Pounds Yard - What's the story?

[ajmac]

I had heard of Pounds yard years ago, but I never knew the full story of why they had so many WW2 tanks, where they were brought from and when, I've always presumed it was a scrap yard who couldn't be bothered to spend the gas cutting them up and then forgot about them.

 

I was just looking through the Churchill register and it dawned on me how many of the survivours came from one place!

[Lord Burley]

There was a thread put up on here sometime ago by CW. He had loads of pics of some of the stuff that was in that yard. I dont know if the thread is in the archive,s somewhere. But it makes intresting viewing.

[Adrian Barrell]

What survived in Harry Pound's yard was a fraction of what he bought. Most of the tanks purchased were cut up where they lay, it was only a reduction in scrap values, in the 60s I believe, that led to a bit of stockpiling for better times.

 

Most of the M10s, Churchill Crocodiles and Centaur dozers all came from Pounds together with BARVs, Daimler A/C etc etc.

[steveo578]

Adrian Barrell

What survived in Harry Pound's yard was a fraction of what he bought.

 

It may upset the German fans there is a good chance that the E100 or the 17cm Grille -or at least some large German vehicle had it last resting place in Pounds yard before being reduced in the mid/late 1950s. So probably a lot more than is known was cut up, the reason we don't know what was there is that there were few if any photos prior to the early 1980s.

 

Wards of Shefield continued to break up tanks until fairly recently, breaking up Chieftains in the 1990s, There was a scrap yard in Surrey that managed to hide a complete Panther (a British one) until its re discovery in 1977.

 

Many ROF were involved in breaking up suplus tanks and other vehicles after WW2 particularly AFVs of riveted construction that did not require huge quantities of gas.

Edited January 27, 2010 by steveo578

[Richard Farrant]

There was a scrap yard in Surrey that managed to hide a complete Panther (a British one) until its re discovery in 1977.

 

 

 

 

I think that was Hardwicks of Ewell. If I recollect, they also had some unusual / rare prototype or trials vehicles, my guess that these and the Panther originated from experimental establishments at Farnborough or Chertsey.

[steveo578]

Richard Farrant

the Panther originated from experimental establishments at Farnborough or Chertsey

 

 

It's a miracle it didn't end up on a range, I suppose the biggest scrapyard loss in recent times was the turretless Grizzlies in the scrapyard in Lisbon Portugal about 1995.

[ashley]

It may upset the German fans there is a good chance that the E100 -or at least some large German vehicle had it last resting place in Pounds yard QUOTE]

 

I think that there is a complete one at Kubinka museum in Rusisa.

 

Ashley

[steveo578]

Ashley

 

The large German tank in Kubinka is a Maus (porsche designed super tank) they also have a Karl Mortar.

 

The E100 was captured at the Henschel testing facility at Hustenbeck by the U.S. Army in the closing days of WW2. As it was in the British Control Area the U.S. decamped and the British moved in, played snorkel the Tiger in a large water test tank and brought home four large vehicles these were a Porsche turreted Tiger 2 and a JagdTiger prototype with porsche suspension both are probably those now at Bovington. The other 2 were the E100 which was like an oversize tiger 2 and the 17cm Grille which was a like an oversize hummel on tiger 2 components, both came back to England and were scrapped. Also brought home and lost were a Sturm Tiger and Berge Panther- the winch may still survive as it was unshipped and used for many years as a fixed unit at Chertsey and could still be there.

[Bystander]

Ashley

 

.... Also brought home and lost were a Sturm Tiger and Berge Panther- the winch may still survive as it was unshipped and used for many years as a fixed unit at Chertsey and could still be there.

 

Is that where the Sturm Tiger barrel at Bovington came from?

[steveo578]

Probably, but as the British Control Area covered many experimental and manufacturing facilities in Germany in 1945 it could be a unmounted barrel -could have even come from Kiel as the 38cm RW was originally an anti-submarine weapon.

 

The chances are it was at one time in the Shrivenham armament display along with the Soviet 76mm gun which was taken from the T34/76 exchange vehicle. One notable exhibit at Shrivenham was a complete Kugelblitz turret - now returned to Koblenz.

[les freathy]

Mention was made re Thos W Wards breakers yard so this circa 1950 photo in the yard breaking Shermans will interest some of you

[steveo578]

Well that explains what happened to Fireflies - Mk1C and Mk1 hybrids being broken up.

[1954kirby]

I had heard of Pounds yard years ago, but I never knew the full story of why they had so many WW2 tanks, where they were brought from and when, I've always presumed it was a scrap yard who couldn't be bothered to spend the gas cutting them up and then forgot about them.

 

I was just looking through the Churchill register and it dawned on me how many of the survivours came from one place!

 

hi am a new member i was given permission about 20 years ago to wander around pounds scrap yard and saw dozens of bren carriers stacked on top of each other also an anson aircraft on a queen marry trailer there were quite a few churchils in various stages of shot blasting all guns cut of at the far end of the site i was allowed in the big sheds and saw an american half track in mint condition also a lot of large outboard motors from barges there were a few turrets lying around outside also under the bridge a stockpile of large naval shells all over the site there were hundreds of unopened crates i was told by one of the workers that most of the tanks and bren carriers had broken down during the loading for d day am not sure how true this is but the stuff was definately there i re visiteda few years ago and it had all gone exept for a chieftain a t34 and a few others

[Adrian Barrell]

i was told by one of the workers that most of the tanks and bren carriers had broken down during the loading for d day am not sure how true this is

 

That was definately a leg pull! The Pounds tanks all had post war census numbers on them.

[David B.]

That was definately a leg pull! The Pounds tanks all had post war census numbers on them.

 

One story I heard was that most of the AFVs were the loaded contents of a ship (LST ?), prepared for embarkation to Suez,never unloaded and sold for scrap,lock stock and barrel together with the ship.

[Rick W]

John Marchant rescued a lot of vehicles from Pounds, some of which still reside in a number of his sheds, unrestored since they came out of the yard, still driveable, he still has a few Bren carriers among other things.