The Tank Banks of and

Michael A. Taylor

In , a tank called Julian was used for tank tours which went first to the major burghs, Edinburgh, Leith (which was then still separate from Edinburgh), Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee, at the beginning of 1918.

The Lord Provost speaking from the top of Julian

Julian visits Edinburgh The Edinburgh visit was fairly typical of "tank bank" visits. Julian was a Mark IV Heavy Tank, of the characteristic rhomboidal shape to maximise trench-crossing ability. Those early tanks had no suspension at all, so did not like hard paved surfaces, and were pretty unreliable at the best of times, so they could not drive very far without risking breakdown.

They had to be transported by rail if they were to go any distance, and so Julian and its crew were delivered by special train to one of the two Goods railway stations, presumably the North British Railway station given that they came from Newcastle on, apparently, Sunday 6 January 1918. They were unloaded and ready for a prompt start at 9.30 on Monday. Julian drove up Leith Walk, York Place, Queen Street, and Hanover Street to , presumably beside the Royal Scottish Academy. This avoided , except for a simple crossing at right angles, to prevent the tank’s tracks getting tangled in the tramway pits.

Civic dignitaries and savings organisers gave speeches from the top of the tank before Julian was opened for business, with the hatches on the back face of each "sponson" doing duty as bank teller’s windows (a sponson was the protrusion on each side of the tank, a little like a bay window, that carried its main armament).

But adjacent shelters soon had to be used as offices to cope with the rush, for the event was well publicised in advertisements and newspaper reports, with begging letters supposedly from Julian himself. There were more speeches now and then over the next few days. The long queues had a cold time in the snowy winter weather, which led to the cancellation of an airship display.

But they were entertained by army bands, and encouraged by gimmicks for set periods such as a free lottery for poorer savers with prizes of £5 or £100 certificates, and a free savings certificate to every twelfth person in the queue. Wealthier folk competed publicly in auctions to buy bonds signed by politicians such as A J Balfour, the Foreign Secretary, or even a German war savings certificate, at silly prices to raise money for service and hospital charities. Commercial and financial companies, building societies and organizations such as the Educational Institute of Scotland and the United Free Church also took out large blocks of bonds.

Miss Lily Morris, well-known pantomime artiste, with the Tank at Leith

The Theatre Royal jumped on the bandwagon by inviting the tank crew to the performance of Humpty Dumpty, offering them their own box and advertising that they would take part in the pantomime.

Some of the cast came along to sing and entertain the crowd from the top of the tank, and the King’s Theatre also sent along its performers. Julian was on its best behaviour in Edinburgh. It did not (as far as we know) storm a simulated trench rampart, or knock down a derelict building, as it would later do elsewhere Pantomime Programme in Scotland.

But even so, by the end of the closing speeches on the Saturday afternoon, when the crew started up Julian to drive back to the railway station and load up for Glasgow, £4,400,817 (with some last minute deposits still to count) had been saved through the tank and through Edinburgh banks - very roughly equivalent to £400 million today.

Leith

Julian coming up Leith Walk

Julian was delivered to Leith in good time to drive out of the Caledonian Railway goods station at Portland Place at 0930 on 23 January. Here, as elsewhere, the numbers of spectators must have led to worries about an incautious lad or two getting squashed. These early tanks were not easy to steer, and even with his vision flap open, the driver had a very limited view, which was cut off on either side by the tracks. The police had to force the crowds back before the tank could emerge from the railway station with its close escort of soldiers from the Royal Scots. Julian then proceeded via North Junction Street to its stance at the statue of Queen Victoria at the Foot of the Walk - fortunately without its 28 tons weight affecting the Water of Leith bridge or the whisky cellars under the street.

The fundraising started again, much as it had on the Mound, and this time the tank did even better. By the time Julian headed off to the station and thence to Aberdeen on the night of Saturday 26th, Leith had raised £1,722,565 - £21.4s.10d [in decimals, £21.24] per official head of population.

