Rededicated

Members of the Picton Legion colour guard along with Tony Ruthven of the Royal Canadian Legion Br. 78 Picton thanking Jim Hemlin President of EOGA for the gift of the refurbished Howitzer.

Restoring a piece of history

The Royal Canadian Legion Br. 78 Picton welcomed back some old friends as the Eastern Ontario Gunners Association (EOGA) got together for their annual reunion at the branch. The organization is composed of retired Canadian artillery servicemen and on Saturday the group got together to present the refurbished 1960s era 105mm Pack Howitzer to the Legion in Picton, a project that the EOGA took on last year.

The newly refurbished 1807 and 1812 Carron Cannons were dedicated by John Rankin. He is the great-grandson of Wellington Boulter, a prominent local business man in the canning industry. Boulter presented the guns to the Picton’s high school in 1910. They were moved to the legion in 1965. Last summer the cannons were carefully restored by Rankin and his niece Debbie Rankin. They were rededicated in a ceremony on Saturday.

John W Rankin rededicates the refurbished Carron Cannons, originally gifted by his great-grandfather Wellington Boulter in 1910.

Each of the guns are currently on display on the front lawn of the Picton Legion.