Museum of the Manchester Regiment Object Focus

The Crete Guns

The 2 cannon that proudly stand outside the Town Hall, Ashton under Lyne, are called ‘The Crete Guns’. They were taken by the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers on the Island of Crete (1897-98) and they were, for a long time, displayed in the Depot of the Fusiliers in Wrexham.

In 2003 they were transferred into the care of the Museum of the Manchester Regiment, housed in the town hall. The guns were restored by Mr Clive Williams, owner of Progressive Engineering, Audenshaw.

The cannons replaced 2 earlier cannon that were taken away during the Second World War (1939-45) for materials to help in the war effort. These themselves had been gifted to the town of Ashton-under-Lyne, in 1858, and were Russian guns captured during the Crimean War (1854-56).

For more information about these magnificent cannon please contact the Curator of the Museum of the Manchester Regiment