EARLY CANNONS FIRED DAILY

[Mervyn Mitton]

This interesting article from my Home Page - www.iafrica.com - is about the two 18 pounder cannons which have been fired daily since 1802 in Capetown. They are almost certainly Naval and would have been landed to help the military in their battles against the Dutch. These were landed in our first occupation of the Cape in 1795. The Cape was returned to the Dutch in the Peace with Napoleon - and our second expedition re-took it in 1805 and we retained it until Independence in 1910.

209 years is a long time to be firing the same guns...

Edited November 4, 2009 by Mervyn Mitton

[Mervyn Mitton]

[Mervyn Mitton]

[Brian Wolfe]

One of my secret dreams, one of these "puppies" on my front lawn to signal mid-day.

I can imagine I would wake up more than a few teenagers at noon!

A very interesting post.

Regards

Brian

[Michael Johnson]

One of my secret dreams, one of these "puppies" on my front lawn to signal mid-day.

I can imagine I would wake up more than a few teenagers at noon!

A very interesting post.

Regards

Brian

I attended University of Toronto Faculty of Law. The large auditorium we used for classes was right on the curve of Queen's Park Crescent, perhaps 400 feet from where the 105s of the 7th Regiment R.C.A. lined up to fire salutes for the opening of the Legislature. I remember one day watching the non-Toronto students jump as the first round was fired. (It did sound as if a truck had hit the outside of the building, which had no windows). :cheers:

Edited December 14, 2009 by Michael Johnson

[peter monahan]

I attended University of Toronto Faculty of Law. The large auditorium we used for classes was right on the curve of Queen's Park Crescent, perhaps 400 feet from where the 105s of the 7th Regiment R.C.A. lined up to fire salutes for the opening of the Legislature. I remember one day watching the non-Toronto students jump as the first round was fired. (It did sound as if a truck had hit the outside of the building, which had no windows).

And you all thought Michael was a normal human being! I attended the same university and my fondest memory was of crossing the park as the first round was fired. A small black tree rat ("squirrel" to some) had been calmly grooming himself and minding his own business on a tree limb about 30 yards in front of the howitzer muzzle. When the round fired he went straight out from the branch about 10 yards before he even began to fall and when he hit the ground, all 4 little paws flailing frantically, he went across 5 lanes of traffic and up the side of a four story stone building without slowing down a bit.

Peter

P.S. Michael doesn't actually practice law, so its ok to associate with him, at least electronically - he has nothing catching.

PPS If you're as much a fan of tree rats as I am, check YouTube for a clip called "Keeping Squirrels Off your Porch". It features a colender, four strong elastic ropes and... flying squirrels.

Edited December 16, 2009 by peter monahan

[peter monahan]

On a more serious note, I wonder how often the SA Navy has their guns x-rayed for barrel fissures. As someone who hangs about where muskets and cannon are fired regularly, I have a healthy respect for the destructive power of a flawed barrel. Probably just as well the charge is ignited by electricty rather than be someone holding a linstock and - optimistically - ducking away as he touches off the charge!

I know of three cases where premature detonation during loading has cost the fingers and/or hands of the loader - one to a friend who now sports a surgically reconstructed 'Frankenthumb'. Obviously that's not an issue with a once in 24 hours rate of fire, or even once in 48 if they alternate the guns, but there are a number of horror stories in 'the hobby', mostly from the early days of US Civil War reenacting. The latest I know of occurred several years ago now. An iron gun was loaded and fired in the parking lot of a US veterans' club at midnight. "Alcohol may have been a factor." It burst and while the 3 gunners escaped with very minor injuries a luckless pedestrian was fatally trepanned by a flying shard. They're great fun, but they're not toys!

Sermon over

Peter

[Michael Johnson]

Peter probably has the unique distinction of being the only person to keep a Martini-Henry Mk.IV and bayonet in his residence room. There were some members of Theatre Mickities who wished that it had been used on Pete's room-mate, who wrote reviews for the college paper.

Regarding cannon accidents, some years after I was in the Fort York Guard, one of them lost part of a hand, as he was firing a 19th century howitzer during a performance of the 1812 Overture at Ontario Place. The bets were that a piece of wadding had caught on a rough spot on the bronze and it had ignited the next charge.

Edited December 16, 2009 by Michael Johnson

[Mervyn Mitton]

Strange that you both suddenly 'picked-up' on this old post. I certainly wouldn't want to be near it when fired.

Michael - has your unit appeared on a British TV Travel Channel - was watching tonight when they showed a clip from Ontario. The uniform looked the same as yours ?

[Michael Johnson]

Strange that you both suddenly 'picked-up' on this old post. I certainly wouldn't want to be near it when fired.

Michael - has your unit appeared on a British TV Travel Channel - was watching tonight when they showed a clip from Ontario. The uniform looked the same as yours ?

There are quite a few War of 1812 re-enactment units in Ontario, plus staff at various Forts. Peter and I are in different units, but both depicting the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. My group are not serious re-enactors, rather a branch of the Boy Scouts in Southern Ontario and NE U.S.A. We do two camps per year At Fort George in period uniform. The muskets fire caps.

If the "soldiers" in the clip looked like boys, then it might have been The Scout Brigade of Fort George. If they were grown, then they would be re-enactors.

[Mervyn Mitton]

Under 'Police' - have you seen Gordon Craig's very interesting post on the Newfoundland Police ?

[Michael Johnson]

Under 'Police' - have you seen Gordon Craig's very interesting post on the Newfoundland Police ?

Yes, we have a history of the R.N.C. One of my wife's ancestors was an early member.