The Tank Museum in Dorset, England, has opened its new First World War exhibition: Warhorse to Horsepower. It is also planning to commemorate the Centenary with cavalry, tank and air displays on the 4th August 2014.
Warhorse to Horsepower
Warhorse to Horsepower explores the role which horses played before, during and after the First World War.
Cavalry could often play a decisive part in battles, but as the First World War ground to a halt and stalemate took hold, their use in the army changed. Many were used to haul goods and artillery to the front lines. The advent of new technology and weapons, such as the machine gun, also made redundant the value of the cavalry charge.
As a result, the exhibition focuses in particular on the transition from cavalry to armoured vehicles in the British Army.
The museum’s Mark IV replica tank features in the exhibition, alongside a number of set-piece scenes including, a front-line stable, trench dug-out, pre-war street scene and nine sculptural horses placed throughout.
Other vehicles from the museum’s collection, including the Hornsby tractor, Peerless Armoured Car, the 5-turreted Independent and Light Mark IIA are also displayed.
The exhibition was opened by historian and museum trustee Dan Snow, having taken two years to design and six months to build.
He praised the museum for its interactivity, particularly for allowing visitors touch objects on display and that the exhibition is important as it “tells one of the key stories of World War One”.
“And that’s not a story about futility, and about blood, and about sadness, and about pointlessness and about mud. It’s a story about innovation. Real stories are always the best. If you want to know the truth behind the wonderful fiction created by men like [Michael] Morpurgo and [Steven] Spielberg, come here with your family… you really get the emotion and the excitement of what is one of the most remarkable stories in our history”.
To watch a video of the opening of the Warhorse to Horsepower exhibition, click here.
4th August 2014
To mark the Centenary of the United Kingdom’s declaration of war on Germany, the Tank Museum will be holding a day of events which will see cavalry, tank and air displays.
During the day in the Kuwait Arena, the museums’s Mark IV and A7V replicas will driven around, accompanied by the Great War Air Display team, the Gordon Highlanders and the Great War Society. There will also be a tank mobility display later in the day, featuring both First World War and modern vehicles.
A cavalry display will also take place, which will include a parade. Later, cavalry training tactics and skill-at-arms, including slicing melons mounted on sticks while galloping, will take place.
A series of talks, including on ‘Tommy in the Trenches’ and a discussion of the origins of tanks in the First World War, will be held throughout the day.
The Great War Society and the Gordon Highlanders will be part of a living history display throughout the day.
Tracked Vehicle rides will take place from 10:00am – 2:45pm.
Activities for children include medal decoration, writing war poetry and painting wooden tanks.
Normal admission prices for adults to the museum apply, while children who bring a decorative Tank Museum poppy will be given free entry.
Source: The Tank Museum
Images courtesy of the Tank Museum
Posted by: Daniel Barry, Centenary News