Built at the English Electric Works in Preston, ‘B for Bertie’ came off the production line just like any other Mk I automaton. However, it was during its initial deployment as part of Operation Cavalier, near Antwerp, Belgium, that it could be said that Bertie was born.
On 9 June 1946, a contingent of Axis heavy Panzermechs ambushed Bertie's formation. In the chaos of battle; Bertie was lost to sight from its human charges. When the ambush had been repelled, after significant losses, and the Axis forces melted away, so too had Bertie disappeared. The unit was presumed KIA, but this was not so.
Low on power, Bertie had sluggishly dragged itself back to the battlefield, but its detachment had long since moved on. Rather than simply wither away patiently, its primitive automated system adapted, and Bertie became something other than a simple factory-made automaton. Looting the battlefield of fallen automatons, it replaced its defunct leg, collected power cells, took ammo and weapons, and set off on a new odyssey.
Box contains one plastic miniature, supplied with plastic base and assembly guide.