The Big Dude: The Legendary Long Cecil of Kimberley

Out in this parched wilderness, the Honoured Dead Memorial stands tall, like an ol' soldier remembering the 27 troopers who defended Kimberley against the Boer rush. But don't be fooled – this ain’t just a war memorial; it symbolizes the empire's triumph, a tribute to the day the momentum shifted in favor of the red coats. At the heart of it all, you'll find the tool that made it happen – The Long Cecil, if you weren't guessing, it's a cannon. Now don't get any ideas, not as cliche as that!*

Herbert Baker, handpicked by the silver-tongued Cecil Rhodes, brought Baker's stone-carving talents to life in building the memorial. The core of the memorial is anchored by a massive cannon, skillfully crafted by George Labram in the De Beers workshops. Sadly, Labram didn't make it through the siege, but his masterpiece did, setting sail across the ocean to end up in Quebec, there, providing the Canadians with a victory that'd make Fairy Tale Land blush – if they didn't bloody deserve it. And then, The Long Cecil returned to Kimberley, going toe-to-toe with the Boer's Long Tom, a tale, I reckon, a pretty fun one to spin under this blazing sun, with not a cloud in sight to judge. Now, The Long Cecil resides in the South African Heritage Resource Agency database, its astonishing story preserved, but still underappreciated.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons