The Westbury Town Council will be hosting two free events in June, in a First World War weekend. The focus will be on the Battle of Messines, the importance of it when fought in Flanders in Belgium, from 7th to 14th June, in 1917. The Great War working group of the council will be holding the events to mark this battle and show the impact the tanks had on ‘modern warfare’.
The Great War was the first one where mechanised weaponry became a major factor. The British attempt to keep secrecy of the new weapons under the guise of water tanks, created the word “Tanks”. The Tanks making their debut, played a major role in the Battle of Messiness. Lt. Col Andrew Field MBE, local military historian, will deliver a talk at the Laverton Institute on Bratton Road. Enttitled ‘The first Tanks: Britain’s secret weapon’, the talk will be about tanks, the tactics and the effect, when used against the enemy. This event will be at 7:30pm on the 9th June.
Another event will be a series of WW1 related displays available from 10am to 3pm on 10th June, near Soisy Gardens. C Company Rolling History will present casualty treatment, WW1 trench and other memorabilia, along with a working model of a Foster tank, being put through its paces by Ian Douglas. Children, accompanied by an adult, will have the opportunity at a craft session, hosted at All Saints Church Hall, to make their own tank models. A family entry ticket to the Tank Museum, Bovington, Dorset, will be the prize for the best model. Both are free events of the council.
