Battle over Clyde’s old gun

CROMWELL woman Rowena Owens is going into battle for the return of Clyde’s wartime field gun.

Mrs Owens bought a Howitzer as a community project in 1993 when she was secretary of the Clyde Residents and Ratepayers’ Association.

She gave it to the Clyde community in memory of Vietnam War veterans and it was installed beside the Clyde cenotaph.

During a recent visit to the cenotaph she discovered it was missing.

She was confused by its disappearance because noone had contacted her about it.

Investigations led her to AlexandraClyde RSA president Kevin Harding, who told the Otago Daily Times the gun had been taken away for restoration.

When asked who owned the gun and if the RSA had consulted Mrs Owens about removing it from the cenotaph, Mr Harding said ‘‘if [Mrs Owens has] got paper proof [of ownership] she can present to us and we’ll put it back’’.

Mr Harding said the gun was ‘‘not missing’’.

‘‘We have restored our gun outside the RSA [in Alexandra and] we’re doing the same with the Clyde one and putting a roof over its head,’’ he said.

The field gun would be painted and restored so it could fire blanks for commemorative occasions such as Anzac Day.

However, at the time of its purchase, Mrs Owens was told she could take the gun only if it was made inoperable.

‘‘It was to be a static piece never to be used,’’ she said.

‘‘My main concern was that I got it on the proviso that the army fixed it to their regulations. The barrel was filled with lead . . . and parts were taken off. It was a safety aspect and that was the only way I was allowed to get it.’’

However, Mr Harding said anyone with a class C (collectors) licence was allowed to fire such weapons using blanks.

At least one member of the AlexandraClyde RSA held that licence.

Mrs Owens said when she initially thought of the Clyde gun project, her aim was to replace the horsedrawn 25pound field gun which the Ministry of Defence removed from the same spot at the start of World War 2 for use by the Allies.

It was not returned, so Mrs Owens started work on securing another gun — the one in question today.

She said to get the Howitzer, a financial ‘‘transaction’’ had to take place and she ‘‘paid for that personally’’.

Fellow resident Jack Dougherty ‘‘picked up the tab’’ to get it from Christchurch to Clyde.

‘‘That gun belongs to Clyde — we got it for Clyde. It has nothing to do with the RSA,’’ she said.

‘‘We want it returned in the condition it was in when it was lifted.’’ alexia.johnston@alliedpress.co.nz

PHOTO: ALEXIA JOHNSTON Drawing blanks . . . Rowena Owens and her husband Ken look at old newspaper articles featuring the Howitzer wartime field gun Mrs Owens gave to Clyde. The concrete slab where it usually sits is now empty after the gun was removed by members of the RSA without consulting Mrs Owens.

PHOTO: ALLIED PRESS FILES Proud moment . . . A newspaper article from December 1993 shows Rowena Owens and Jack Dougherty inspecting the new Clyde field gun soon after its arrival.