Philippe Gorczynski of Flesquires near Cambrai has made it his lifetime passion to research the Battle of Cambrai November 1917. Some years ago he discovered the location of a British Mark IV Tank which had been buried in the area. Destroyed by artillery fire with 5 crew members killed, the hulk was pushed into a shell hole and used as a shelter. Philippe heard the story of a 'buried tank' from an old lady in the village who remembered it being buried. He set about finding and salvaging it and after much time and effort together with the cooperation of the French Army he discovered the tank under 2 metres of earth.
Today the tank called 'Dorothy' sits on a plinth in a barn in the village of Flesquires. Viewing is not available to the general public but eventually when enough funds have been found, Philippe intends to build a museum around his most treasured artifact of the Great War.
Philippe in front of 'Dorothy'
Massive structural damage to front end probably caused by a direct fire artillery piece
77mm German Field Gun of the type likely to have caused the damage
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Massive structural damage to front end probably caused by a direct fire artillery piece
77mm German Field Gun of the type likely to have caused the damage
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