German field gun found at new high school site
A German field gun, unearthed during construction of Amherstburg's new public high school, has been placed in safe storage until town officials can decide what to do with the First World War relic.
Mayor Aldo Dicarlo said the 77mm field gun was a trophy piece brought back from Europe by the Canadian government after the war.
Dicarlo had the help of Kevin Fox, former curator of the Kingsville Historical Park Museum and currently the town's policy and committee coordinator, who researched the history behind the gun's existence in Amherstburg.
Amherstburg acquired the gun from the federal government in 1922, placing it at the town's cenotaph.
“This is the really cool part. It is originally from the (current) high school,” Dicarlo said.
Before the expansion of General Amherst High School in the early 1970s, the town's cenotaph sat next to the high school on Sandwich Street and the artillery piece was set up there.
The cenotaph was relocated to Centennial Park, on the south side near Simcoe
Street where it remained until it was moved again.
“Fast forward to somewhere around 1988, I think. We have the King's Navy Yard Park and they decide to build the cenotaph there,” Dicarlo said.
“However, at the time, the one thing that they did not bother moving was the gun because apparently at that point it was in a condition that they considered beyond repair.
“The gun was buried at that point,” he said. “I think it was more symbolic. Kind of like a tribute to the original cenotaph.”
The gun is “quite weathered” now with some bent parts and some pieces broken off.
Dicarlo said the bulk of the damage is to the part that would have allowed a horse to tow the artillery piece.
There is evidence of the gun's wooden wheels and spokes as the hubs remain intact.
“As far as Kevin said, because that's his specialty, the bulk of it is there,” he said.
“It's in remarkably good condition considering that before it was buried, it was exposed to the elements for who knows how many years and then underground for, now combined, over 100 years.”
Dicarlo said he can't believe how much interest the field gun has generated from historical military organizations that have reached out to the town.
Many groups are concerned that the gun be kept and maintained. Some have offered to help restore it.
“I think we're in really good shape no matter what we decide to do with it,” he said, adding historians are more inclined to clean it up but leave it as is because changing it or restoring it takes away some of its originality.
But the decision about what to do with the gun will take some time.
“As I've been saying, although it's over 100 years old, it's only a few days old since we found it, and now, you know, we decide what to do,” Dicarlo said.
“We'll have to figure out whether we want a fully restored field gun or whether we want to clean it up and just find some prominence for it where we can display it.”