Rare WW1 howitzer trophy gun saved from scrapyard

One of only two short-barrelled 10.5cm howitzer trophy guns believed to have survived in the UK has been saved from the scrapyard by a World War One museum.

The German gun was given to St Boswells, a village in the Scottish Borders near Melrose, after the war.

"Local veteran George Oliver took exception to it and he and his ex-service pals tipped it into the River Tweed, ironically saving it from the scrap man in the 1930s," said Taff Gillingham, from Great War Huts near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

It was recovered in the 1980s and one of its rescuers took it home. He is now moving and was happy to donate it to the museum.

"It does need a lot of work, and a lot of the steel will need replacing, but the museum's co-owner Kev Smith is not in the least perturbed," said Gillingham.

After World War One, many captured German guns or tanks were taken as trophies by Britain and the other Allied powers.

Odd as it sounds today, they were then donated to communities as war spoil - seized from the enemy after their defeat.

However, "there was quite a movement by ex-servicemen after the war to throw them in rivers", explained Gillingham.

Those that survived were usually taken as part of the World War Two scrap metal drive.

The historian said the 10.5cm howitzers were less common than the 77mm field guns, making this survivor a rarity.

It is one of only two such trophy howitzers that he knows about in the UK.

This particular gun was initially put on display outside St Boswells' hall, under the clock, until Oliver intervened.

The veteran had been wounded at Gallipoli and repatriated. After his recovery, he was sent to the Somme, where he was taken prisoner and remained in captivity until the war ended, according to the village website.

He and his friends took offence at the howitzer and pushed it into the Tweed. It was moved out of the way of fishermen and on to a beach but remained there, covered in silt, until "a group of local lads decided to recover the remains in the 1980s", said Gillingham.

"With permission of the village hall committee, and a tractor, it was hauled back up and saved for a second time," he continued.

"One of the recovery team, Ian Rogers, who lived nearby, took it home and it's been a 'gate guardian' at his home ever since.

"With the site now being sold, it looked as if the howitzer would be finally heading off to the scrapyard."

A historian called Mike Taylor, who searches for trophy guns, was in the area and heard about its probable demise, so he told Rogers: "I know some crazy people in Suffolk who might take it."

Gillingham said the gun would take many years to restore, but added: "Another important piece of First World War history has been saved."

He would love to hear from anyone with a photograph of the gun outside St Boswells village hall or who knows the date it was given.

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