tankbritannia

"COURT HOUSE CRATER EASY FOR BRITISH TANK; Women on Recruiting Mission Go Down into Five Points No Man's Land-Jews Off to War. Under command of Captain Haigh of the British Army and manned by its crew of eight veteran English soldiers, all of whom have seen service at the front, the British Tank Britannia cruised the streets of downtown New York yesterday seeking recruits for the British army." On February 28, 1918, the tank went into and out of an excavation where the old Five Points was, planned for a courthouse. Three women came along, Mrs. Adolph Ladenburg, Mrs. Frederick Pearson Jr., and Miss Ray Slater. query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9902E7DA113FE433A...

Art Siegel The correct spelling is Adolph or Adolf Ladenburg. The Washington times., February 28, 1918, FINAL EDITION, Page 14 reported that Mrs. Adolf Ladenburg and Miss Ray Slater were guests of a dinner at the St. Regis, New York (col. 4, "Gives Dinner In New York") chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026749/1918-02-28/ed-... S. also comments under www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/25390267712/ and www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/25415972981/

B-59 Spelling corrected, thanks.

"The most interesting war relic ever seen in America will be used in General White’s great recruiting campaign. This relic is none other than the tank Britannia, which has already been seen in New York and Canada, but is still a decided novelty to people all over the United States. The Britannia is a genuine British tank, and has seen service on the Flanders front. When it first appeared upon the streets of New York, it caused a great sensation us it lumbered along Fifth avenue. and later on was the biggest hit at the Hero Land bazaar. An extensive itinerary has been laid out for the tank and its crew of veterans, several of whom bear wounds received in the service. This novel land battleship carries six machine guns, and is an awe-inspiring sight as it moves over rough country and deep ditches with the same ease and speed it shows when it attacks the German trenches on the French front."
Cambridge Sentinel, Volume XV, Number 10, 26 January 1918
cambridge.dlconsulting.com/cgi-bin/cambridge?a=d&d=Se...

We have seen Britannia in New York before:

The New York Tribune also reported on this event in its March 1, 1918 edition: "Society Women Enjoy Ride Here In the Big British Tank Britannia War Machine Rumbles Through "No Man's Land" at the Municipal Building in Appeal for Volunteers for England and Canada British tank Britannia functioned yesterday before 3,000 spectators on the courthouse site behind the Municipal Building with three society women aboard. The fierce engine of destruction continued to do the constructive work of getting Britishers and Canadians to enlist. To Mrs. Adolph Ladenburg, Mrs. Frederick Pearson, Jr., and Miss S. Slater the honor of being the first New York women to ride in a tank was reserved. The rough, unlevel condition of the courthouse site gave the women an excellent indication of the sensation combatants experience when in tanks which climb hills and destroy mounds and obstructions as easily as a worm crawls. When the Britannia leaned violently toward front end Mrs. Ladenburg stuck her head out of a door at the top of the tank, and the spectators cheered her valor enthusiastically. When the women dismounted from the strange convenience they seemed none the worse for their experience, although their dresses were badly mussed. " chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1918-03-01/ed-...

Miss Ray Slater, see

Mabel "Ray" Slater Murphy (1895-1985) search.ancestry.com.au/cgi-bin/sse.dll?gl=ROOT_CATEGORY&a... www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=99213078 In 1919, Ray Slater married James Bumgardner Murphy, s. The sun., May 11, 1919, Section 5 Pictorial Section, Image 53, col. 1 (with photo) and the NYT, April 29, 1919 query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9F0DEED81F3BE0... S. also www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoi... "In Washington he met his future wife, Ray Slater of Boston, who was working there as secretary to William Bullitt, later our Ambassador to France."

B-59 I like the part about how her mother's 3,000 employees got the day off and free wedding cake when she got married.

More coverage of the event, with another picture of Ray Slater: chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1918-03-01/ed-...

German submarine minelayer SM UC-5 and British Mark IV Tank "Britannia". See comments under photos: and

Excellent

TVL1970: Thanks for making the connections between these images. We will update with more information.