War Trophies
The presentation of German guns to Amble and their eventual end in the quarry has been discussed before on the forum. The Council had a lively debate in 1919 when a gun was offered. By October the Council had already agreed to accept a war trophy but at their 28 October meeting a letter from the War Office was received which specifically said they would be given a German gun.
Mr Tulley didn't want any German rubbish; Mr MacAndrews said they'd already agreed and that 5 million men had been sent to capture Germans and their guns and historically a great price had always been placed on war trophies; Mr Sanderson didn't want to see anything in Amble that had caused the deaths of hundreds of men; Mr Earnshaw thought it would be a valuable monument to teach children the difference between right and wrong.
Mr Dixon, a new council member who had fought in France said he wouldn't vote for anything German and having been in close touch with these guns they always gave him a feeling of hatred for anything German.
The Council eventually confirmed they would accept the gun.
The people of Amble made their feelings plain and dumped them in the quarry.
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