*The 100-ton gun at Napier of Magdala Battery was one of four originally built by (would you believe it) Armstrong in Newcastle on Tyne in the 1870s which immediately endeared me to the one I was looking at; the idea my Geordie ancestors may have been involved in making such a humongous gun to keep invaders out of Gibraltar thrilled the pants off me – (so much so I’ve made a note to check that out as soon as I’ve finished this memoir).
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Although four were originally built only two survive today, the other being in Malta. Gibraltar’s gun was designed to be able to fire over a wide sweeping arc up to seven or eight miles out to sea and though it’s never been fired in anger it’s still a site to see.
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(Despatching invaders?)
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The exhibition hall is also very much a site to see and was something Joe took a keen interest in. During WW2 Joe was evacuated as a child to Newcastle-on-Tyne and so the Geordie built gun was very much of interest to him; he had also served in the RAF for 22 years and so he very much enjoyed seeing the anti-aircraft gun too and reading up on the history of Gibraltar’s defences. As I watched him walking around the various exhibits I loved the fact that he had made the effort to come and was diligently viewing and reading everything that he came across.
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For me the whole exhibition was really good and well worth the nominal £1 to visit. Perhaps (given my strong sense of humour) one of the exhibits I particularly loved was the feet sticking out the end of the gun. The story goes that when the gun repeatedly failed to fire during a demonstration the General asked a volunteer to go down the barrel to make it safe; I’d much rather think that it was just a very creative Gibraltarian method of despatching invaders back to their homeland.:)
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Wherever I go in Gibraltar the views are always to die for (yep, even up Main Street when I’m people-watching) and the views from the 100-ton gun are no exception; looking out past Europa Point across the Straits of Gibraltar I really loved seeing Morocco in the distance with tankers and merchant ships in the foreground sailing to and from fabulous places on their voyages. Seeing ships at sea will always stir wonderful memories in me.
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After a really good look around the guns and the exhibition we finally took our leave and began heading back towards town. Just outside the complex is a plaque commemorating Nelson who was brought ashore to Rosia after the battle of Trafalgar. That Gibraltar is so steeped in Naval history is yet another of the million reasons I love this little, yet formidable, nation.
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(Customary Selfie)
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