Trophy guns were often presented to Britain as symbols of victory and reminders of naval and military campaigns. Many were displayed prominently at dockyards, academies, or civic spaces, where they served both as memorials and as objects of curiosity for the public.

The second of the two guns outside the Devonport Naval Heritage Centre is one such piece. Its inscription records:

“This GUN Brought from the DARDANELLES by DUCKWORTH 1807”

The reference is to Admiral Sir John Duckworth’s expedition to the Dardanelles during the Anglo-Turkish War. In early 1807, a British squadron forced its way through the straits, destroying Turkish forts and seizing cannon before withdrawing. Though the operation did not secure lasting success, the capture and transport of Ottoman guns back to Britain provided visible proof of the Navy’s reach and power.

This cannon bears plaques marking notable naval victories, the earliest being the ‘Glorious First of June’, the first and largest fleet action of the French Revolutionary Wars (1794 under Admiral Lord Howe). Its surface also displays decorative emblems and the badge of the Royal Carriage Department, which supplied its British mounting. Together these features emphasise its dual identity as both a weapon of Ottoman origin and a British trophy gun, preserved as a reminder of naval exploits in distant waters.