Chinese eyes on British tanks: historical verification of a war heritage

Abstract

This paper is about a British military tradition with a Chinese connection. It has taken the author several years of research to dispel the myth that has long shrouded the true origins of a regimental tradition of the 1st Royal Tank Regiment of the British Army. This tradition is of a pair of eyes, known as the “Chinese Eyes,” painted on the bows or turrets of British tanks from World War I to the present day. As such, the “Chinese Eyes” can be regarded as intangible heritage expressed on the tangible hardware of the British Army. Using the research methodology for architectural conservation, the author attempts to rediscover obscure historical evidence, using it to chronologically reconstruct the events leading to the creation of this tradition.