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Ashford is home to the UK’s sole surviving example of a World War One Mark 4 ‘female’ tank.

The tank was presented in 1919 in gratitude for funds donated by Ashford people to develop the tank, which helped win WW1. It was able to penetrate German lines bringing an end to the existing stand-off.

Nearly 200 other towns who contributed to the tank fund also received tanks in recognition but all apart from the Ashford tank were scrapped at the beginning of World War Two for their materials. Ashford’s was saved because it houses the town’s electricity transformer.

Now a war memorial, the local Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers held a vigil there to mark the centenary of the outbreak of WW1.

Sara Parker interviewed soldiers, local people and the curator of Ashford Museum to discover how important the tank is to local people – so important that offers to buy it from as far afield as Canada have been turned down.

Location: Ashford TN24 8TF
Image courtesy of Ashford Museum

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