27/07/2026
Just published on The Tank Room by Ian Barraclough. Thank you Ian:-)
The Shortest Gap - The Story of the Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineer by Michael E. Orsbourn
I’ll start this short review with an apology to my good friend Ossie Orsbourn for taking so long in getting around to writing it - I have read this book from front cover to back page, and this takes time!
I have known Ossie for many years, and he has spoken to me at length about ‘his book’. I know the passion he has had (and still has) for this project, and it shows on every single page. The amount of technical, historical and anecdotal detail is phenomenal and not a page passed without me muttering inwardly “I didn’t know that”…
The book follows the initial ‘Tank R.E.’ in WW1 and it’s here that I’ll admit I didn’t even know they had AVREs in WW1; never mind the input and influence the Royal Engineers had at the very front end of Tank design.
Chapter 3 deals with WW2 and the introduction of the concept of AVRE. As with much of the book, there’s great detail for the modeller here showing hull fixtures and fittings and how the design of the AVRE developed through rounds of design, use and revision. Chapter 4 continues in WW2, with the Churchill variants - and there are many of them!
Chapters 5 & 6 follow the post war years and the introduction of the Centurion. Here there’s some interesting stories of the Centurion AVRE’s use in Northern Ireland and some ‘behind the scenes’ tales regarding just what state the AVRE was in after it’s introduction to The Troubles.
The story of the now ageing Centurion AVRE operating with great resilience during the First Gulf War is told in Chapter 7, including the truth (and there are many myths) behind the infamous explosion of two AVRES, told first hand by those that were there.
The Chieftain AVRE (ChARVE) is the star of Chapter 8 including the full story behind the Willich AVRE; essentially a stopgap produced ‘in-house’ which performed well in the Gulf war.
Chapter 9 moves into the future with much of the equipment that I once supported: Trojan, Trailer AVRE, Python Trailer and the ChAVRE is also further investigated. There’s also a full walkaround of the full production ChAVRE showing all of the places that us modellers love to see!
The book in topped off with over 10 pages of line drawings created solely for this book.
In a time of Google, and being able to search and get immediate results, I often buy a book for a specific subject, simply ‘dipping in’ for reference when I needed it for a model build. This book is a treasure trove of information – I saw a new project model build on nearly every page and learnt so much about the AVRE. My wife often asks why I buy ‘tank books’, when I must have all the information already. This book certainly shows that this isn’t the case – there’s so much new detail in here and Ossie’s’ passion shines through every chapter.
I can’t say just how much I recommend this book, even if you don’t have an immediate interest in the AVRE, I can assure you that after reading this book, you will have!
Ian
