Historic exchange of Polish and British tanks in Bydgoszcz

Guest blog by Sarah Tiffin, Chargé d’Affaires a.i.

In tough times, friends look out for each other.  This has been a constant in the relationship between Poland and the UK.  The brave Polish airmen who fought in the Battle of Britain have passed into legend, as have the heroic actions of the Polish troops alongside British forces at places such as the Falaise Gap, Arnhem and Monte Cassino.  Our troops have stood side by side in conflict zones inside and outside Europe.  This autumn will see a series of military exercises in Poland with the participation of British troops, including our biggest bilateral exercise for many, many years, Exercise Black Eagle.

So it was highly appropriate that, in Bydgoszcz last week, Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski presided over a historic exchange of Polish and British tanks (a T72 and a Chieftain), between the military museum there and the British Tank Museum in Bovington.   This was a nostalgic occasion.  But also an opportunity to celebrate the strength of our cooperation, as we stand together to face the threats to our region today.

I was particularly proud to be there, because I have a strong family connection to tanks.

We have been commemorating recently the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War, in which so many young men gave their lives.  One of those who died was my Great Uncle Harry.  At the outbreak of the war, Harry Tiffin signed up in the Motor Machine Gun Service – in charge of a machine gun in a motorbike sidecar.   When the new Heavy Section Machine Gun Corps (later the Tank Corps) was set up, Harry was among the first drafted into it.   With C Company he was sent to France in August 1916, with the first 49 British tanks ever to be deployed in warfare.  He was involved in the first ever tank action, at Flers Courcelette in September 1916, and at Arras.  He took part in the Battle of Cambrai – the first battle which was planned around the use of tanks.  And tragically he was killed, by a direct hit on his tank, on the first day of that battle, on 20 November 1917.  He was just 25.  His body was never recovered.

Harry’s younger brother, Maurice Tiffin, also fought with E Brigade of the Tank Corps in Palestine – notably in the Second Battle of Gaza in April 1917.  He was luckier: he came back safely.

My family are very proud of our two tank pioneers.  Nearly 100 years on, we are determined that Harry’s sacrifice should not be forgotten.  I have taken my own young children to see his name, inscribed on the Cambrai Memorial at Louverval.  So it was a pleasure and an honour for me to speak about him in front of such a knowledgeable audience.  And to know that the Tank Museum at Bovington keeps the memory of tank men alive, and brings the history of the tank, that great British innovation, to the next generation.