The one o’clock gun
Visitors and in fact some locals still get a bit if a shock when the one o’clock gun is fired. The gun has been fired during times of peace, every day, with some exceptions since the summer of 1861, in the month of June of that year to be exact.
The One O’clock Gun has become a historic time signal that has been fired from the battlements of Edinburgh Castle. It serves as a reminder of Edinburgh’s maritime history and is a popular attraction for both locals and tourists.
However, the concept originated in Paris where a small cannon called, as one would suspect ‘le Petit Cannon’, placed on the meridian line of Paris in 1796, fired at 12 o’clock noon to signal the time. Legend has it that an Edinburgh man in Paris on business in the mid 1800’s, lobbied Edinburgh council on his return to introduce a similar thing in the city. It is said that it took 15 years or so, but through his tenacity the tradition began.
Initially the purpose was used to help ship’s navigators in the Firth of Forth set their maritime chronometers accurately. These are time-keeping devices that establish longitude by comparing Greenwich Mean Time and the time at the current location. Something that remains of great importance in the keeping of accurate records.
The time-gun however, was not the first aid as it replaced the time-ball, a visual indicator called the Calton Hill Royal Observatory’s time ball, which as a wooden ball coated in zinc was dropped from Nelsons Monument sitting on the top of Calton Hill. This however had its setbacks as weather would dictate the visibility of its usefulness, while sound was always apparent.
The Time-ball
The concept of the time- ball was devised by Charles Piazzi Smyth, Astronomer Royal for Scotland in 1852. Prior to that, sailors would have to come ashore to set their instruments to the correct time
Although no longer a maritime necessity the gun remains a cherished tradition as part of Edinburgh’s rich maritime history and continues to be fired exactly at 1 pm from the Mills Mount Battery near the Redcoat Café at the Castle every day, with accepted exclusions as mentioned above.
To ensure that the firing time of the gun was accurate, a map was created in 1861 when the gun was first used, to indicate when the sound of the gun would be heard at various locations across Edinburgh. This was particularly important because sound travels at a finite speed, and the time it took for the sound to reach different areas varied.
The gun has changed with time, and since 2001 a 105mm light field gun has replaced the original 64-pounder cannon which sat on the Half Moon Battery. The change in position was in part, due to a misfire at the original location in 1972, but further the Half Moon Battery was considered ineffective and outdated for an artillery fortification. The move has also enhanced the visibility of the gun and thus allowed it to continue as a popular tourist attraction.
The One O’clock Gun is fired by a District Gunner from the 105th Regiment Royal Artillery. This tradition has been maintained since 1861, and the current gunner is Sergeant Dave Beveridge.
Crowds of visitors are regularly seen waiting patiently for the gun to be fired, all checking their time pieces as they wait.
I was introduced to the one o’clock gun and in fact Edinburgh Castle, by my parents at a very early age on a trip from our home into the city.
Edinburgh, is well worth the visit irrelevant from where your Scottish ancestors hail. I say this because in some shape or form our country’s capital and the decisions and history that lays there, would have affected every Scottish surname over time.
And of course it is just over the water (the Firth of Forth) to the historic city of Dunfermline, the once ancient capital, resting place of Robert the Bruce, birthplace of Scottish royalty, amongst many other parts of historic interest.
A good friend once said ‘to be Scots is to hold membership of one of the most exclusive clubs in the world’ and to be honest, I think he is right.
Promptus et Fidelis Non Sto Solus
