From the Collection #20 - Trophy Guns
Part of the "From the Collection" series prepared and distributed to a subscribers' list during 2022 as a follow on to the "Virtual Visit" series initiated during the COVID lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 The collection focus of this item is the trophy guns captured by the AIF during World war 1 and returned to Australia as public memorials.
The guns captured by the Australian Imperial Force were the largest collection per head of population of any combatant nation. To many, these guns symbolised the strength of a new nation and triumph of good over evil. For others, they were a reminder of the waste of war and a blot on the civic landscape.
During WW1 Australian soldiers captured 1,340 enemy guns and mortars. This led to the creation of the Australian War Trophy Collection (AWTC). By September 1922 the AWTC had distributed almost 1,000 war captured guns for memorial purposes to local government councils, schools, halls and other public institutions. These weapons became the first memorials of the Great War in Australia, often years in advance and in marked contrast to memorials that followed with traditional cemetery iconography in bronze, marble and granite.
Details
Details
Typically only a small portion of a museum collection is exhibited at any one time. This is due not only to practical consideration of display space but a range of professional considerations designed to protect and preserve the artefact. This series highlights objects and stories you may have overlooked in the galleries or collection items awaiting the opportunity to be viewed and share their story.
Australian Army Museum of Western Australia
Australian Army Museum of Western Australia
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