• “BIG TOM” CANNON: Sarnia’s Market Square, now called Veterans Park, has been around since Canada’s Confederation in 1867. In 1869, an old cannon, a British-made “32-pounder” originally nicknamed “Long Tom”, was placed in the park.

 

  • Manufacture: Walker and Company of Rotherham, Yorkshire, England manufactured the “Long Tom” cannon sometime before 1820. Brothers Samuel, Jonathan and Aaron Walker, along with their brother-in-law, John Crawshaw, established their small iron making business near Sheffield, England in 1741 before moving it to Masborough, Rotherham in 1746. The new site enabled them to take full advantage of a nearby canal system, with access to the sea and nearby waterways. In those days, before the development of railway systems, the only feasible method of regular transportation for large volume, heavy iron products was by ship. By 1771, with access to both coal and iron ore in the vicinity, the company began the casting of more iron guns, and the new business of Messrs. Samuel Walker & Company quickly blossomed. With a labour force of nearly 1,000 men, Rotherham was, for a time, the main producer of cannons in the United Kingdom.5S, 5T, 5V

 

  • Walker cannons were made of cast iron and, being a one-piece unit, they had to be cast in a single pour into an upright mould. Successful castings were left to cool a number of days; then workers bored them to the correct calibre and drilled touch holes (vents). The weight by which the cannons could be identified was a reference to the size of standard shot that could be fired from the barrel; for example, 2,6,9,12,18,24 and 32 pounders. The cannons were supplied to both land and sea services where they were fitted to carriages, ranging from all cast iron parts for land garrisons and to all wood parts for sea service. Beginning in 1781, manufacturers received a steady order for guns along with ever increasing demands for improved quality due to the development of ever more powerful gun powders. By 1795, they were making something like 22,000 cannons a year. Production was carried on in Rotherham until 1820, when the Walker Company then moved its cannon manufacturing to Staffordshire, England.5S

 

  • Firing: In the midst of battle, successful gunners required a disciplined firing routine. Using special instruments, gunners first cleaned the bore and then rammed the pre-packed charge (cartridge), the shot and the wadding into the muzzle of the barrel. Simultaneously, the gun captain pushed a wire spike down the touch hole (vent) so as to pierce the flannel lined cartridge; then priming powder was poured into the vent. With the loaded gun in the forward position, the captain pulled the lanyard to fire the flintlock mechanism that, in turn, ignited the main charge and the gun was fired. The explosion in the barrel hurled the shot out of the gun and on to the target. In the heat, smoke, noise, and smell the massive counter force caused the cannon to move backwards (recoil).5S

 

  • Identification: “Long Tom” is a Blomefield SBML 32-pounder 56-cwt cannon, cast by Samuel Walker & Company in Rotherham, England sometime before 1820. Blomefield refers to Thomas Blomefield who, as England’s inspector of artillery in 1780, developed an improved standard for the manufacture of big British guns. SBML stands for smooth-bored muzzle loading, which means that the cannons were loaded with shot from the muzzle. 32-pounder refers to the size of shot fired, in this case, a 32-pound cannonball. The 56-cwt refers to its weight; cwt stands for Hundredweight (old Imperial measure), meaning Big Tom weighs slightly over 3 tons. It is approximately nine and a half feet long. Identification of “Long Tom” as a Walker Company cannon, manufactured in Rotherham, is based on the special marks placed on it during the casting process: on the end face of the left trunnion is the mark ‘WCo’ which stands for Walker and Company; on the end face of the right trunnion is the casting number 375; on the top of the barrel is an embossed crown above a stylized mark of a 3, G and R entwined (this stands for ‘3 George Rex’ and is the royal symbol of King George III who reigned between 1760 – 1820); and also on the barrel is a broad arrow stamp signifying British government ownership. After 1820, Walker cannons were produced in Staffordshire and bear a George IV cypher.

