SETA Apprentices have built the 10 foot replica of the World War I Tank to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.
July 1st is 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.The first use of tanks on the battlefield was the use of British Mark I tanks at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette (part of the Battle of the Somme). This was a revolutionary major engineering and technical feat.
To acknowledge this historic event first year SETA apprentices have fabricated a realistic 10 foot by 4 foot replica made from mild steel plate of that type of tank.
The challenging work was done over 5 months under the guidance of their welding and fabrication tutor Ben Pearson. Apprentices developed and used fabrication and welding skills in the SETA Training and Skills Academy while on their first year block training. This was done at the same time as they were doing their other apprenticeship technical training and qualifications.
It should be noted that before stating their training the apprentices had no prior skills and experience in this field – which makes the final result that much more impressive.
The apprentices carrying out this project are employed by a number of companies who work with SETA Training. The apprentices include Nathan Shipstone and James Young of Cemex, Lewis Fox of Langfields, Mark Wickam of Carbogen Amcis and Farouque Adebiyi of Jacobs.
DID YOU KNOW? Although initially termed “landships” by the Landships Committee, production vehicles were named “tanks”, to preserve secrecy. The term was chosen when it became known that the factory workers at William Foster referred to the first prototype as “the tank” because of its resemblance to a steel water tank. (Source)