Nick Johns Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 (edited) Lots of ideas on how to recover the tanks, But no one seems to have thought why are there tanks allegedly still buried at Dorking?, reports at the time imply the "other" tanks were dug/investigated and reburied, but why did not the Tank museum dig the others out too at the time? ..one can only assume they were found to be incomplete hulls/parts, and not worth recovering or inaccessble due to buildings/farm activities etc built over them Edited October 27, 2016 by Nick Johns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surveyor Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 Lots of ideas on how to recover the tanks, But no one seems to have thought why are there tanks allegedly still buried at Dorking?, reports at the time imply the "other" tanks were dug/investigated and reburied, but why did not the Tank museum dig the others out too at the time? ..one can only assume they were found to be incomplete hulls/parts, and not worth recovering or inaccessble due to buildings/farm activities etc built over them Did they record the position and condition of the tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Lawrence Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 Lots of ideas on how to recover the tanks, But no one seems to have thought why are there tanks allegedly still buried at Dorking?, reports at the time imply the "other" tanks were dug/investigated and reburied, but why did not the Tank museum dig the others out too at the time? ..one can only assume they were found to be incomplete hulls/parts, and not worth recovering or inaccessble due to buildings/farm activities etc built over them As I mentioned previously there were ideas that the Canadians used them in recovery/bridging exercises as there was a very large anti tank ditch stretching across the Mole valley from Box Hill to Ranmore, i.e across Bradley Farm where the tanks were buried. One could assume that the other tanks were also Covenanters as they would not have been much use in the forthcoming invasion but as originally I was told that a Sherman had been dug up you can gather that tank ID was not included in the local education!!.When I was told (being the local 'expert', at least in the model variety) it was not until I saw the dug up tank that I could ID it. They were dug up probably due to the sale of the farm in preparation for it becoming a vineyard. I remember a photo in the local paper showing the tank by a couple of trees (no buildings in sight). Somebody could always try contacting the Dorking Advertiser to see if they have the photo in their archives. Sometime soon I should be able to retrieve my slides and put the photos on this forum - probable 2-3 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Johns Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 (edited) Did they record the position and condition of the tank? Again the most logical step would be first to enquire what records or information exists at Bovingdon re. the excavations and discoveries made at Dorking, I would think if there was any possibility of other known complete tanks located on the site and feasable they would have been recovered by now Edited October 27, 2016 by Nick Johns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddy8men Posted October 27, 2016 Author Share Posted October 27, 2016 i watched 6 complete churchills getting cut up in a german scrapyard not so long ago, they had been offered to bovy first but they weren't interested. there are many other examples of museums allowing rare tanks to be disposed of. the tanks are definitely there and i will definitely have a go at getting them out. i own and operate my own plant and have public liability of £10 million. if the vineyard ask me to remove the tanks as part of my job then it will be no different from digging footings or any other day to day job. i also own a 65 ton foden and low loader and spent 14 years in the army do daft stuff like this. yes the distance is not going to be great for my fuel bill but if no one else is willing to do it then it will fall to me (again) it's not a mission to mars, just digging out a bit of scrap and removing it from site Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RattlesnakeBob Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 it's not a mission to mars, just digging out a bit of scrap and removing it from site Sir !! I have to say I very much like your attitude and approach to things and do think we'd get on well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddy8men Posted October 27, 2016 Author Share Posted October 27, 2016 i reckon we would bob. i think of the recovery like this. what if this was just a normal building job, where the vineyard asked me to clear an old scrap septic tank and remove it from site and make good the ground afterwards. it doesn't need to be any harder than that. the key to the whole thing is permission from the vineyard and we already have someone onto that on our behalf. we will see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
draganm Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 the key to the whole thing is permission from the vineyard and we already have someone onto that on our behalf. we will see what happens. excellent. The vineyard is only 265 acres out of 600+ that make up the property. possibility that these are under a grape-vine are low Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdmcm Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 Go Get It Boys! Don't take no for an answer, very exciting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1950 Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 Off and running Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andym Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 Might be an idea to get them to sign it over, then do you sign it over to the individual or a recovery team I was thinking more in terms of the Canadian government ... Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surveyor Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 I was thinking more in terms of the Canadian government ... Andy Oh, never thought that way, I assume you know a bit about this as I don't, is it common that all buried tanks etc. still are "owned" by the country they were used by? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johann morris Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 Stop talking and start ringing. The answer might be no and then you have wasted your time, if its yes, then go get it as quickly and quietly as possible, then tell everyone. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddy8men Posted October 28, 2016 Author Share Posted October 28, 2016 jon we have a man on the forum who knows someone at the vineyard and will speak to them about the recovery. it's a case of wait out and see what happens. keep your fingers crossed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 It would be great if they would see the light of day again. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddy8men Posted October 28, 2016 Author Share Posted October 28, 2016 got this pic from a friend on facebook. seems the tanks are buried quite deep, maybe 3m which makes me wonder if this tank was at the bottom of the anti tank ditch that was dug in the same area Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surveyor Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 Does it look as though its in chalk looking at the ground behind. Thinking about digging it means that the ground may be stable when digging Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Lawrence Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 Does it look as though its in chalk looking at the ground behind. Thinking about digging it means that the ground may be stable when digging It is chalk - it's the south facing slope of the North Downs. A nice photo from Rick that I haven't seen before - are there any more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxy Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 That photograph is probably of the tank that was exhumed and taken , the rest is just ledgend. If more than a single tank was exposed then there would be photographs (almost certainly by the same photographer - and others , as they do) that could in 2016 be compared to evidence one way or the other - hardly forensics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Lawrence Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 This site describes all the defence constructions in the area including the anti tank ditch and various references to it including aerial photos http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue//adsdata/arch-455-1/dissemination/pdf/Component_Listings/DA12_components.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Lawrence Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 This site describes all the defence constructions in the area including the anti tank ditch and various references to it including aerial photos http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue//adsdata/arch-455-1/dissemination/pdf/Component_Listings/DA12_components.pdf This site is even better with some photos and a map of where the anti tank ditch was. Where it crossed the slopes of Ranmore at Bradley Farm is where the tank (s) were. http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-455-1/dissemination/pdf/Text_Reports/DA12_TEXT_-_DORKING_GAP.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surveyor Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 That photograph is probably of the tank that was exhumed and taken , the rest is just ledgend. If more than a single tank was exposed then there would be photographs (almost certainly by the same photographer - and others , as they do) that could in 2016 be compared to evidence one way or the other - hardly forensics. I had noticed what looked like a ramp to the left of the picture but wasn't sure if an access for personnel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxy Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 This could be a mixture of another true story :- http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/picture_gallery_tanks_at_titchwell_rusting_relics_of_wartime_norfolk_1_911815 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rog8811 Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 I found this while trying to track some info down. http://www.surreylife.co.uk/food-drink/best_surrey_wine_and_vineyards_albury_denbies_godstone_greyfriars_high_clandon_and_painshill_1_3570523 [h=2]Denbies Wine Estate[/h]Dorking Named: Duncan McNeil Role: Vineyard manager Tell us something people probably don’t know about your vineyard/wines… The vineyard also hides a wartime secret: there are World War Two tanks buried here. We are currently looking into the possibility of excavating the site this year. The article is dated Nov 2015, maybe this is the man you need to speak too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtskull Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 This could be a mixture of another true story :- http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/picture_gallery_tanks_at_titchwell_rusting_relics_of_wartime_norfolk_1_911815 The Titchwell Covenanters certainly exist: I set eyes on them earlier this year. I would be very surprised if there's anything there worth recovering, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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