 

The Sarnia cannon is mounted on a concrete field carriage (not the original carriage) with iron wheels. A small metal plaque is on the carriage located below the cascabel (the breech end of the barrel). It has the engraved markings No 1519 and 6.12. It is believed that this plaque is not connected to “Long Tom”, but is the mounting plate that held the base of the elevating screw on a field carriage – the other end was attached to the cascabel. The No. 1519 may have been the carriage number. Although not located on “Long Tom”, other markings often found on this era of cannon included the weight of the gun in Hundredweights, Quarters and Stones (the old Imperial Measure), located usually on the lower part of the cascabel of the barrel and, occasionally, various notches in the barrel, these being used by the gunners for the purpose of ranging the gun onto its target.5O, 5S, 5U

 

  • Weapons of War: Walker Company cannons were manufactured for naval and garrison use and were scattered around the world. Most notably, they were used by the Royal Artillery and the Royal Navy in the American War of Independence (1775-1783); by the Royal Navy on Lord Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory in the Battle of Trafalgar (1805); and by the British during the Crimean War (1853-1856). The Crimean War was the world’s first “media war,” with extensive reporting on the battles. Not only did Canadians follow the reports in newspapers, but several thousand Canadian volunteers served in British units. Lieutenant Alexander Dunn of York (Toronto) received the first Victoria Cross awarded to a Canadian for his part in the infamous “Charge of the Light Brigade” at Balaclava in 1854. In Halifax, a monument was erected in 1860 in memory of two Halifax men who perished during the war. It is the only Crimean War monument in North America.

 

During “Long Tom’s” history in Sarnia, rumours abounded that it was used against the Russians in the Crimean War, even being nicknamed locally the “Sebastopol cannon”. The Siege at Sebastopol was the culminating struggle by the British and French against this strategic Russian base on the Black Sea and was the final episode in the Crimean War. After the war, Queen Victoria and the British Government decided to distribute many of the captured Russian cannons and British cannons (some copper, most iron) across the British Isles and her Empire; therefore, Australia, New Zealand and Canada received them as memorials of the allied victory in Crimea. Some of the guns were melted down to make other forms of memorials. Another use for the captured brass cannons was to provide metal for the new order of valour, the Victoria Cross, instituted in 1856 by Queen Victoria, and first awarded to meritorious Crimean veterans. During the Second World War, many of the Crimean War cannons would fall victim to the government’s drive to collect scrap metal.5S, 5T, 5V, 5W Whether Sarnia’s “Long Tom” was ever used against the Russians in the Crimean War is unknown, but it is relatively unlikely; however, it did manage to avoid the fate of being smelted as scrap in World War II.

 

  • Nickname: Over the countless years of military history, many artillery pieces have been nicknamed “Long Tom”. The origin of the nickname “Long Tom” was derived from the British forces. During Queen Elizabeth I’s reign, the Royal gun founder from 1584 until 1595 was Thomas Johnson. Warships – naval and privateer – usually had one or two long, heavy guns mounted on a swivel at the ship’s bow to act as a chase gun, with shorter, lighter guns along the broadside. In the days when guns were denoted by their range, the chase gun became the “Long Thomas”, after the gun founder. During the Second Boer War, the Boers used several French-built 155-mm Creusot field guns against the British that outranged any field artillery the British possessed. The British forces nicknamed the Boer long barrel guns “Long Toms”. The British had other nicknames for the Boer War artillery, including “Fiddling Jimmy”, “Puffing Billy”, “Silent Susan”, “Bloody Mary”, ”Lady Anne”, and “Long Cecile” (named after Cecil John Rhodes, a governor of the Cape Colony). The term “Long Tom” became a generic identification for any long barreled cannon with long range, with no attachment to calibre. Today, one of the pieces most often associated with this nickname is a long-barrel towed 155-mm Long Tom field gun that was used by the United States military during World War II and the Korean War.

 

From the moment the historic cannon was brought to Victoria Park (now Veterans Park) in Sarnia, it was nicknamed “Long Tom”. When there was talk of smelting the cannon to support the Second World War effort, the Sarnia Observer in a May 1942 article referred to the Victoria Park cannon as “Big Tom”, a name “conferred on it a half a century ago by the boys who played around and on it”. After that, local media continued to refer to the cannon as “Big Tom”, a name that seemed to stick.N

 

