By the 1860s the British military had a presence in about one quarter of the World, many garrisons being in dry locations. Water supply was one of the key concerns, particularly for the Royal Navy when it came to the resupply of warships. Water catchments were built in many locations, and some of these fed sizeable underground storage tanks such as in Antigua. In other places, such as Bermuda, the roof tops of all buildings were used to collect water and this still done to this day in many cases.
The requirements for barracks and other accommodation was slightly different and here the British adopted the use of cast iron water tanks. The preferred supplier would appear to have been Douglas Bros. Ltd. of Blaydon-on-Tyne manufactures a wide range of steel products including tanks and coal tubs. Fortunately for us, many of the surviving water tanks bear the Douglas Bros. Ltd. on their sides.
