THOUSANDS of people created an electric atmosphere to welcome the mighty Man Engine back to Tavistock on Tuesday.

At 11.2-metres tall, the Man Engine is the UK’s largest mechanical puppet and was first unveiled two years ago in Tavistock’s Bedford Square as part of the anniversary celebrations of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site.

The brainchild of Will Coleman, of Cornwall’s Golden Tree Productions, the Man Engine returned to the town as part of a special ‘resurrection tour’ — and the show was even bigger and better than anticipated.

Bedford Car Park was a hive of activity this afternoon as people anxiously awaited the rise of the puppet. Sideshows kept the audience busy with re-enactments of ‘mine activity’, the Man Engine Choir sang to the crowd, and Tavistock’s Stannary Brass Band played for the masses.

And then, it was time to watch as the Man Engine was awakened by loud cheers, singing and music.

The world-class event had everyone in awe at the feat of engineering which was used to tell the story of Cornish mining, the history of one ‘Man Engine’ in particular, and that of famous miner William Crago.

Will Coleman brought the story of mining to life and told the story of the Levant Mine disaster in 1919 when a man engine — a platform that allowed miners to travel up and down to working levels instead of climbing long ladders — crashed down the shaft and killed 31 men. He paid tribute to these men by reading their names aloud. He also spoke of the story of William Crago, who was nine-years-old when he started work down the South Caradon Mine, he would late become a Cousin Jack and worked in the mines in America, before he came back to the South West to retire, where he wrote a book on his experiences as a young miner.

The giant puppet roared at four other locations — Penzanze, Heartlands, Royal Cornwall Events Centre and Somerset, and each place had two separate events, a daytime family-friendly fun day and an ‘after dark’ edgy extravaganza.

The Man Engine returns to Tavistock tonight for the town’s evening event.

Pictures by James Bird.