Eastfield
Gun
An obsolete weapon.
A starving nation.
A forgotten story.
In 1917, Britain was within a fortnight of starvation. This is the story of the gun that helped fight back.
Britain 1917
The Nation at the Brink
German U-Boats had pushed Britain to the brink. Merchant ships carrying coal, food and fuel were being sunk faster than they could be replaced.
An Obsolete Weapon
From France to the Front Line
A French de Bange 90mm land artillery piece made in 1877. By 1917 it was obsolete, stored away, and of no use to anyone. Until Britain had to use everything it could find.
SS Eastfield
Never Came Home
The SS Eastfield was a steamship carrying vital cargoes of coal. In November 1917, a German U-Boat struck. She sank off the Cornish coast.
A Forgotten Survivor
Salvage & Rediscovery
The gun was recovered as salvage with little commercial value in the 1970s and held in the Charlestown collection. This gun represents an important part of British history, but one which is largely unknown.
Saving Britain's Last Gun
Conservation in Progress
The gun suffers from active corrosion to both its iron and copper alloy components. Without urgent conservation, this unique survivor may be lost forever.
