Castle gun fired early ... for old time's sake

Thousands across the city stopped to check their watches at 12.40pm as a single shot resounded over the capital.

However, it was only a re- enactment of the very first One o'Clock Gun to be fired here in 1861.

Such is the reverence with which the cannon is held, even a repeat of the famous first ceremony could not interfere with the actual salute, which was fired 20 minutes later - literally bang on time.

Both followed a 21-gun salute from the Argyll Battery to mark the Queen's official birthday.

However, to mark the 150th anniversary, the One o'Clock salute was relocated from its usual spot, back to its original location at the Castle's Half Moon Battery, where a select gathering of city dignitaries and senior army figures had gathered for the event.

For a century and a half a shot has rung out at 1pm every day - except during the two world wars and on Sundays. Yesterday, a traditional cannon was used for the commemorative re-enactment, with three members of the Royal Artillery recreating the moment.

The One o'Clock Gun was set up by the British Army to ensure that Royal Navy and merchant marine naval officers berthed in Leith or sailing on the Firth of Forth were supplied with the correct time, enabling navigators to set a steady course.

It was down to a serviceman dressed as a top-hatted Astronomer Royal for Scotland - who was at the original ceremony - to explain to the assembled audience how an electric cable once connected the "time-gun" to a master clock in the city observatory.

George Grubb, the Lord Lieutenant and Lord Provost of Edinburgh, said: "Edinburgh's One o'Clock Gun is famous all over the world and this 150th anniversary is a very special milestone for the city. People have been setting their clocks - and even ships' clocks - by the gun's firing for generations."

It was first fired from the castle on 7 June 1861, and is timed to coincide perfectly with the "time-ball", a large white ball which is raised above the Nelson Monument on Calton Hill that drops at exactly 1pm.

These days, the current District Gunner, Sergeant Jamie Shannon, has a satellite clock in his office within the castle which he sets his watch by before heading to the gun terrace. There he waits precisely four minutes before firing a modern gun.

He said: "It always feels like a special event but especially so today because it was also the royal salute for the Queen's birthday."Lieutenant Colonel Chris Huthwaite, commanding officer of the 105 Regiment Royal Artillery (Volunteers), described the occasion as a special moment but also a poignant reminder of those currently fighting around the world.

He said: "When it fired at one o'clock it was the same type of gun you will find fighting the Queen's enemies around the world, such as in Afghanistan. When it echoed across the Edinburgh urban landscape it was also a 'thank-you' to the young men and women who man those guns."

The gun was originally a 64-pound cannon mounted on the Half-Moon Battery.

It is now a L118 light gun, fired manually by Sergeant Shannon from the Mills Mount Battery. Edinburgh Castle hosts a permanent exhibition about the One O'Clock Gun.

The firing of the gun has not always been perfectly on time. At the event, Brevet Colonel (retired) Douglas Foulis remembered fondly his three years in charge of the Royal Artillery Territorial Army, and the gun, in the 1950s.

He recalled: "I remember one day receiving a telephone call from a gentleman who had sat in Princess Street Gardens with his watch waiting for the gun. He was very upset to find it had been 11 minutes late.

"I remember running all the way up to the castle from the regiment's headquarters opposite the Lyceum Theatre and it was never late again. But I never did find out why it was fired late on that occasion."