British War Tank Adelaide Sept 1918 Tin Badge

British War Tank Tin Badge

31mm round tin badge with spring pin on the reverse. Badge contains celluloid depiction of a British Mark IV Female tank cresting an obstacle with a biplane above. The legend reads BRITISH WAR TANK ADELAIDE SEPT 1918. On the edge in white lettering is the makers name, ATKINSON & CO MAKERS ADELAIDE. The badge is a fundraising item sold in Adelaide (specifically Unley Oval) in September 1918 when a British MKIV female tank, number 4643 was in Adelaide with an Australian crew raising money for WW1 and relief efforts. The tank was named ‘Grit’ in Adelaide as part of a competition and it went on to tour other parts of Australia for the next year or so. The same tank can now be seen in the Australian War Memorial. Presumably the image on the badge is ‘Grit’ itself with the barbed wire, biplane and other war like elements added by hand to an actual photograph of the tank.

Read more about the tank ‘Grit’ here.