Managing the preservation of a large military service collection at the Tank Museum, Bovington, UK: Challenges and collaborative research

Van Schaardenburgh, Chris, Watkinson, David ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5696-9780 and Emmerson, Nicola ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5277-0865 2025. Managing the preservation of a large military service collection at the Tank Museum, Bovington, UK: Challenges and collaborative research. Neff, Delphine, Grassini, Sabrina, Watkinson, David and Emmerson, Nicola, eds. Bridging the Gap: Corrosion Science For Heritage Contexts, Woodhead Publishing In Materials, London: Woodhead Publishing (Elsevier), pp. 21-31. (10.1016/b978-0-443-18690-5.00015-x)

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Abstract

Beginning in 1923, as a reference collection for the Army, the Tank Museum grew with the addition of WW2 tanks, and it continues to expand as more modern vehicles are collected. The museum provides a static display and has a fleet of vehicles it operates periodically for the public. The condition of the collection ranges from vehicles that are untouched since their last use, to substantially degraded examples damaged by years of outdoor storage or display. Both these categories of vehicle have received limited conservation work over the years, whereas the long-established operational collection of approximately 55 key museum vehicles has been prioritized for restoration to running condition for public events. This overview explores some of the constraints and challenges the collection presents for making conservation decisions and generating preservation policies, identifying the scope of knowledge, and the research required to produce evidence-based treatments. To generate these, interdisciplinary collaboration and intrasubject communication are seen to be essential ways forward.

Item Type:	Book Section
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > History, Archaeology and Religion
Publisher:	Woodhead Publishing (Elsevier)
ISBN:	9780443186905
Last Modified:	03 Nov 2025 10:32
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/179535

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