"For us now it seems amazing that after a day of such terror, confusion and loss Henriques was able to think of his new wife and make a present to her out of something that had nearly blinded him.

"This is one of our smallest objects on display but certainly one of the most moving and is proving to be one of the most popular."

Lt Henriques came from a prominent Jewish family and was educated at Harrow and Oxford University.

He served in the Tank Corps in the First World War and took part in the Battle of Flers on September 15, 1916. The action was part of the greater Battle of the Somme but was known for the first time tanks were used.

The British invented the 'land ships' a year before as a solution for getting troops across shell holes, trenches and quagmire of No Man's Land.

Military top brass pretended the hulking vehicles were large water carriers and called them tanks as a result to hoodwink German spies as they thought the name land ship was too obvious.