What do you get when you win…a trophy. What do you get when you win a war… well, a war trophy of course.

Many Canadian townships have war trophies in parks, near cenotaphs or in memorials. Like the towns that the trophies are in one could assume that they are Canadian-made weapons, used in war. However for most of them this is not the case. The gun in the image above in Victoria Park, Milton, Ontario is actually of German origin. It was captured during World War One. “More specifically it was captured by the 3rd Canadian Infantry Battalion during the “Canada’s Hundred Days” on September 27th, 1918” (MHS, n.d.). 

Also taken as war trophies that were allocated to Milton, machine guns. Alongside the Field Gun that is located in Victoria Park, “four German machine guns were taken” (MHS, n.d.). Although there is no trace of these machine guns; they are thought to have been melted down during World War Two to supply the allies with more materials. This was a very common practice around that time.  

To find out if your Canadian town has any war trophies look here.

References

Milton’s War Trophy – Milton Historical Society. (n.d.). Milton Historical Society. Retrieved February 16, 2023, from http://www.miltonhistoricalsociety.ca/military/project-reports/miltons-war-trophy/

WHERE THE GUNS ARE NOW: War Trophies Database. (n.d.). The Searchers. Retrieved February 16, 2023, from https://warsearcher.com/the-silent-batteries-war-trophies-of-canada/war-trophies-allocation-and-details-database/