(City of Vancouver Archives Photo CVA 99-1332)
Captured German 21-cm Morser 16 in Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, 1923.
Canadian soldiers captured thousands of enemy guns, mortars, and machine-guns during the course of the First World War. Formations overrunning enemy positions often chalked their identifiers on enemy guns to mark their success. Official reports always noted proudly the number of prisoners and guns captured as tangible examples of victory. They were proof of military success or validations of pre-battle intelligence reports, and could also influence promotions, reputations, and the granting of honours and awards.
At war’s end, Sir Arthur Doughty, the Dominion Archivist, was named Controller of War Trophies and charged with gathering trophies and bringing them back to Canada. While many Canadian trophies were sent to the Imperial War Museum, thousands returned to Ottawa. In early 1920, the government’s official collection consisted of 516 guns, 304 trench mortars, 3,500 light and heavy machine-guns, and 44 aircraft.
Many of the war prizes were distributed across Canada in response to requests from communities, veterans groups, schools, and military units. Cities or military bases often displayed large war trophies in central parks or in or near prominent buildings, and sometimes included them with local memorials. Acquired in the burst of patriotic enthusiasm that marked the immediate post-war period, many gradually fell into disrepair. During the Second World War, hundreds were donated to scrap metal drives, incorporating former German weapons against the new Nazi enemy.
Canadian War Trophies include the captured weapons and equipment of former adversaries on display in Canada. They are comprized of war prizes from the Crimean War, the Fenian Raids, the Boer War, the Great War, the Second World War, the Korean War, the Cold War, the Yugoslav Wars and Afghanistan.
