OPINION: Ottery St Mary and the history of the rock cannons

Or: It took a war to silence Ottery rock cannons

Another November 5 is approaching, and the excitement of the most important event in Ottery St Mary is felt in every corner of town.

The day starts when rock cannons are fired by "cannoneers" in hi-vis jackets at selected locations around 5:30 am.

Firers taking part in a 25th-year celebration - 1981 (Image: supplied)

The outbreak of the 1939 war took away most events that were held throughout the country.

For 18 years, that sound so closely connected to Ottery was not heard in town until November 5 of 1956 when Nelson Owen, who had taken part in tar barrel rolling for 20 years, together with a team of mates which included some well-known local names as A Abbott, E Whitcombe, L Bastyan, P Bull, J Isaacs, H Channon, J Martin, T Bastyan and J Pearcey, some of them carrying placards, fired the guns again.

The story behind this revival is as exciting as the event itself, and thanks to Angela Atkins-Phillips a member of the team, whose uncle Eddie Whitcombe’s cannon was displayed in the King’s Arms pub for many years and who lent me Owen’s book, History of a Devon Custom, I can share the story with you.

Owen initiates his book with a mention of his memories of 1930 when, as young boys, they took no part in the men-only activities and that they had "their own lesser forms of making explosions with key and nail, blunderbuss and carbide tins" while men, probably 30 or more, would start at midnight with cannons they owned and made for them by local blacksmiths, and loaded with the same gunpowder used to blast the rocks from quarry faces, hence the name Rock Cannons.

Rock Cannons in modern times (Image: Phyllis Baxter)

All local festivities were reinstated at the war's end, but not the cannons.

This encouraged Owen, in 1956, while being a member of the Carnival Committee, to attempt the revival of the custom.

His determination to do it secretly, despite facing considerable research and potential ostracism from the older Committee members, is truly inspiring.

The caps were unobtainable, but Owen's perseverance led him to Mr E Phillips, who supplied him with a few caps, and another member who found an old cannon.

Further enquiries from a gunsmith revealed that these caps were available and still used for firing old muskets.

One of their firers, Mr Edgard Hawkins, obtained these caps from a relative in Bristol.

However, a supply of gunpowder seemed out of the question until George Wakely, who used a full range of explosives in his business for blasting rocks, tree stumps, etc., was quite happy to supply him, as he knew what it was intended for.

At the Lamb & Flag, took place the secretive exchange that produced 3 lbs of gunpowder.

However, some dampness had got into the neck of the bags, requiring the powder to be dried before it was used.

Something that took some time.

After all of this, Owen was geared up with the necessary materials, and from an old borrowed cannon, he made 12 new ones in a local engineering workshop.

He also needed the local blacksmith to bend the cannons in the forge.

Working well in advance of November 5 that year, he took two men at a time out into the distant wood to initiate them into the procedure and method of priming and firing the new cannons.

They were prepared for the big day in good time, and the entire community was filled with great anticipation for the re-enactment of Ottery's old custom, a testament to the event’s significance.

So, at 7am on November 5, 1956, the cannons of Ottery St Mary roared again.

All 12 of them, as well as two men carrying the placards, toured the town.

Today, Owen's son and grandson continue to run the tradition, keeping the family legacy alive, and reminding us, as ironic as it might sound, of relative peace in our world.

A moment I eagerly look forward to each year.