Day 298
Sunday December 18, 2022
I was attracted by the cannon display at first, but I wanted to see the stelea to learn more.
I took pictures to be able to read them more closely later.
You never know when you will be able to visit a war memorial again.
Those stelae are there so you can reflect upon the past and learn the lessons history wants to teach us about the dangers that lay ahead if we don’t pay attention.
MEMORIES OF WAR
In times of war, captured pieces of enemy equipment are customarily treated as trophies and put on display. During the First World War the Canadian Expeditionary Force was no exception. It seized 516 cannons, 304 trench mortars, 3,500 light and heavy machine-guns, and 44 airplanes. As tangible examples of victory, this booty was recorded in official reports and chalk-marked with the identifiers of the battalions that had taken them.
Once this collection arrived on Canadian soil it was scattered across the country for public viewing in buildings or parks. In 1926 the Controller of War Trophies asked the National Battlefields Commission to preserve and display seven artillery guns captured from the German army. The guns were placed at different locations on the Plains of Abraham. They have since been brought together as a testimony to victory and, above all, to the efforts and sacrifices of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.
The little guided tour will continue on Monday.
My Forgotten Hobby VI 