Lancelot Eldin "Lance" de Mole

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, (13 March 1880 – 6 May 1950) was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

engineer and inventor. He made several approaches to the British authorities, in 1912, 1914, and 1916, with plans for a vehicle driven by a type of caterpillar track, believing that it could have a military application. It was ahead of its time because in 1912 the need for such a military device had not yet arisen. To further complicate matters his correspondence was set aside due to various bureaucratic blunders, and was not given to the appropriate officers. In 1919, three years after the first military tanks had been built and used in warfare during World War I, a Royal Commission acknowledged the potential of de Mole's innovative vehicle. The commission noted the unfortunate consequences of his submissions being overlooked, and that while his designs had no influence on the actual development of the tank, tanks might have been developed much earlier if his idea had been properly investigated.

Family

The eldest of the five children of William Frederick de Mole (1852–1939), an architect and surveyor, and Emily de Mole (1858–1941), née Moulden, Lancelot Eldin de Mole was born in

Willunga, South Australia Willunga is a town located to the south of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of Onkaparinga local government area, 47 km from the Adelaide city centre. This town has been considered a suburb of the Adelaide metropolitan area, and it i ...

, on 13 March 1880.

Siblings

He had three sisters and one brother: Florence Louise de Mole (1881–1966) (later Mrs. Feldtmann), Winifred Emily de Mole (1886–1903), Clive Moulden de Mole (1886–1934), and Gladys Rose de Mole (1887–1979). His younger brother, Clive, enlisted in the

First Australian Imperial Force The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following Britain's declaration of war on Germany on 15 Au ...

on 9 September 1914. He was wounded in action in the Dardanelles on 28 June 1915, receiving a gunshot wound and a fracture to his left arm, and was invalided back to Australia in March 1916. He was promoted to Second Lieutenant on 1 January 1919, and to Lieutenant on 1 April 1919. He was discharged from the AIF in the U.K. in September 1919.

Wife

He married Harriet Josephine Walter (1890–1957) on 21 July 1915.

Education

His family moved to

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

when he was 7 years old, and he was educated at the Melbourne Church of England Grammar School until 1891, and then at the Berwick Grammar School. After leaving school he trained as an engineering draftsman.

Inventions

He was a prolific inventor; and a number of his inventions were patented.

U.S. patents

* US patent no.1,408,569, (held by Lancelot Eldin de Mole), dated 7 March 1922 (filed 4 March 1920), for a "Road Vehicle

* US patent no.1,448,056, (held by Lancelot Eldin de Mole), dated 13 March 1923 (filed 17 July 1920), for a "Differential or Balance Gear

* US patent no.1,737,573, (held by Lancelot Eldin de Mole), dated 3 December 1929 (filed 14 March 1925), for a "Changing Sign and Display Apparatus

Applications for Australian patents

1902: Australasian Mining Patents: Oylndrical ore concentrator, West Australia, February 7. No.3723 — L. E. de Mole, Kalgoorlie, W.A.

1902: Australasian Mining Patents: Concentrator — L. E. de Mole, Brighton, Victoria: A cylindrical ore concentrator. Victoria, May 14, No.19,079.

1902: Inventions and Patents: An improved method of and apparatus for automatically operating telephone exchanges (provisional); No.7898; application made week ending 30 August 1902.

The tank

Inspired by the uncomfortable experience of travelling over rough terrain in the Western Australia, Western Australian countryside in 1911, de Mole developed, and then submitted an idea of a tracked

armoured fighting vehicle An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armoured cars, ...

("chain-rail vehicle which could be easily steered and carry heavy loads over rough ground and trenches") to the

British War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from th ...

in 1912; in June 1913 he received a reply that his idea had been rejected. A model of his tank is displayed at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra. He wrote to the British ''Munitions Inventions Department'' on 19 June 1919 seeking remuneration for the expenses he had incurred in submitting his invention to the Department for use during the war.

de Mole's formal claim

Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors

The British

Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors A Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors is a periodic Royal Commission of the United Kingdom used to hear patent disputes. On 6 October 1919 a Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors was convened to hear 11 claims for the invention of the tank; ...

