it was used in careful conjunction with horse teams. However, the Royal Artillery disagreed. The Director of Artillery, Brigadier General Stanley Brenton von Donop, emphasized the tractor's shortcomings and was unenthusiastic. Sale of caterpillar tractor patent By 1911, the prospects for Hornsby's machine were fading. The War Office was uninterested, and refused the Mechanical Transport Committee permission to buy a Holt Tractor for evaluation, and Von Donop's opinion was the same. Roberts had spent five years on the project, barely covering his development costs with the fees received from the Army, and had secured no orders, either military or civilian. Benjamin Holt of the Holt Manufacturing Company in America registered "Caterpillar" as a trademark on August 2, 1910. Hornsby sold his patents to Holt for £4,000 in 1911. Holt later merged with C. L. Best and became the Caterpillar Tractor Company. When the First World War broke out, Britain had to purchase caterpillar tractors from Holt to tow the Army's heavy guns, and the designers of the tank had to start from scratch, basing their ideas on imported American machines. Hornsby's chain-track played no direct part in the development of the tank, although Lt-Col. R. E. B. Crompton, who later had an important role in its creation, had been present at some of the early trials and was influenced to some extent by the Hornsby. In the event, the first British tanks had no sprung suspension, and the track plates were an improved version of those of another American vehicle, the Bullock tractor. Central to British tank development was William Foster & Co., agricultural machinery manufacturers, based at Lincoln, only about 25 miles from Hornsby's. First commercial film Trials featuring the Hornsby Tractor and the Rochet-Schneider were the subject of a film that was used in an attempt to promote sales and also shown in cinemas. There was also a screening in the presence of senior British officers and foreign military attachés. Ownership After Hornsby's death in 1864, the firm was owned by his son, also Richard. Hornsby Jr died at the age of 50, quite suddenly, in 1877. The company became a public company, being valued at £235,000. Employing about 1,400 workers, it was managed by Hornsby Sr's two other sons – James and William. Throughout the First World War, Hornsbys were seconded to producing munitions and engines for the Admiralty. This left them little room for marketing or