Two WW1 trophy guns in Memorial Park were refurbished in 2014 as part of the Township’s commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the First World War.
The guns came into Township possession in 1920, after a request to the federal Commission of War Records and Trophies by the Township Council of the day.
The two German guns are Krupp 77mm Feldkanone 96 n/A’s which were both captured from the Bavarian Army by the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles: #9739 on April 09, 1917 at the La Folie Farm, Vimy Ridge, and #595 on September 29,1918 at the 2nd Battle of Cambrai, Neuville St Remy, France
Properly caring for and maintaining the guns – which together comprise two of only three known guns of this type in the province – is the responsibility of the Township and an original condition of taking custody of them.
The restoration project involved replacing missing parts, repairing damaged and rusted components, and cleaning, coating, and re-painting the guns using the original German colours and pattern.The guns have been re-mounted in Memorial Park and continue to form part of Esquimalt's War Memorial.