Thursday 9 November 2017 at 6.15pm
The Kincaid Gallery, The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum
Speaker: Lt Col Geoffrey Vesey-Holt
In less that two years between January 1916 and November 1917 British tanks went from the first tank “Mother”, through their first modest support to the infantry at the Battle of Flers in September 1916, the disaster of Bullecourt in April 1917 and the mud of Flanders in the summer and autumn 1917 to, arguably, the first modern battle of history, the Battle of Cambrai.
Third Army, employing a combination of tanks, artillery, and infantry including six battalions of the KRRC and Rifle Brigade, with aircraft in support smashed their way through the formidable defences of the Hindenburg Line on the morning of 20 November 1917.
Geoffrey Vesey holt was a regular officer in the Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) and a graduate of Durham University in Modern History and of the French Staff College. he served in 1RTR and then specialised in the Weapons Acquisition Stream and , not surprisingly the acquisition of Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFVs). He is currently working on the RTR’s commemorations of the 100th anniversary of World War 1 (the first tanks were used in 1916 and first tank to tank action was in 1918). He is writing a two volume history of the Tank Corps covering 1918, running pro bono battlefield tours and giving lectures.
