A new, locally published book was launched at Carterton Events Centre on Saturday morning.
Edited by war historian Neil Frances, ‘Tank’ of Tobruk: A New Zealand YMC Secretary at War draws on the diaries and photographs of Carterton’s Hector Tankersley MBE to tell the extraordinary story of his secondment as a YMCA secretary to the British YMCA in North Africa during World War II. Shortly after arriving in Egypt, Tankersley was sent to Tobruk, arriving just before the besieging German and Italian forces in April 1941. Throughout the siege and its associated battles ‘Tank’ and his team were responsible for a huge range of services, including mobile canteens that carried refreshments, as well as entertainment, transport, and low-key counselling for the off-duty British Empire forces there.
All is brought to life in the diaries – the busy and exhausting, not to mention death-defying, experiences of a New Zealand non-combatant in the Desert War.
Speaking at the launch were Ian F Grant of publisher Fraser Books, Neil Frances, Tankersley’s youngest son Richard Tankersley, and Neil Farrar, a long-time friend of ‘Tank’ and family, who launched the book. Nate Rowe, from the YMCA, blessed the book and the occasion.
