I have read that during WWII donations of guns from civilians - of all types of weapons - for transfer to Britain for home front defense  took place, with a possible promise that they would be returned, but I have been able to find almost no info on this. Did it happen? Does anyone have advertisements, reports?

Was anything ever returned?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Later on Americans were asked to donate firearms of all kinds for salvage of metal to be used in the war effort at home in the U.S.  I saw one article that mentioned an old cannon and torpedos were donated.  I wonder how many civil war cannons were melted down during this time.  Pretty much anything metal was asked to be donated and there were many drives where people went door to door asking for anything metal that could be donated for the war effort.

 

The firearms and binoculars donated by U.S. citizens to England during WWII were largely not returned to their original owners.  Donations were made through a private, civilian-led initiative known as the American Committee for the Defense of British Homes. Americans donated over 25,000 firearms and thousands of optics to arm British civilians and the Home Guard against a potential German invasion.  While some items were meticulously tracked and eventually returned to their original American owners—as evidenced by historical correspondence and documented letters—this was the exception rather than the rule.  

 

Have a local park here and there were CW cannons seen in old photos of the park. They were around the outer ring of a large fountain here. I have never heard why or when the cannons were removed and suspect it was during the war for the scrap drives. My dad told stories of a scrap pile where he found a Civil War musket and drug it home but was told to take it back. He said there was a lot of "interesting" things in the pile 

Sad thing is I guess the USA is one of the only countrys that allows its citizens to retain arms. Some people never learn. 

As for the war donatons I'm sure a lot of history was lost. Ive seen stuff in buy back programs that would blow your mind. chopped up in pieces for scrap. 

It would be impossible for all the stuff donated with names on it to be returned to its owners from Great Britian. I've read that Finland was the only country to ever pay back its war debt. Intresting topic. 

I’m trying to upload some files (copies) that I have that came with an early preWW1 ‘03 Springfield that I once owned that was donated to the UK in 1940 & returned to the owner.

 

Note: I’m having many problems uploading & even signing onto the forum through my I phone 16 as well as my Mac.