This is the much-anticipated debut of a new series of posts! The extensive Warsearcher postcard archive has been mined to restore a visual record of military artifacts that have been lost from communities across Canada. Why? Because we can’t let the non-existence of an artifact hamper our interpretation of it!
German 15 cm Howitzer no. 249 was captured by the 29th Canadian Infantry Battalion, at Station Wood, near Vimy. This gun was likely one of the four “5.9 inch” howitzers (the British name for these guns) captured by Lt. E.C. Corbett (service file hyperlinked) and a patrol of D company late in the day of 9 April 1917. This action, and accurate map references, appear in the War Diary.
29th Canadian Infantry Battalion War Diary entry for 9 April 1917. Library and Archives Canada RG9-III-D-3 Vol. 4936.
One of a vast collection of captured German trophies sent by the government to Canada, It was shipped to East Angus via Grand Trunk Railways 10 December 1920;
Here is a late 1950s postcard view of the East Angus Post Office and War Memorial, which shows what looks like the 15cm schwere Feldhaubitze model 13:
Though it seems to have survived the scrap drives of the Second World War, its later fate is unknown. Any readers with information on this trophy are welcome to comment!
The Searchers 
According some people of East Angus, these howitzer has been sent to scrap yard many years ago, because the cost of maintenance has been too high for the town, the howitzer had too much rust. The council of the town had considered its low historic value for citizens before the decision.
Thanks Alain. Yes, unless the battlefield provenance of these pieces is kept secure and linked to the gun, then the value can be lost. It is costly to maintain these outdoors, and the wooden wheels deteriorating can introduce the risk of collapse.
I live in East Angus and i dont exactly remember when the cannon was remove from the post office lawn. I think it was the late 80 s or early 90 s. I dont know exactly why either. But theres one thing i m sure of and it s that the person who took that decision did nt care about history and what it meant for the soldier and their family. They probably wanted to save a gallon of paint once a year.
Thanks for this info, Steve. I would have thought it was earlier than this, and it is a hard blow to learn how late it was removed.