He had campaigned against involvement in World War I and was a talented orator and public character.Īt one point, he had been prosecuted for refusing to disclose his son’s age to a defense officer and upon the introduction of conscription in New Zealand in 1916 had sought to use the vital position of miners to force the government to abandon compulsory service. He started life on the rough goldfields of Australia before moving to New Zealand and at various times been a boxer in his own right as well as a miner, industrialist, union leader, and champion of the common working man. He was born on 21st October 1873 at Crudine Creek, New South Wales.

Robert Semple was certainly a ‘character’ and, in some ways, the vehicle even reflected him and his attitudes. Robert ‘Bob’ Semple (21 October 1873 – 31 January 1955) The character of the man The eccentricities of the vehicle and the character of the man whose name was applied to the vehicle have become legend. As such it is ignored for what it really was and for the genuine merits it offered.

Few lists of ‘Worst ever tanks’ miss it out and it does seem perhaps a little ungainly at first glance.

Few tanks have achieved the level of notoriety and even scorn which has been cast upon the ‘Bob Semple Tank’.

Bob semple tank meme battle of kursk