Trophy plaque made from a 38 cm SK L/45 and affixed to the carriage of the 'Amiens Gun'.

Metal plaque with six attachment holes. It is engraved 'GERMAN 28 c.m. [11IN] / RAILWAY GUN / CAPTURED NEAR / HARBONNIERES, FRANCE / BY THE / AUSTRALIAN CORPS / 8TH AUGUST 1918 / THIS PLATE IS MADE FROM METAL TAKEN FROM A 15 INCH GUN / WHICH WAS CAPTURED BY THE AUSTRALIAN CORPS NEAR CHUIGNES / ON THE 23RD AUGUST 1918 AND WHICH WAS PRESENTED BY THE AUSTRALIANS / TO THE CITY OF AMIENS'. Stenciled in white on the back of the plate is 'THIS PLATE WAS RETURNED / TO THE AUSTRALIAN WAR / MEMORIAL BY THE STAFF / OF PROOF AND EXPERIMENTAL / ESTABLISHMENT PORT WAKEFIELD / ON 20 NOVEMBER 1963'.

This plaque was made from metal taken from a 15 inch gun (38 cm SK L/45) which was captured by the Australian Corps near Chuignes, France, on the 23 August 1918. This was the largest gun captured by Australian forces during the First World War. The plaque was attached to the carriage of the 'Amiens gun' (a 28 cm SK L/40) which had been captured by 31 Battalion AIF on 8 August 1918 on the front-line near Villers-Bretonneux, France. The railway gun and its carriage (mounting) were briefly displayed in Paris before being shipped to Australia per SS Dongarra in October 1919. It was displayed at Central Railway Station in Sydney before being moved to a special railway siding in Canberra from 1923 to 1942. The Australian Army then moved it to the Port Wakefield Proof and Experimental Establishment, South Australia, for munitions and barrel trials for 8 inch naval guns, where it was operational from 1943 to 1947. The mounting and railway bogies were scrapped in the early 1960s. The barrel and plaque were returned to the Australian War Memorial on 20 November 1963, where they were reunited with the canopy, which had been removed from the carriage. The plaque is now attached to the concrete base which supports the gun barrel.