German trophy gun and Boer War memorial at St Kilda, Victoria, January 20, 1937. Photo by Bevis Platt.
Some of Australia’s Great War “trophy guns”
With assistance from David Pearson, of the Australian War Memorial As The Great War of 1914-1918 ground to its end on the European continent, many countries decided they’d like to collect and take home officially captured trophies of their victory. That’s not surprising, considering the enthusiasm with which many individual soldiers had collected unofficial souvenirs of various kinds throughout the entire war. Many German prisoners, for example, complained bitterly of being forced to hand over personal belongings to some of their captors. Watches, field glasses and similar items were particularly at risk of being “souvenired” and…