#churchill #tank #engineering #ukmfg Work has begun on restoring a Belfast-built Churchill Mark VII tank. Once this work is completed, the tank will go on permanent display in Carrickfergus Marine Gardens. The project has been made possible by a grant of £58,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Details of the scheme were announced at a ceremony at the North Irish Horse regiment’s base in Belfast. The restoration work will involve amateurs, army reservists, experts from the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland and young people from the Hydebank Young Offenders’ Centre.
Manufactured by Harland & Wolff, Churchill tanks were redesigned several times until the Mark VII was created; it became one of the most effective armoured fighting vehicles used by the allies during the Second World War. The many German attempts to bomb Belfast’s shipyards and docks led to the use of other locations for the manufacture of tanks, and one of these was on Woodburn Road in Carrickfergus.
Paul Mullan, head of Heritage Lottery Fund NI, said: “The Churchill tank is a symbol of a rich and diverse heritage. Many of Northern Ireland’s large manufacturing industries played a key role in the two world wars — from building planes, ships and tanks through to munitions and ropeworks.”