WW1 Tank Forerunner Military Vehicles Armoured Cars Holt Caterpillar Tractor Cigarette Cards

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“Everything that can be invented has been invented”. Those were the famous words allegedly spoken by a commissioner at the US Patent Office, 1899. They couldn’t have been more wrong. The first half of the 20th century spawned more profound inventions than at any other time in the history of mankind. I have the privilege of owning a set of WW1 Military Motor cigarette cards that give us a glimpse of that turbulent time. A time where television hadn’t been invented and radio broadcasting wasn’t mainstream, and colourless newspapers were mainly read by the wealthy, educated elite.

WW1 was one of the most horrific and deadly wars in living history, killing 9 million combatants in less than a decade. What I find amazing about human beings is how, in the face of death, they can transform a bad situation into an opportunity for creating something good. Many wars have provided a springboard for developing new technologies. The internet was conceived during the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union. As we type away at our computers, perhaps we should consider the millions of dead victims without whom we wouldn’t have this technology at our finger tips.

Cigarette cards provide a window to the past and this military motor set is no exception. Military tanks were first used at the battle of Somme in August 1916, just a month before this set of cards was passed by censor. The allies probably wanted the tank to remain a secret at this early stage and that might be why it isn’t featured in this card set. However, the first tank designs were inspired by the armoured military motors shown in this set, such as the caterpillar tractor.

Trench warfare was very dirty, in more ways than one, and one card shows mobile baths for cleaning soldiers and their clothes. WW1 motor mechanics were very resourceful and one card shows that London buses were converted into troop carriers. Another card reveals an ambulance converted from an old French taxi and an ordinary motor car transformed into a railway engine.

Weary soldiers at the front line needed refreshment and one card features a mobile restaurant and another one a Red Cross soup kitchen for the wounded.

A number of different ambulances for wounded soldiers are featured in this set but, unusually, it also reveals a horse ambulance. Horses were still commonly used in WW1 and many were badly injured. An x-ray ambulance is shown towards the end of the card set. One card reveals the importance of studying human diseases in WW1 in the form of a mobile laboratory.

Old and new communication technologies worked side-by-side, as demonstrated by a card featuring a messenger pigeon cote and another card showing a motor vehicle for transporting wireless telegraphy (radio communication) equipment.

Aircraft, like military tanks, were first used for military purposes in World War One. These early military aeroplanes were not totally reliable and one card features a motor car that was used to transport an aviation mechanic and spare parts. Another card shows a motor lorry designed especially for carrying deflated air balloons. Manned balloons were still used for observation purposes in WW1.

Wills, Military Motors, 1916 (50 cards)

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