the Hamlyn Groups Ltd, for leave to quote from Mr Winston Churchill’s The World Crisis 1911–1918. To Mr Roderick Suddaby of the Imperial War Museum for telling me of the whereabouts of the Stern Papers and to the trustees of The Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives at King’s College London for making me free of them; my particular gratitude goes to Dr Patricia J. Methven of that Centre for her unfailing help.
Several gentlemen of military antecedents have been good enough to read and comment upon the original typescript, now by no means the same as when it was first submitted. They know of my feelings towards them; I do not mention their names for there is no reason why they should share the blame for such criticisms as are bound to be made.
Last, my thanks to Philippa Arnott who turned a mass of heavily amended paper into the fairest of typescripts, and to Bill Oakes, who spawned the idea of this book.
Acknowledgements to illustrations
Photographs obtained from the Imperial War Museum appear on the following pages: Front end-paper, title-page, 24, 68, 95, no, 133, 136, 137, 150, 166, 172, 195, 196.
From the Bill Oakes collection: pages 80, 81, 93, 99, 103, 107, 165, 167, 170, 171, 174, 177, 182, 185, rear end-paper.
From various books: pages 19, 20, 25, 28, 37, and from War Monthly, page 125 (both subjects).
All the remainder are from the Tank Museum at Bovington.