A storyboard commemorating the Battle of Amiens will be added to Jubilee Terrace Park in the summer.
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The storyboard, which is still being developed. will highlight the importance of the First World War battle and the history of Brantford residents at that time. City council has set aside $3,400 for the project.
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The Canadian War Museum describes the battle as the beginning of the end of German armies.
An allied force led by Canadian and Australian troops, nearly broke through enemy lines on Aug. 8, 1918, pushing the Germans back several kilometers, the war museum says
The date – Aug. 8 – is referred to as the start of Canada’s Hundred Days Offensive during the First World War and the Black Day for the German army. There were more than 11,800 Canadian casualties during the battle.
A storyboard outlining the history of the German Field Howitzer was installed at the park in September 2023. Manufactured by the Friedrich Krupp AG, the howitzer was captured by the 116th Battalion including soldiers from Brantford and Brant County, near Demuin, France on Aug. 8, 1918.
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The city is looking for an indoor home for the howitzer which has been a fixture at Jubilee Park Terrace for generations.
City officials have been told that under current circumstances, the howitzer has a lifespan of 15 years if it remains outside. The gun is adjacent to a roadway – the corner of Brant Avenue and Colborne Street West by the Lorne Bridge – where road salt is applied during the winter. As a result, the howitzer is vulnerable to deterioration due to environmental conditions.
The howitzer is wrapped in a covering to protect it from snow and ice over the winter.
City officials said the howitzer was removed from the park in May 2022 to undergo restoration and returned home in November 2022.
The restoration work was done at a cost of just over $72,300 by Toronto Art Restoration Inc.
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Located at 10 Brant Ave. Jubilee Terrace Park underwent a reconstruction in November 2022, which included new concrete sidewalks, a new cannon display pad, new planting beds, benches and a new pad lighting for the refurbished howitzer.
Meanwhile, city officials are planning a public consultation to add more names of the fallen to the Brant War Memorial. The goal is to add the names of the fallen who, for a variety of reasons, are not listed at present.
The consultation is expected to begin soon with vetting of names to take place in October and November to tie in to Remembrance Day 2024. Plans call for the additional names to be added to the Brant War Memorial by summer 2025.
The new storyboard, plans for the howitzer and the war memorial were approved by city council at a March 26 meeting.
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