Thursday, October 26, 2006

Radstock Field Gun Mystery

I had a visit from local historian Chris Howell to drop me off a copy of his acclaimed book on the Great War No Thankful Village. I asked him about a story I heard through the family about the post-war years in Radstock. What I heard was that a German Field Gun was placed in the square in front of Victoria Hall as a memorial but it was deeply unpopular as many widows thought it might have been the machine that took their loved ones. Entreaties were made to have it removed, letters printed in the Radstock Observer, all to no avail; the powers that be were set in their resolve, it was going to stay. So in the dead of night all the veterans including my Grandfather, dismantled it into pieces and hung them ominously on the trees lining the approach drive on the local Lord's estate. The police were brought in and an enquiry started. Noone would speak about it though all the veterans were known to have done it - who else could have? It was a typical miner's wall of silence. Anyway Chris was able to confirm there was a Field Gun memorial in Radstock and it was taken away, but the rest he hadn't heard about. I think the fact that it was there is enough evidence for me - I'll see if I can find some letters in the local paper about it. I wish I could get my hands on a 77mm now though! More about Radstock history at the Museum.
Picture is of a 77mm Field Gun from a feature on reenactors from 1st World War.com

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