Castlereagh War Trophies

 

After the cessation of hostilities, a State Trophy Committee was set up to allocate captured guns (war trophies), to Australian towns. Castlereagh, like many other Australian towns, applied for a war trophy and was awarded 2 machine guns. Three trustees had to be nominated, one of these had to be a member of the AIF. The trustees nominated for Castlereagh were: Ernest L R Keech of Nepean Park Castlereagh Rd Penrith (ex 105 Howitzer Battalion), Percy Landers and Albert J Craig. The trustees signed an agreement on 20 July 1920 to say that they would house the trophy in a public place or institution and arrange for a simple ceremony to formally hand over the trophy.

On 7 June 1921,Castlereagh received the following machine guns:

No 35692 Heavy machine gun without mount

No 1376 Light machine gun with bipod captured by the 20th Battalion

The guns are no longer on display and their fate is unknown.

Sources:

Billett, R S (1999). War Trophies From the First World War: 1914-1918. Kangaroo: East Roseville, NSW.

AWM194 Allotment of 1914-1918 War Trophies