covenanter recovery

More.

 

Yet more.

 

Last ones.

 

I spent nearly thirty years living in Dorking and walked the area many, many times, I once found the remains of some practice trenches and a few 1940 cartridge cases at the edge of some woodland in Dorking but this trumps everything I ever found.

 

i'm going back in september to look for more

 

For more tanks? That's brilliant!

 

I have located my carton of cartridges and bullets that I found many years ago on the Nower in Dorking. Some are clearly blank rounds but there is clear evidence of live firing. Most of the cartridges seem to date from 1941, '42 or '43.

 

a local chap involved in the recovery told me the old quarry was used for demolition training and the kids would often pick up unexploded mortar bombs and chuck them from the edge of the quarry to get then to detonate

 

Brilliant. Sounds like fun! I guess it made a change from the old 'put the bullet in a vice, place the sharp end of a nail on the detonator bit and hit it with a hammer' game.

 

Back in Dorking this week and I have been over to the disused trenches on Milton Heath near the Nower. The practice trenches are visible but very overgrown at this time of year and not easy to photograph in the evening light.

 

More.

 

There is an old wall very close to the practice trenches that appears to have a hand painted Brigade sign on it, possibly as a memorial. The tree has some graffiti carved into it which may or may not have some relevance.

 

Dorking tank recovery is obviously easier than it looks as I stumbled across a second tank in the undergrowth, admittedly of a more common variant than the Covenanter. I very much doubt that it will be on display at the Denbies Vineyard

 

A few more.

 

What did you identify it as? I certainly can't figure it out from a single corner

 

It is clearly a Mk IV DUDC LT* dating from the late 1930s and has thicker armoured plate than the Mk III.

* Dorking Urban District Council Loft Tank.

 

Does not immediately ring a bell. Any photos available?

 

Yes
4 posts above.

 

i'm going down on thursday to collect the tank and bring it back to manchester for restoration. to be honest i was worried about how quickly the tank would deteriorate once the air got it so it will be nice to get it under cover.
i'll keep the updates coming

 

the recovery back to manchester went well although it was still a long hard day but all's well that ends well