This was about 40% better than the same figure for Edinburgh, much to the pleasure of the local dignitaries - though how accurate this figure really was depends on how many people crossed the burgh boundary either way to visit Julian.

Later visits As well as trips in England, Julian took a summer and autumn tour to the smaller burghs of Scotland. There were also later tank tours in Scotland in late 1918 and early 1919, after the Armistice on 11 November 1918, latterly to encourage "Victory

A visit to Jedburgh Julian at Denny

Bonds". But, so far, we know little about these tours and their tanks. The Scotsman covered them very poorly, perhaps because tank banks were no longer news, and perhaps simply because of war-weariness.

It did report that two "Whippet" medium tanks were to be obtained for display for a savings campaign in Edinburgh beginning on 11 November 1918 - but perhaps this was overtaken by events when the Armistice was called on that day. Perhaps one was the Whippet that did duty on tank tours and was, appropriately, christened "Julian’s Baby".

Another tank, called "Victor", was planned to visit Leith on 15 January 1919. But the A "Whippet" Medium Tank full story has yet to be worked out.

Edinburgh did, however, see the visit of six tanks on 19 July 1919, for the "Peace Day" parade on Princes Street.

What the savers got War savings were heavily marketed to both rich and poor, and the new savings certificates were easier for poor folk to buy and handle.

Children were also targeted through their schools, by such means as a letter supposedly from Julian reminding them that "mony a mickle mak’s a muckle", and by teachers taking their classes to the tank.

War saving was certainly the patriotic thing to do, and there was an element of intentional sacrifice to support the war effort - or so the newspapers liked to claim - so perhaps people really did not expect a high interest rate. But was the claim of a safe investment justified, even without the risk of losing one’s savings if the Allies lost the war or the UK Government went bankrupt?

Victory Day Parade 1919, Regent Road, Edinburgh

It was very convenient for the UK Government that money put into war savings could not be spent on food and consumer goods - not least because it helped cover its own mismanagement of the food supply and the home economy (rationing of food was brought in only very late, and well after there were serious problems). But it was also even more convenient for the Government that wartime inflation was reducing the true income, and perhaps the real value, of war savings from the moment that they were paid in. One wonders how many savers realised this.

Of course, there may not have been much in the shops. Moreover, the same complaints as above could be made about the commercial banks (depending on the actual interest paid). But at least the banks had to repay the money sometime. The Government did not actually say when it would repay War Bonds. Almost a century later, it still has not done so (except for offering a single opportunity in 1932, when it compulsorily reduced the interest rate). There’s many a family and institution today holding War Bonds whose capital value is perhaps a hundredth of the money paid through the Tank Bank’s hatchway.

What the burghs got Edinburgh and Leith were amongst several Scottish burghs which, in 1919, and to their councils’ surprise no doubt, received old tanks as thank-you presents for their efforts in supporting the war savings campaigns. Edinburgh definitely had one tank, which was put on just to the east of the National Monument, and probably scrapped in the late 1920s.

Leith is believed to have had another, put on Leith Links. We have been informed that Edinburgh received two other tanks which went to Victoria Park, off Newhaven Road, and , off King’s Stables Road. Any confirmation of any of those tanks and their sites would be most welcome, as would their fates.

We would be interested to see any photos or postcards of Great War tanks in Edinburgh and Leith - please email scans to edwar.ed.ac.uk.

Further information: Tank Museum, Bovington, Dorset - www.tankmuseum.org In more detail - http://www.landships.info/landships/index.html Films of Julian arriving, doing demonstrations, and fundraising can be seen here - Aberdeen - http://ssa.nls.uk/film.cfm?fid=1238B Blackpool (recognisable from the Pier and buildings) - http://www.britishpathe.com/video/iulian-the-record-breakinq-tank/querv/01473300 David Fletcher (ed.) 1994. Tanks and trenches. Sutton Publishing, Stroud. David Fletcher 2001. The British Tanks 1915-19. Crowood, Ramsbury, Marlborough. David Fletcher and Tony Bryan (illustrator) 2007. British Mark IV Tank (New Vanguard series). Osprey Publishing, Oxford.