It’s been in Kelowna for nearly a century but only now has it found its final destination.
A refurbished World War One field gun was unveiled in front of the Okanagan Military Museum today.
The gun was captured from the Germans in 1918 and shipped to Kelowna in 1920.
It sat in Kelowna City Park for several years before being relocated to the armory in the 1970’s.
It now sits in front of the military museum to serve as a reminder of the lives lost in the ‘great war’.
“I’ve had people say that we’re trying to glorify war, no we’re not doing that. We’re displaying an artifact that has belonged in Kelowna 100 years basically. Yes, it was sent back as a trophy of the WWI but I think of it as something to actually honour the memory of the large number of Kelowna folks who passed away during WWI,” said Tom Wolf of the Okanagan Military Museum Society.
No tax dollars were used to refurbish the gun. It was paid for by donations including a large chunk from former senator Ross Fitzpatrick whose father and uncle both fought in the First World War.