Murphy's letter from Edinburgh

 

The Funeral of a District Gunner

On the 25 November 2005, Tam McKay was laid to rest at a service of thanksgiving at Mortonhall Crematorium.  The day started off bitterly cold with snow forecast for the day.  Hundreds of people had gathered to pay their last respects to an iconic figure in Edinburgh.

The ground was covered with snow as the cortege arrived at the crematorium led by a piper appearing through the snow that was falling gently on the ground.  The people who had gathered for this service stood in silence as the cortege appeared through the snow which seemed to be falling heavily as the hearse bearing the coffin covered in the Scottish Saltire and a Norwegian flags arrived at the doors of the crematorium.

The family and mourners made their way into the church for the service.  There were many people there to pay their last respects to a man who has played a large part in Scotland's History.  By the time everyone was in the church, there was only standing room for the man that many people had known over the years, all there to pay their last respects in the way that they knew best.

Once everyone was settled, the coffin was brought in by an army bearer party with Tam's number one dress hat laid on the coffin as it was brought in and laid down at the front of the church.  The church was hushed as people slipped into deep thought before the service, each and everyone with their own thoughts and memories.

The service was a fitting tribute to a man who had played his part in life and where being the District Gunner played a large part of that life.  A job that Tam McKay was dedicated too for 26 years.

No one will ever fill Tam's shoes because he was an individual who made the job his life's work for the people of Edinburgh through dedication and punctuality.  And no one can ask anymore from anyone.  Tam will be sorely missed by his family and by the people of Edinburgh.  This was the end of an era as the service ended with playing of the bagpipes for the man who captured the minds of many people.

Many people went to the reception at the Prestonfield House where they were able to pass on their condolence to the family personally, people who had met him or been touched by what he did for the city.  It was also a time when people meet up with people that they have not seen for a long time, especially ex-regiment members who are all getting older as each day passes on.

A fitting tribute came when Ally Bain, Phil Cunningham and other Scottish musicians came to the reception and played their accordion and fiddle while a Scottish lament was sung in tribute to Tam McKay MBE, better known as Tam the Gun.  Too those who knew him he will always be known as Tam the Gun.

Written by: Andrew Murphy Thursday 26 November 2005

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The Death of a District Gunner

It was with great sadness to hear of the death of Edinburgh’s District Gunner Tam MacKay.  Tam of course fired the One O’clock gun at Edinburgh Castle for many years.

I recall the day he joined 207 Lt Ad Bty Territorial and Army Volunteers Reserves (S) in Dalmeny Street around about the middle of the 1970s.

I was leaving around about the time he enlisted, so I never really got to know him although I read many newspaper articles and saw him on the television many times.

Before that, the District Gunner was an army Staff Sergeant called Dixie Deans who I stood in for a number of times long with Bombardier Andy Anderson who appeared on Jim”ll Fix it to let a young boys dream come true.

And believe me it is the dream of many people to be able to fire the One O’clock gun even if it's only once.

So to take up the job of District Gunner needs dedication and a good ability to speak to the tourist who always have some very strange notions as to what was being fired and where.  No matter how stupid the question you had to be able to answer it – sometimes without laughing.  But there again you often met ex war veterans who had used the old 25 pounder field artillery gun during World War II, and they could explain the way the gun was used in the field and where.

Tam saw the change of the gun to a 105-pack howitzer a number of years ago which is the gun that is now in use at Edinburgh Castle.

Tam MacKay took up the job when it became vacant due to the death of the previous District Gunner Dixie Deans.  I got offered the job as a permanent job because I was working for the Ministry of Defence at that time.

I was leaving at that time and I passed on the job because I had itchy feet at that time and I wanted to move on.

Tam MacKay took up the job and Andy Anderson who died a number of years ago showed him what was required to be the District Gunner.  And it must be said that he took to the gun like a duck to water.

Tam MacKay showed that he had the ability and commitment to do this prestigious job by being in the job all this time.  He has not let Edinburgh or it’s people down in any way over the years that he fired the gun, which is known all over the world.  A district Gunner who stayed the distance given the years he was there - 26 years.  So filling Tams job is going to be a very hard one given the fact that he stuck it out so long.

I’m quite sure the Ministry of Defence will be looking at records and trying to find a replacement for this job which is going to be hard given Tam’s dedicated service for all these years.

It is sad to see people that you know die at relatively young age when they have so much to look forward too.  But Tam MacKay can go with the respect from the people of Edinburgh and the people who knew him with some of the stories he had to tell as Edinburgh’s District Gunner.

The One O’clock Edinburgh Castle will continue to be fired as it always has been on a daily basis and the 21 gun salutes will continue as they have always done along with other times of the year.  But behind the gun that sits in Edinburgh Castle is a long history of people who have pulled the firing mechanism to alert the people of Edinburgh too the time.

My grandfather who was a World War I and World War II veteran used to say to me when I was young, that old soldiers never die, they just fade away.  The Castle Gun is a bit like that sometimes when people you know die.  The people who knew him through his dedication and long service to the City of Edinburgh won’t forget Tam MacKay - the longest serving District Gunner.

Written by: Andrew Murphy Thursday 17 November 2005

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