THE Tank Museum at Bovington has secured £100,000 of funding ahead of next year’s centenary of the first tank battle of the First World War.

Once it has been transformed, the display, which currently sees the vehicles as the stars alone, will feature interpretative media including stand-alone three-dimensional diorama models and showcases displaying items and documents. The museum’s trench experience will also be refreshed with new sight, smells and sounds.

The grant was awarded by the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, allowing the museum to update their First World War displays to illustrate the multi-faceted and inspiring story of the men who crewed the tanks.

Staff aim to create a fitting display to mark the nationally significant anniversary of when the first tanks were used at the Battle of the Somme in 1916.

Museum curator David Willey said: “The stories and items the museum holds on these pioneers of tank warfare are unique, moving and often very personal. By putting these items in contact alongside the tanks, we will be able to show our visitors more of what the men and their families went through and achieved, surrounded by the tanks that they served in.”

Culture secretary, Sajid Javid, said that the government is committed to supporting the arts and making sure the country’s ‘marvellous’ museums and ‘inspiring’ galleries remain accessible to all.

He added: “Thanks to the generosity of the Wolfson Foundation, our cultural destinations in communities across the country are going from strength to strength and remain much-loved places to visit and explore.”

Last April, TV presenter and historian Dan Snow talked to school children about the museum’s new First World War app, that allows people to hear interviews with museum historians, watch archive footage and see images from the earliest designs of tanks to the machines that saw actions on the battlefields.