CHARD Museum has released details of the work of pioneering Chard engineer, and father of the tank, Joseph Hawker.

Joseph initially settled in Crimchard with his wife and eight children, before moving to Bath Square in 1881.

A millwright by trade, Joseph later established himself as a steam engine manufacturer, with his work successfully placed in Holyrood Mill and Town Mill.

Museum press officer, Michael Mussell, said: "Joseph's work probably ranks alongside that of his contemporary John Stringfellow, for if John was the father of powered flight then Joseph could certainly claim paternity for the tank."

In 1872, Joseph took out a patent for: propelling a road locomotive employing endless flat linked pitch or other chains passing round the rims of the main moving wheels.' Michael added: "The details of his patent reveal clearly the influence his idea had on the whole concept of crawler tractors and tanks employing drive and clutch steering.

"Hawker's ideas, like those of Stringfellow, outran the technology of the day."

It is not know whether a prototype of his crawler' was ever made, and Chard museum would like to find someone to correct this by making a scale model.

Anyone interested in taking up the challenge, or anyone with a picture of Joseph Hawker, is asked to contact Roger Carter at the museum.

A leaflet with more information about the life and work of Hawker will be available from the museum later this year.