, conducted by Mr Justice Sargant, investigated the claims of twelve persons (10 individuals, including de Mole, and one pair) relating to the invention of tanks, delivered its findings and recommendations on 27 November 1919.''The Times'', (28 November 1919), p.14. The commission's Report announced that "in estimating the value of the invention of the Tanks for the purpose of urrecommendations, we have taken into account not merely the precise class of Tanks which went into action at the Battle of the Somme, but also any modified or improved classes of Tanks which may fairly be considered to result from the normal development of the inherent potentialities of the original invention". Notwithstanding this, however, the Report continued, "we have not taken into account any special or exceptional inventions which may subsequently have been applied and have resulted in substantial extra utility".

Winston Churchill

Before anything else, the Commissioner registered his view that, "the general idea of the use of such an instrument of warfare as the "Tank" was converted into a practical shape ... was primarily due to the receptivity, courage, and driving force of Mr. Winston Churchill"; and, as well, that it should be placed on record that Churchill had made no claim, because "Mr. Churchill has very properly taken the view that all his thought and time belonged to the State, and that he was not entitled to make any claim for an award, even had he wished to do so".

Commission's awards

Sir William Tritton Sir William Ashbee Tritton, JP, (19 June 1875 – 24 September 1946) was a British expert in agricultural machinery, and was directly involved, together with Major Walter Gordon Wilson, in the development of the tank. Early in World War I he ...

and Major W.G. Wilson were jointly awarded £15,000, and were recognized for "designing and producing a concrete practical shape the novel and efficient engine of warfare known as the "Tank""; the Commissioner emphasized that the considerable design difficulties that were experienced when the tanks took the field of action, which were rapidly remedied, were a consequence of inadequate specifications by the government, and were not due to any design faults on the part of Tritton or Wilson. Sir Eustace Tennyson d'Eyncourt, the Director of Naval Construction and Chairman of the

Landships Committee The Landship Committee was a small British committee formed during the First World War to develop armoured fighting vehicles for use on the Western Front. The eventual outcome was the creation of what is now called the tank. Established in Febru ...

, and Major-General E.D. Swinton were each awarded £1,000, for their work in advocating the overall concept, setting design specifications, and overseeing the project. Mr. Albert Collinson Nesfield and Lieutenant Robert Francis Macfie were each awarded £500 for the separate and independent "conception, embodiment, and communication of the same set of ideas".

Commission's rejection

The Royal Commission rejected the claims of Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Lewis Maitland Boothby, Commodore M.F. Sueter, Major Thomas Gerard Hetherington — the separate claims of Boothby, Sueter, and Hetherington were rejected on the grounds that the important services that they had rendered came within the scope of their military employment — and that of Colonel R.E.B. Crompton and his assistant Mr. Lucien Alphonse Legros, on the basis that they had "worked loyally and very hard" at their allotted tasks, they had been well-paid as consulting engineers, and had neither invented nor discovered any of the special features that were ultimately incorporated in the tanks. In de Mole's case, however, the commission's Report was far more sympathetic:

The case of this claimant was heard a few days after the conclusion of the other cases. We consider that he is entitled to the greatest credit for having made and reduced to practical shape as far back as the year 1912 a very brilliant invention which anticipated and in some respects surpassed that actually put into use in the year 1916. It was this claimant's misfortune and not his fault that his invention was in advance of his time, and failed to be appreciated and was put aside because the occasion for its use had not then arisen. We regret exceedingly that we are unable to recommend any award to him. But we are bound to adhere to the general rule in such cases as these that a claimant must show a causal connexion between the making of his invention and the user of any similar invention by the Government.

