An extremely rare Second World War tank has been dug up at Denbies by WW2 enthusiast Rick Wedlock. Rick approached Denbies last year regarding the excavation. Following an exploratory dig in January which revealed the top part of the tank, the full excavation took place on Tuesday 23rd May. The English “Covenanter” tank was dug up from beneath the vineyard as part of a new series commissioned by the History Channel and is one of two tanks buried at the site by the Canadians, who were training on the estate, at the end of the war.
The dig commenced at 8am headed by Rick Wedlock together with a small ‘army’ of volunteers. It was nightfall before the tank was finally pulled from the large chalk crater. The tank is currently positioned in the vineyard for approximately two months before being taken off site to be fully restored by Rick and his team.
‘The tank is in surprisingly good conditions with some paint and marking still visible’ commented Chris White, Denbies CEO, ‘in spite of a large hole on one side of the tank, the chalk has proved to be an excellent preservative. The amount of interest in the WW2 history of the estate and Dorking has been overwhelming and we look forward to the tank being fully restored.’
Members of the general public are welcome to visit the estate to view the tank while it is in situ.
The tank’s discovery and excavation will now be featured on a brand new History Channel series presented by Suggs from Madness and archaeologist Stephen Taylor.
Currently being filmed under the working title of WW2 Treasure Hunters, the series, produced by Emporium Productions, is scheduled to be aired this autumn.
The blurb for the new series, sent to us by the History Channel states: “HISTORY® has commissioned a brand new series from Emporium Productions, which pairs Britain’s foremost amateur WW2 archaeologist with Madness frontman Suggs, as they uncover new finds across the UK.
“The 10×60′ series, WW2 Treasure Hunters (working title), will see Suggs and archaeologist Stephen Taylor bring forgotten stories of World War Two back to life by unearthing artefacts from sites across the UK.
“Filming for WW2 Treasure Hunters has begun and is due to air on HISTORY in the UK this Autumn.
