Waiouru soldiers at tanks' "birthday"

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 262, 8 November 1988, Page 4 (Supplement)

Waiouru soldiers at tanks' "birthday"

A group of Waiouru soldiers will take part in the "birthday" of armoured tanks. in France this month and at the same time hear the end of "the longest speech in the World".

Soldiers from the Queen Alexandria's Squadron will travel to France to join the activities of Cambria Day, November 20, which marks the anniversary of the first large scale use of armoured tanks in war. The speech is from Waiouru camp commander Colonel Bestic, who promised to finish his 1987 Cambria Day speech at Cambria in 1988. At that time started a fund to get a contingent of QA Squadron soldiers to the celcbrations t o

hear the end of the speech, with a $10 donation. Cambria, a town close to the FrenchBelgian border, was the site of the first action of tanks in November 1916. Since then armoured corps from around the world treat Cambria Day as the "birthday" of the tank. Twenty soldiers will makc up the Waiouru group, who will present a replica key to the mayor of Cambria. The key will represent one that is part of the

collcction of Q A Squadron which originally came from Cambria. During the closing stages of World War One, in 1918, a New Zcaland soldier was travelling through the dcvastated Cambria whcn he saw the key to the front door of the town hall still in the lock. He took the key as a souvenir, which then found its way into the QA Squadron collcction. The funds for the trip have all come from activities of the squadron, with no taxpaycr money involved, though the group will undertake adventure training with British Army units stationed in Germany.