22/08/2026
The gun that fired the first British shot of the First World War.
This QF 13-pdr gun - on display at IWM North - was taken to Belgium on 15 August 1914, as the No 4 gun of 'E' Battery, Royal Horse Artillery. It came into action near Binche, about ten miles from Mons, on 22 August 1914, where it fired the first British round of the First World War on the Western Front.
During 1914 the gun took part in the Battles of the Marne, the Aisne and First Ypres, and then in most battles of 1915-17, including action at the Second Battle of the Ypres, Neuve Chapelle, Loos, Battles of the Somme, Hill 60, First and Second Battles of Cambrai, Lens and Arras. In 1918, it was involved in the retreat of the Fifth Army, but later took part in the British advance, and was one of the last guns in action, finally accompanying the Battery to Germany.
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Images: © IWM (ORD 101)