January 26th , 1861
The story goes that Edinburgh businessman John Hewitt heard the “little canon” on a visit to Paris in 1846 and campaigned for Edinburgh to start an equivalent. Fifteen years later he got his wish and Edinburgh’s original one o’clock gun fired from the ramparts of Edinburgh Castle for the first time in 1861
The One O’clock Gun is a time signal, given at 1.00pm Monday to Saturday, and has been operating since 1861. McKay began firing the gun in July 1979, and during his long service became a recognisable Edinburgh character. At that time, the gun was a 25-pound Howitzer, although this was replaced with a L118 Light Gun, brought into service on 30 November 2001, with “Tam the Gun” firing the first round. In 1999, Sergeant McKay was awarded the MBE by the Queen, for his services to the Territorial Army.
Sergeant McKay was instrumental in setting up the One O’Clock Gun exhibition within the castle, obtaining funding from the National Lottery and Historic Scotland. The exhibition, initially temporary but now permanent, explains the origins of Edinburgh’s time signals, first established in the 1840s by Charles Piazzi Smyth, the Astronomer Royal for Scotland. McKay also floated the idea of sponsorship of the One O’clock Gun, in order to secure its future. He undertook fundraising work for the Army Benevolent Fund, and in 2002 published a book of anecdotes and history relating to the gun, entitled, What Time Does Edinburgh’s One O’clock Gun Fire?, the proceeds of which went towards the fund. McKay also appeared on BBC Scotland’s Hogmanay Live programme, firing the gun to mark the New Year. He continued to fire the gun until his retirement on 27 January 2005. He died at his home in Dunfermline at the age of 60.
