Latest news with #TheTankMuseum
Cision Canada
02-07-2025
- Automotive
- Cision Canada
Canadian War Museum acquires rare Second World War Sherman BARV from The Tank Museum in the UK
OTTAWA, ON, July 2, 2025 /CNW/ - The Canadian War Museum is once again boosting its reputation as a centre of expertise for the restoration and display of specialized historical military vehicles, with its acquisition of an M4A2 Sherman Beach Armoured Recovery Vehicle (BARV): a type of vehicle important to Canada's D-Day story. This BARV hull was donated by The Tank Museum in the United Kingdom. It is one of only five such vehicles known to exist, and will become the sole Sherman BARV on display in North America. Its transportation to Canada is due to the generous support of the Friends of the Canadian War Museum. "The War Museum is one of the only institutions in Canada with the expertise to fully restore these types of complex military vehicles," said James Whitham, Director General of the Canadian War Museum. "We are excited to be able to bring this into our collection and begin the painstaking restoration of this rare vehicle, which will help us tell the story of Canada's involvement in the Normandy landings and subsequent beach operations." This is a unique and rare example of a specialized armoured vehicle developed for amphibious landings. BARVs would prove vital to Canadian and Allied success on June 6, 1944, during the D-Day landings at Juno Beach and elsewhere. These vehicles could operate in water up to 3 metres (9 feet) deep and helped move vehicles blocking the beaches that had either broken down or had been damaged by enemy fire. Sherman BARVs were also used during the Rhine River crossing in March 1945, and remained in British military service until 1963. The precise involvement of this particular BARV on D-Day is still being researched. "Whilst unique in our collection, this vehicle was not used by the Royal Armoured Corps, which means The Tank Museum is not the best home for it. We are therefore delighted to be able to donate it to our partners at the Canadian War Museum, so it can be restored and put on display," said Chris van Schaardenburgh, Vehicle Collections Manager at The Tank Museum. "Only a handful of Sherman BARVs are known to survive; two of these are on display in the UK. It is therefore hugely significant that we share this vehicle, once used on the beaches of Normandy, with Canada." The vehicle was originally recovered from a firing range on Salisbury Plain in southern England, and has been preserved at The Tank Museum since 2009. The Canadian War Museum plans to restore it for eventual display in the LeBreton Gallery. It will join the Museum's impressive collection of 200 military vehicles in that space, vividly illustrating Canada's rich military history. Due to the extent of restoration required, it will be several years before the BARV is ready for public display. If you would like to have your name removed from our distribution list or if this information should be directed to someone else, please email us. SOURCE Canadian War Museum
Telegraph
05-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Dorset tank museum takes on Meta in funding battle
In the leafy Dorset village of Bovington, known for its famous tank museum, a battle has been quietly bubbling away somewhat dissimilar to the kind of fights tank commanders of old would have been used to. The Tank Museum, which has the biggest collection of armoured vehicles in the world and is internationally revered, recently recovered old manuals, diagrams and documents from its archive to instruct how to repair Soviet-era tanks currently used in Ukraine. So it was somewhat of a surprise that having joined in the fight against Vladimir Putin last year The Tank Museum would find itself in another type of war, this time with social media giant Meta. The museum, which is also an educational charity, claimed its income stream from Facebook and Instagram was suddenly halted last June after it was told that its published content – which includes images of both modern and older tank models – 'goes against our partner monetisation policies'. Any social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram that have high levels of views and engagement can qualify for payment from the parent company Meta. The Tank Museum – which has 210,000 followers on Instagram and has posted over 5,600 times – assumed the numerous failed attempts to appeal the decision were because of an algorithm. With a global reach into the millions, the museum decided to apply for its content to be monetised, however it was cut off after just one month. However, it said Meta had continued to receive paid advertising from the museum for identical content. Nik Wyness, the marketing manager who has overseen the museum's online content on numerous platforms, believes the nature of posts about war and conflict was the reason. He said: 'Being The Tank Museum means it is very difficult to create content without mentioning tanks or war. 'And I think it was this type of content that likely triggered the cancellation of any further payments to us.' Mr Wyness added that the museum's various platforms create educational content including 'pioneering historical research' that 'is of value to students and professional historians'. 'We put nothing online that we wouldn't put on display and one of our main roles is to tell the stories about tanks and those who fought in them,' Mr Wyness said. The museum started to assist Ukraine in the war effort last year when they dug out old manuals on how to repair Soviet-era tanks, which are currently being used in Ukraine today. The Tank Museum recently opened an exhibition called 'Ukraine: Armoured Warfare in the Modern World', which shines a light on the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The exhibition also shows the role of armoured vehicles in the war, how the British have come to Ukraine's aid, and the impact it has had on the Ukrainian people. General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, a former commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces and Ukrainian ambassador to Britain, also offered his military uniform to the museum. 'The horrors of war are explained and there is absolutely nothing that glorifies or encourages conflict,' said Mr Wyness. 'Being located in rural Dorset means our online support is highly valued and any money made from our content is ploughed back into the museum.' He explained that in December the museum had a reach of 4 million on Facebook, with 40 million views, as well as a reach of 1.5 million on Instagram, with 6 million views. Meanwhile, its YouTube channel has had 400 million lifetime views. Gordon Morrison, the chief executive of Association for Cultural Enterprises, the only charity and trade body for the arts, heritage and cultural sector, said: 'The Tank Museum's experience with Meta highlights a critical issue: the inconsistent application of social media policies, particularly when it comes to cultural heritage. 'It's vital that Meta recognises and supports accredited museums like The Tank Museum, which provide responsible, educational content. 'To penalise them while simultaneously accepting their paid advertising creates a damaging double standard, undermining their ability to fulfil their charitable mission.'' After The Telegraph contacted Meta for comment on Friday, it was informed that 'any strike' that was put on the account was a 'mistake' and had now been resolved.
