Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1922-09-28
CLAIMS CREDIT
FOR ARMY TANK
British Captain Says Great War
Weapon Was Invented by
Him in 1914.
GOT ORDERS FROM KITCHENER
Credit for Invention Has Been Claimed
in Many Quarters, Notably by Win
ston churchill-Queston in
Parliament.

! LOndOn.-One of the few really new
weapons which the late war developed
ives the tank. Credit for this inven-
| ton has been claimed in many quar-
ters-notably for Winston Churchill,
now colonial secretary, who was said
! to have submitted it to Mr.. Asquith on
January 5, 1915.
Now the Morning Post has come
forth with a claim for Lord Kitchener
and a Captain Bentley, under whose
| joint auspices, the newspaper asserts,
. the first tank was produced. The con
| troversy has come to light again
! through the inability of Captain Bent
i ley to obtain from the tanks award
co11mittee of the war Office any award
or compensation for his work.
The real story of the genesis of the
| tank, according to the Morning Post.
Is this:
On October IS, 1914 Captain Bent
ley had just returned to England from
abroad to offer himself for war serv-
, ice. The next day he received a tcle-
o.
! military secretary TO Lord Kitchener.
directing him to report at the war of
fee fl Whitehall. When he arrived
there he was taken to Lord Kitchener.
under whom he had served in South
Africa and. to- whom he was well
known. gs- 1850 fl..-5
Real Story of Tank. go
Kitchener, the story runs, greeted
him as follows:
downstairs, in the quadrangle,
there's an armored car Woolwich has
made for me. IFS the result of the
united brains of the army and navy
experts. We want it for this trench
fighting which they've begun in
France. Go down, have look at it
aud tell me what you think about it,
Captain Beatley and Colonel F'itz-
gerald Inspected the car for about five
minutes and then returned.
"Well?" Kitchener asked.
"It's no good for your purpose" Cap
tain Bentley said. You can't take it
off a road"
Exactly" said Lord Kitchener.
"My own opinion. Now, can you de-
sign me one of the right type? It's
urgent. Let me have it tomorrow"
Captain Bentley, 1t might be men
toned, was one of the pioneers of mo-
tor transport. He had driven automo-
biles in sandy wastes, and had devoted
considerable time to the attempt 10
develop types of motor vehicles suit
able to rough and virgin country. He
went home TO work out the idea of the
caterpillar tractor as it would be ap-
piled to an armored car.
On the evening Of October 30, Cap
tain Bentley went TO Lord Kitchener's
house in CARBON Gardens. At the end
of three hours the two men, according
to Captain Bentley, had agreed upon
the basic principles of the tank.
At the close of the interview, Cap
tain Bentley mentioned that he pro-
posed to go at once to the patent of
flee and register his design.
wait" Lord Kitchener said. "Are
you SatISned to leave this IN my handS!
I'll look after you"
Finds Kitchener Is Dead.
Captain Bentley agreed. The next
week, however, he left for service in
Russia. Upon his return to England
he was almost Immediately recommis-
stoned and sent to German East Africa
with the mechanical transport service
Here he was wounded, finally return
ing to England in 1917 14u5l.
Until this time he did not know that
the invention, which by then was
known as the tank" had ever been
utilized. What he did know, however
was that Lord Kitchener had been
drowned in June, 1916, and could not
give his version of the tanks origin.
DESTROYS of knowing the official
view of the matter, Captain Bentley
had a question asked in parliament.
The answer gave the credit for the in.
vention of the tank to Winston
Churchill, January 5, 1915, a date.
which, If Captain Bentley's claims be
verified, was about two and half
months after the Kitchener interview.