Mark I Heavy Tank The Tank Museum

Mark I Heavy Tank The Tank Museum, a photo by relex109.com on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
The Mark I was the first production tank. One hundred and fifty were built, half of them Male (armed with 6pdr guns) and half of them Female (armed with machine guns). This is the only one that has survived; it is a Male. It was given to the Marquess of Salisbury in gratitude for the use of his Hatfield Park estate for the secret acceptance trials of the first tank, in the presence of the King and Lord Kitchener. Unfortunately, exposed to the elements and vandalism, the tank fell into a state of disrepair, and corrosion led to one of the gun sponsons falling off. The tank stood on a plinth in the park for exactly 50 years to the day, before being moved to Bovington. It has a commemorative plaque that reads:
THIS MARK 1 TANK WAS ORIGINALLY PLACED IN HATFIELD PARK ON 8TH MAY 1919 AS A PRESENTATION BY THE ARMY COUNCIL TO JAMES, 4TH MARQUESS OF SALISBURY, K.G., TO COMMEMORATE THE SECRET TRIALS AND INSPECTION THERE BY HM. KING GEORGE V IN FEBRUARY 1916 OF THE FIRST TYPE OF TANK APPROVED FOR THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE GREAT WAR

AFTER 50 YEARS AT HATFIELD IT WAS PRESENTED BY ROBERT 5TH MARQUESS OF SALISBURY, K.G., P.C., TO THE R.A.C. TANK MUSEUM, AND WAS MOVED THERE ON 7TH MAY 1969.

info from preservedtanks.com/Locations.aspx?LocationCategoryId=3000