  • In Sarnia: The “Long Tom” cannon came over from England to Canada for defence purposes during the time of the Fenian uprising. The threat of a Fenian invasion from the United States was so serious to the colonials in the area that a garrison of militia volunteers was stationed in Point Edward. To supplement the garrison, the Upper Canadian government purchased several small vessels to defend the Great Lakes. “Long Tom” would end up on one of these boats, one that was constructed in Sarnia in 1859. The boat, originally christened the Michigan, was built as a rail ferry for use in Sarnia-Port Huron by the Grand Trunk Railroad, but was later converted to a steam powered passenger tug in 1862. At the height of the Fenian crisis in 1866, the Michigan was chartered by the Provincial Gunboat Service (British government) and refitted for use as a 288-ton gunboat as part of the system of defence of the Great Lakes. The British gunboat was renamed the Prince Alfred after Queen Victoria’s second son and, in 1866, along with the Cherub, and The Rescue, went into duty patrolling the Great Lakes waterways. Prince Alfred was the largest of the Dominion gunboats, with a crew of 5 officers and 47 crewmen. Along with patrol duty from the Niagara River and Windsor to Port Sarnia and into Lake Huron, the Prince Alfred was also used as a training ship for gun drills for artillery units including the Sarnia Battery. Between 1867 and 1871 the Prince Alfred was stationed in the Goderich (Ontario) harbour. At various times, the vessel was equipped with different artillery pieces including two “Armstrong” guns and four brass “howitzer” guns. When the Fenian threat subsided, one of Prince Alfred’s cannons was moved off the boat, retired and stored in the Military Reserve base in Point Edward. In 1869, two years after the nation’s Confederation, the retired cannon, reportedly “reposed near Point Edward, partly covered by sand and underbrush”N was purchased and brought to Sarnia, and placed in front of the old Carnegie library, facing east, in the west end of Port Sarnia’s Market Square Park (now Veterans Park). Part of a (Sarnia) Observer report from late June 1869 stated; The big gun, which was expected to be here for use on Dominion Day, but failed to put in an appearance on time, arrived in town on Tuesday last and has been placed on the south ward Market Square, there to remain permanently. It is a ponderous looking instrument, some nine feet in length, and by way of distinction, we propose that HE shall be known in the future as “Long Tom.” It is expected that when he speaks that he will cause the south ward to quake to its centre.N The final fate of the Prince Alfred is unclear. One source reports that she went aground in Lake Huron near Point Edward in 1874, yet she was for sale by the government in March 1875 (while lying in Sarnia); another source reports she was sold to a Detroit concern and converted into a tug; another source reports that she was broken up in 1885; and another source reports that she “passed out of existence” in 1894. N, 5X, 5Y, q, t

 

  • In the early 1940s, the federal government, as part of a nationwide scrap and metal drive during World War II, suggested that the “Big Tom” cannon in Victoria Park be smelted down for the war effort. In a concerted effort, local Sarnia residents fought back against the government, saying the cannon didn’t belong to Ottawa because it had been in Port Edward/Sarnia about the time of Canada’s Confederation.N

 

  • The “Big Tom” cannon has a long history in Victoria (Veterans) Park and was witness to many solemn events and patriotic celebrations. During both the Boer War and World War I, it was the only military artifact in the park, a tangible, hands-on reminder for family members of their sons/brothers/fathers who were overseas fighting a war. The cannon was witness to farewell services that took place in the park prior to the troops marching to the train station on their first leg to fight overseas. During both of these wars, it was in the park during church services when families gathered to pray for the safe return of their loved ones. It was there for celebrations like the “Welcome Home to Our Boys” celebration in 1900 and the “Armistice” peace celebration in November 1918. It was in the park during the first official Armistice Day (Remembrance Day) on November 11, 1919, honouring those who served, and witnessed many more Remembrance Day services afterward. The cannon was in Victoria Park for many other special events and ceremonies: when Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught officially declared Sarnia to be a city in May 1914; when the cenotaph was unveiled in November 1921; when Sarnia had its Old Home Week celebrations in July 1925; when Sarnians gathered for the VE Day and VJ Day celebrations in May and August 1945; when Sarnians had their first Remembrance Day ceremony following the end of the Korean War in November 1953; and when the “new” Sarnia cenotaph was unveiled in November 1955.

 

  • Sometime between 1959 and 1961, the “new” (and current) Sarnia public library was being built while the old Sarnia library (slightly east of its current location) was being demolished. To make way for the construction work, and after residing in the park for over 90 years, the cannon “BigTom” was moved to the north end of Canatara Park in Sarnia.

 

  • “Big Tom” would remain in Canatara Park until the fall of 2015. Thanks to a dedicated committee of volunteers led by Lou Giancarlo and Mike Banovsky (MPB Industrial), that included Randy Evans, Tom St. Amand and Tom Slater; and with the endorsement of Sarnia City Council, the “Big Tom” cannon was returned to its rightful home in Veterans Park. Mike Atkinson of Atkco Cranes donated the time and equipment in order to make the physical move possible. The “Big Tom” cannon was returned to Veterans Park in time to witness Sarnia’s 97th Remembrance Day ceremony in the park.