Most photographed soldier in the British Army? How Edinburgh Castle's Gunner marks tradition like clockwork
He is one of the most photographed soldiers in the British Army.
Sergeant Dave Beveridge of 105th Regiment Royal Artillery is the District Gunner at Edinburgh Castle – in charge of firing the iconic One O'clock Gun, a tradition that dates back more than 160 years.
The gun has been fired every day – except Sundays, Christmas Day and Good Friday – since the 19th century and has become a major attraction for visitors to the city.
Sgt Beveridge said: "I definitely enjoy the job – this is a unique job in the British Army.
"I'm the only guy that does fire a time gun, also being with guns all my days in the Royal Artillery, this is a great job to finish my time on."
Tradition
"This tradition actually dates back to 1861 when, at the request of the ships' captains docked over Leith Docks, they would receive an audible time signal so they could set their chronometers on board their ship," Sgt Beveridge told Forces News.
He added: "This would allow them to safely – and by shortest route – navigate around the seas.
"As with everything else here, we keep by our traditions, so the gun still gets fired and it's one of the main attractions here at Edinburgh Castle."
The gun must be fired at exactly one o'clock every day so timing is key and, after nine years in the job, Sgt Beveridge has got the routine down to a tee.
Routine
Sgt Beveridge ran through his daily routine in his District Gunner role.
"My normal routine on a daily basis is – I'll come in, first thing I'll do is get the round for the day out of my armoury and then I'll come up and check it," he said.
"Then the second thing I will do straight away is I'll check the gun and make sure that's still serviceable. I do my daily maintenance on the gun and then I would come down to my howff here and do my kit for the day.
"Basically, the kit has to be done every day up to a high standard."
He added: "Primarily, the guns in the Royal Regiment of Artillery are our colours, so we give them the respect that they deserve and, also, you don't know who's going to tip up at the castle.
"Prep it all ready for midday. I'll do my final checks on midday and then, shortly before one o'clock, march up and fire the gun.
Sgt Beveridge has been in this role for more than nine years, and has now got his routine "down to the second".
"I've been doing this for over nine years now so – down to the second – I know where I should be in each part of the castle prior to firing the gun," he said.
"Before the pandemic, I was doing speeches beforehand and that will shortly start again – possibly next month."
Always on time
If you were worried that Sgt Beveridge could run behind or miss the precise time he is due to fire the gun, not to worry, as he has that covered with his three watches.
"At the moment what I'm doing is, at 12:57, I'll march up to the gun, load the gun and then wait to fire the gun," he said. "And then 10 seconds before, I'll do a 10-second countdown in my head, watching the clock, and then I'll fire the gun."
Sgt Beveridge has three timepieces to ensure he is firing the gun on time.
"To the left of the gun, I've got a clock in the turret that's radio-controlled, so that's always on time.
"I've also got a watch and a stopwatch as well, all set to the same time," he said.
Sgt Beveridge highlighted the importance of the tradition to Edinburgh and the many tourists who visit, saying: "One o'clock is the busiest time of the day at Edinburgh Castle and there's people from all over the world.
"They've come and paid a lot of money to come into the castle and watch you fire the gun.
"Some of them actually get upset when they don't even hear the gun firing and they're not even here and then come to the castle later on, especially when I'm cleaning the gun post-firing – and say 'I didn't even hear it'. Well, you'll have to come back tomorrow and watch it again."
Looking to the future, Sgt Beveridge believes "it's important for the Army to carry on with this".
"It used to be civil servants and there used to be people from the council that fired it back in the day," he said.
"It should stay in the military's hands because we can keep the standards and traditions to a high level."
Join Our Newsletter
