It will be the 100th anniversary of Vimy Ridge coming up in April and one of our members has a mission to get done. Please take the time to read the story, look at the pictures, and for the cost of only a box of ammo you can help secure these pieces of history for further generations. If you want a bit more info the Wiki link is below, and you will notice the reference picture is the one we are trying to restore!! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/25_cm_...er_Minenwerfer
( Contact information at the bottom )
From the desk of Buffdog:
"Help Preserve these two World War I War Trophies.
The 100th Anniversary of Vimy Ridge is on the 9th of April 2017. These are two Captured German WWI schwerer Minenwerfers 25cm (250 mm heavy Mine Launchers) They need your help.
The first one is at Branch 518 of the Royal Canadian Legion in Tavistock, Ontario. It was captured by the 102nd. Battalion, (Northern British Columbia) Canadian Expeditionary Force on 9th. April, 1917 at Vimy Ridge.
The second one is at Waterford High School, in Waterford, Ontario. It was captured by the 9th. Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers, on 9th. April, 1917, also at Vimy Ridge.
Both of these captured "War Trophies" need some immediate repairs to preserve their condition, prolong their life and help protect them from the elements that have ravished them for almost 100 years. It is estimated that $1000 each will really make a difference, this being the cost of materials such as cement for the bases, and local Legion Members and School maintenance staff doing the work themselves. Government funding has been inquired into, but due to the short time between now and April 9th, 2017, and application delays and paperwork ( 12 pages on the application), the results have been "disappointing".
What can we do?
Obviously, it would not be fair to ask one or two of our members for a large amount, BUT, what if we had 100 CGN Milsurp Members donate $20 each? YOU could help preserve these valuable Minenwerfers for LESS THAN THE PRICE OF A BOX OF AMMUNITION.
In talking with some of our Members on this Forum, a lot of good ideas were discussed. ALL donations would be split evenly between the Tavistock Legion and Waterford High School, with NO deductions for "expenses" or such would be made. This would be limited to 100 Members, (possibly a few more due to snail mailed donations, etc.)
All Members who donate will be recognized here in CGN by having their CGN names posted. When a donation is confirmed, a number will be given to the Donor. This is important, because there will be two draws made when we have the required amount.
You can have "bragging rights" as a Donor who helped conserve these two Minenwerfers.
Now for some really great news. John at WOLVERINE SUPPLIES in Virden, Manitoba, (one of our CGN Sponsors here,) is supporting this with TWO Gift Certificates of $50 each.
When we meet our goal of 100 Member donations, ($2000), a draw will be made by an independent party who will draw two numbers. Each CGN Member whose number matches the drawn numbers will be notified that they have won a $50 WOLVERINE SUPPLIES Gift Certificate and I will contact them with the details.
Can we get 100 donations of $20 each for a good cause? I have confidence in the CGN Milsurp Members that we will do it.
ALL THAT IT WILL TAKE IS LESS THAN A PRICE OF ONE BOX OF AMMUNITION EACH.
Send a PM to me, Buffdog and I will send PM you back with details on how to contribute. Also, Donors will receive additional information, pictures, and later we will see about an "Award Certificate" that you can put on the wall of your man cave."
With the help of our community, we can band together and get this done. It is not a fortune that we are after, only enough to get these beauties back up to the condition that they deserve. Anyone who is wishing to donate please PM Buffdog or shoot me ( Wolverine .303 ) an Email and I can get you in contact with the right party. Please tell your friends, family, and anyone else if they are able to donate, everything would be appreciated. Donations can be made by either EMT, Cheque, or direct deposit.
Wolverine .303 - tysonl@wolverinesupplies.com
Buffdog - Please Private Message this account for donation info. ( preferred )
From the desk of Buffdog:
UPDATE FEBRUARY 27
Well, it has been interesting so far. We are now at $720 in CONFIRMED donations and I thank all of you.
When someone sent me a PM and indicated that they wanted to donate, I sent a reply back with the information. However, I did not realize with the EMT system, as I recorded their CGN name and assigned a number to that name.
BUT, the EMT system spit out the actual names of many of the first donations that came in. I knew many of the Members and could cross reference their name and number with the name, but some of you are new to me. So, while we have $740 in confirmed donations, there are another fourteen people that I am going to send an e-mail to asking for their CGN name so I can properly credit them.
There have been people who have donated more than the $20, so in all fairness, I think it is like buying a ticket on the draw. I have allotted more numbers to those donations, so if you donated $60 for example, you got three numbers for the draw. (That is three donations of $20 each.)
I also intend to send everyone who donates a bit of a "VIMY" information package, and I think a lot of you are going to be really surprised as to some of the information in it that concerns one of these Minenwerfers.
All in all, I think we are doing quite well so far. It has only been a little over four days and the response has been excellent from those who care.
Thanks everyone
Buffdog
WE DID IT!
Two weeks ago, I started a bit of a Campaign to raise $1000 each, for two German heavy Minenwerfers.
As of Friday, March 3rd, the CGN Members have donated $1920 Dollars to this purpose, with several more EMT Donations and a couple of mail in Donations to be added to this total.
Therefore, I am closing the thread for Donations at Midnight, Sunday, March 5th but will accept any Donations up to that time. We will wait one week for any snail mail, and then make a draw for the two WOLVERINE SUPPLIES $50 Gift Certificates.
One of the Members here said "You did it!". I thought about this for a few seconds, then replied "No, I only had the idea and started it." The people who DID IT were the CGN Members who believed in me, and a good cause." " WE did it " is a lot more accurate.
I still have to straighten out a few of the earlier EMTs, (my bad on some instructions), and some more Donations are still in the system, so there will be a bit more for these Two Minenwerfers than we had hoped for.
After Sunday, with the Draw made, I should have the final numbers later on in the week.
I would like to thank everyone who made a donation to help do a bit of restorative work on these two Mortars. Obviously we can not completely restore them due to 100 years of exposure to the elements, and the great cost and time it would take, even if we could find the parts. But, it will help to preserve them a bit longer, and make people more aware of their importance in the History of our country.
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Originally Posted by Keller
