WW1 tank (‘Edna’) and German gun in People’s Park, Grimsby 1920.

A wonderful pair of original amateur photographs with the annotation ‘People’s Park, Grimsby Edna 1920’. The photos have been colourised by Grimsby & Cleethorpes Museum (2023).

The female Mark IV tank arrived in Grimsby on 4th December 1919 and made its way slowly from the railway sidings towards People’s Park. Following a slight accident with a lamp standard, it passed very carefully through the park gate to its sloped concrete base in the park. The tank was named ‘Edna’ after the Mayoress, Mrs Edna Hobbs.

In 1929, the tank and the captured German 77mm field gun were judged to have served their purpose as a ‘thank you’ to the people of Grimsby. They were bought and removed by J. Potts & Sons (scrap metal merchants) on the 30th January 1930.