April 9th was the 100th anniversary of Vimy Ridge. Saturday's marking in St. Catharines was particularly significant, as it unveiled a relic that was in the battle. A restored 105-millimeter Howitzer German artillery gun was captured by Canadian soldiers during the battle, and was sitting in storage in the Butler's Barracks in Niagara-on-the-Lake. It had sat in the village of Queenstown from 1926 to 1992. Volunteers of the Lincoln & Welland Regiment restored it in 2009.
The gun was at Vimy Ridge and efforts were made to find out if it actually fired on the Canadians. They do know that the Canadians flipped the gun around when they captured it and 'used it against the Germans.'
There is further significance of the Lincoln and Welland Regiment in yesterday's ceremony. They raised $15 million to build a new Niagara Military Heritage Centre where the Vimy Ridge gun will eventually stay. The unveiling story is here.
