Artillery in Canada (1) British Columbia: New Westminster
Artillery preserved in British Columbia,
The aim of this website is to locate, identify and document every historical piece of artillery preserved in Canada. Many contributors have assisted in the hunt for these guns to provide and update the data found on these web pages. Photos are by the author unless otherwise credited. Any errors found here are by the author, and any additions, corrections or amendments to this list of Guns and Artillery in Canada would be most welcome and may be e-mailed to the author at hskaarup@rogers.com.
For all official data concerning the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery, please click on the link to their website:
Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery Website
Note: Back in the day, artillery in Canada was referred to by its radio call sign "Sheldrake". It is now referred to by its "Golf" call sign. (Acorn sends)
New Westminster
(Terry Leith Photos)
(Author Photos)
64-pounder 71-cwt Converted Rifled Muzzleloading Gun with Millar-pattern breeching ring, weight 64-1-0 (7,196 lbs), RGF No. 147, 1864 on the left trunnion, mounted on an iron garrison carriage. The gun is from the lower deck of a British Man of War, from redundant stores of the Royal Navy Dockyard sent to Victoria, in 1895. It stands in front of the Armoury, home of the Museum of the Royal Westminster Regiment, 530 Queen’s Avenue.
This gun was sent to New Westminster as the training armament for the company of the 2nd Battalion, 5th (BC Regiment, Canadian Garrison Artillery, which served here in the late 1890's. Provision was made to be able to mount this gun in one part of the armoury with a firing port through which it could be fired towards the Fraser River. Guns of the type were mounted on Brothers Island and at Nias (Victoria) Point Battery in Victoria from 1878 to c. 1897. This gun may well have served in one of these batteries before being sent to New Westminster. (Dale Mumford)
(City of Vancouver Archives Photo)
The Seymour Battery of Garrison Artillery at "The Battery" southeast of Albert Crescent in New Westminster, ca 1878-1886.
(City of Vancouver Archives Photo, AM54-S4-: Mon P27.1)
Bronze 24-pounder 12-cwt Smoothbore Muzzleloading Howitzer, weight 12-2-24 (1,424 lbs), 1858 on the left trunnion, Serial No. DCCXV (615), on the right trunnion, Queen Victoria (1837 to 1901) cypher, 4858 with broad arrow on the barrel, F.M. EARDLEY-WILMOT (Frederick Marow Eardley-Wilmot) above the cascabel. Mounted on a wheeled carriage, No. 1 of 2 on display in front of City Hall. These guns arrived on 15 Sep 1866 on HMS Sparrowhawk and were used for training and defence in British Columbia until 1873.
Bronze 24-pounder 12-cwt Smoothbore Muzzle-loading Howitzer, weight 12-2-12 (1,412 lbs), 1859 on the left trunnion, Q9, Serial No. CCCXI (311) on the right trunnion, Queen Victoria cypher, 4858 with broad arrow on the barrel, F.M. EARDLEY-WILMOT (Frederick Marow Eardley-Wilmot) above the cascabel. Mounted on a wheeled carriage, No. 2 of 2 on display in front of City Hall.
For many years these two bronze 24-pounder SBML howitzers were on display on either side of the monument to Simon Fraser near the Pattullo Bridge in New Westminster. They were later moved to New Westminster Quay, before being placed on display in their present location in front of the New Westminster City Hall. These howitzers are reported to be the ones that were issued to the Seymour Battery of Garrison Artillery, which was the first artillery unit to be formed in BC in 1866. (Dale Mumford)
No one knows how the cannon got from their former position and onto the concrete bases that had been built at Westminster Quay, but they were removed from that location when the Royal Westminster Regiment Association restoration operation (headed by 2Lt G.T. McNabb) rescued them. The City of New Westminster was not involved in the restoration, and the entire cost was borne by the RWRA. The wood for the complete replacement of the carriages was donated by a local forestry company (which actually had to cut down a tree in order to produce pieces of wood of sufficient size, the kilning of the wood was donated by a lumber company in Squamish, the actual construction of the carriages was done, gratis, by the Burnaby Village Museum's restoration carpenter and woodworker (who had already done the restoration of the vintage carousel) and all of the ironmongery was done, at no charge, by the blacksmith at the BVM. When the cannon were emplaced in front of the New Westminster City Hall, it was with the understanding that the City of New Westminster would properly care for them. Some restoration work is ongoing.
As far as anyone knows the Seymour Artillery Company was the only artillery unit in the British Empire to wear "scarlets". That's because they didn't actually get issued any uniforms and the Royal Engineer detachment based out of New Westminster was being "stood down" and carelessly left their no longer needed uniforms insufficiently secured. (Ted McNabb)
(Leon Jensen Photo)
Major General Jonathan Peel Master General of the Ordnance cypher,
(Author Photos, 25 Jan 2019)
Bronze 24-pounder 12-cwt Smoothbore Muzzleloading Howitzer, weight 12-2-24 (1,424 lbs), 1858 on the left trunnion, Serial No. DCCXV (615), on the right trunnion, Queen Victoria (1837 to 1901) cypher, 4858 with broad arrow on the barrel, F.M. EARDLEY-WILMOT (Frederick Marow Eardley-Wilmot) above the cascabel. Mounted on a wheeled carriage, No. 1 of 2 on display in front of City Hall. These guns arrived on 15 Sep 1866 on HMS Sparrowhawk and were used for training and defence in British Columbia until 1873.
Queen Vicotoria royal cypher.
Bronze 24-pounder 12-cwt Smoothbore Muzzle-loading Howitzer, weight 12-2-12 (1,412 lbs), 1859 on the left trunnion, Q9, Serial No. CCCXI (311) on the right trunnion, Queen Victoria cypher, 4858 with broad arrow on the barrel, F.M. EARDLEY-WILMOT (Frederick Marow Eardley-Wilmot) above the cascabel. Mounted on a wheeled carriage, No. 2 of 2 on display in front of City Hall.
Ordnance Rifle, replica, 1861, Seymour Battery.
