The Boston Tank.

The First World War tank that once stood at the end of Bargate Green opposite the main Post Office was formally handed over to the town in August 1919. The tank drove through the town on its own power to the spot where it stood and thousands of people watched its uncanny and noisy journey through the streets. It was handed over by Captain Farrar, the tank Commander, because Boston and District had subscribed thousands of pounds to the various war loans.

The gift to Boston in 1919.

 

In the course of his remarks Captain Farrar revealed that Boston's tank was a female!! There were two distinct types of tanks, he said. The male carrying two six pound Hotchkiss guns and the female carrying six Lewis guns and about 24,000 rounds of ammunition - and the female of the species was deadlier than the male! He went on to say that there had been a lot of criticism about the distribution of war-torn tanks as war relics, people said they did not wish to be reminded of the killing and ruthlessness of the greatest war the world had ever known, in the form of an old tank. He respected their view but wanted to point out the other side.
The tanks, he said, stood as an emblem of British ingenuity, British resourcefulness and British brains. The tank, some people thought, was made as a life taker. It was not. It was made primarily as a life saver. The Boston Corporation hoped that it would be a memorial, not only for the present generation, but for generations to come too, but in 1937 Thos. W. Ward, Ltd., of Sheffield, bought the tank and a German field gun from the council as scrap metal at the price of £56.

Search for "tank" to see Goodbye to the tank on a previous story.

Zeppelins

In January 1916, during the First World War, German Zeppelins appeared in the skies over Boston. The first raids went over without incident but on the night of September 2nd 1916 Zeppelin L23 dropped bombs on Boston for the first time.

Zeppelin L23.

Four bombs hit the town, with the one striking the Grand Sluice causing the most damage. One member of the lock-keepers family was killed and several more people injured. Boston was only bombed because the Zeppelin involved in the raid had intended to bomb London but was unable to find its target because of bad weather. In January 1917 four anti-aircraft guns were stationed in Boston for defence but although Zeppelins continued to pass over the town it was never bombed again.

Tank and Cannons

At the end of the Crimean War in 1856 Two Russian Cannon which had been captured at Sebastopol during 1854-5 were presented to the town by the War Office.

Later on they were joined by a First World War tank and were said to have been destroyed for scrap metal during the Second World War, although an anonymous commenter (see below) said that he played around them when he was a child and he was born in 1939.