Reward

The commission finally recognised the brilliance of de Mole's design, even declaring that it was superior to the machines actually developed, but because of its narrow remit the commission was unable to recommend an award. However, de Mole was told that if he were to make a claim for out-of-pocket expenses, it would be regarded favourably. He was asked to supply a detailed statement of his expenditure on the project, and was reimbursed in the sum of £987 (about £50,000 2019 value). He was made an honorary

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

in 1919; and, early in 1920, it was announced from London that he had been appointed a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE). At the formal investiture of the award, on 28 July 1921, in the ballroom of the New South Wales' State Government House,

Lord Forster Henry William Forster, 1st Baron Forster, (31 January 1866 – 15 January 1936) was a British politician who served as the List of Governors-General of Australia, seventh Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1920 to 1925. He had previ ...

, the seventh Governor-General of Australia, was so nervous that he dropped the decoration before it could be pinned on de Mole's chest.

Post-war

After the war, de Mole made his case to the Australian government. Inquiries from that government to the British one yielded little but polite responses that Mr de Mole's ideas had unfortunately been too advanced for their time and thus were not recognized as they should have been.

Employment

After the war de Mole became an engineer in the design branch of the Sydney Water Board.

Death

He died at

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, New South Wales, on 6 May 1950.Death of Tank Inventor, ''Construction'', (Wednesday, 24 May 1950), p.5.
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Footnotes

References

* Anderson, A.T., "The War Museum: Some Impressions: The Tank Australian", ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', (Saturday, 18 April 1925), p. 16

Australian's Rejected Invention, ''The (Melbourne) Herald'', (Saturday, 21 May 1921), p.1.
*
Gray, E.D. (1924a), "Story of the Tanks: de Mole's Remarkable Invention: War Office Ineptitude", ''The West Australian'', (Monday, 11 August 1924), p.8.

Gray, E.D. (1924b), "Story of the Tanks; De Mole's Travelling Caterpillar Fort; Remarkable Letter From Perth in 1914", ''The Argus'', (Saturday, 9 August 1924), p.6.

Williams, G.M., "Letter to the Editor: Military Tanks", ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', (Tuesday, 13 June 1933), p.8.
::Williams' letter, containing important, significant, and hitherto unknown facts was written in direct response to a small article that had been published on the previous day
War Tank: An Australian Invention: Rejected in 1911, ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', (Monday, 12 June 1933), p.9.
* Awards to Tank Inventors: Royal Commission's Report: Mr. Churchill's "Driving Force", ''The Times'', No.42269, (Friday, 28 November 1919), p. 14, col.D.
Awards to Tank Inventors, ''The (Adelaide) Register'', (Thursday, 29 January 1920), p.6.

Australia to the Fore: Invention of the War Tank, ''The (Adelaide) Register'', (Thursday, 12 February 1920), p.7.

Concerning People: Corporal L. E. De Mole, ''The (Adelaide) Register'', (Saturday, 28 February 1920), p.8.

Investiture: by Lord Foster: Ceremony at Government House: C.B.E. ("Mr Lancelot E. de Mole, for services respecting the invention of military tanks"), ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', (Friday, 29 July 1921), p.8.

Institution of Engineers, ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', (Friday ,13 April 1923), p.10.

Tank Inventor: Corporal De Mole: Early Arrival Expected, ''Cairns Post'', (Thursday 26 February 1920), p.8.

External links

National Archives of Australia: World War I Service Record: Lancelot Eldin de Mole (7478).

* ttp://net.lib.byu.edu/estu/wwi/comment/DeMole/designnotpassedon.htm DeMole "Design not passed on" (Article on WWI tank development; included pics of Demole and sketch of tank).
Australian War Memorial: Passport photograph of Mr. Lancelot Eldin de Mole (c.1916).

Australian War Memorial: Full length studio portrait of Private Lancelot Eldin de Mole (7478), in 1917.
{{DEFAULTSORT:de Mole, Lancelot Eldin People educated at Melbourne Grammar School People from Adelaide Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century Australian engineers 20th-century Australian inventors Discovery and invention controversies Tracked vehicles Australian military personnel of World War I 1880 births 1950 deaths History of the tank