Page 7 - Pharmacy History 33 November 2007

The Spoils of War
German MG08 Medium Machine Gun and Sled Mount
By Geoff Miller
Imagine the fear and trepidation of a pharmacist or student, some time after 1922, if they were called to attend the Board room at the Victorian College of Pharmacy for what ever reason and being greeted by the piece of weaponry shown in this photo!
Had the Board’s powers been radically extended?
What would they have been thinking whilst “looking down the barrel’ and would they have been asking the question as to why was such a deadly killer that had cut down the flower of our youth in Flanders fields accepted into a place associated with health and healing and the preservation of human life?
The answer lies in a report which appeared in the Australasian Journal of Pharmacy in November 1922
Under the heading “Unveiling of Captured Machine Gun”, the article reads-
Through the instrumentality of Mr.A. R. Bailey the Defence authorities recently presented to the College of Pharmacy
a German machine gun, with sleigh, captured by the 5th Battalion at Zonnebeke on 4th October, 1917.
In the presence of the members of the Council, the teaching staff and the students of the College, the gun was formally accepted and unveiled by the President of the Society (Mr. Walter Kernot, J.P.) on Wednesday, November 1st standing at the head of the gun, which was placed in the centre of the large museum, draped with a Union Jack
Mr. Kernot delivered an impressive address and at the request of the Council unveiled the gun and accepted it on behalf of the trustees. Mr. Kernot feelingly referred to the number of present and past students of the College
who had taken part in the war. He hoped the gun would always be to all present a symbol of loyalty, courage and fair play. The Empire had stood the test of fire, and in the days to come, should they be. called on to fight again; he hoped they would be prepared to take their place in again upholding the honour and integrity of their country.
At the conclusion of the address, the National Anthem was sung and three hearty cheers were given
According to the Head of Military Heraldry and Technology at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, the weapon pictured in the Australasian Journal of Pharmacy is an MG08 Medium Machine Gun on its `sled’ mount. Thousands of these, along with the MG08/15 Light Machine Gun, were captured during the course of the First World War and transported to Australia. The Memorial holds most if not all of the surviving documentation for the allocation of War Trophies distributed after the First World War, In the post war period, many were distributed to towns, cities, Mechanics Institutes, and schools for display.
The process of allocating War Trophies depended on the number of volunteers coming from cities, towns and institutions around the country. The larger the number of men drafted into the fighting forces, the larger the trophy,
so that a major city would be given
a large gun or tank, a medium town would get a smaller field gun and small institutions were given a machine gun or similar weapon.
The Victorian College of Pharmacy was allocated a War Trophy because 19 men associated with Pharmacy in Victoria died while serving their country.
During the Second World War, many of these weapons were reclaimed by the military forces and used to equip and training the Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC). Around 3,000 were used in the conversion of the type
to fire the standard .303 rimmed ammunition, rather than the 7.92-mm rimless ammunition. Some 1,400 were converted, with the remainder probably being scrapped. Recording of the details of these weapons was very poor, so
the source and serial numbers are no longer available (if they ever were!). After allocation, the authorities had no further interest in the weapons and it is most likely that the It is very likely that the weapon was eventually either surrendered during the Second World War, or was otherwise disposed of. It is highly unlikely that it still exists.
If any reader can shed any further light on this fascinating piece of memorabilia, we would like to hear from you.
LEST WE FORGET
volume 4 ■ no 34 ■ February 2008
Pharmacy History Australia ■ 7