Time Ball

On 21st October each year, flags are hung from the Nelson Monument on Calton Hill in Edinburgh to commemorate Nelson’s victory over the French and Spanish at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Although the British won, Admiral Nelson and almost 2100 British sailors died or were wounded and two years later a 106 foot high monument resembling Nelson’s upturned telescope, was started as a monument to Nelson.  The flags spell out Nelson’s signal from his ship, HMS Victory, saying “England expects that every man will do his duty.”  One report says that 1154 of the sailors were born in Scotland while another says that a third of the sailors were Scots and among the fatalities was a ten year old from nearby Leith.
 
At 1pm each day, except Sunday, a large ball is dropped from the top of the mast. It was fitted to the top of the Nelson Monument to help ships in the Firth of Forth calculate the exact time because ships had to rely on accurate chronometers to calculate their latitude for navigation before modern navigational aids.   At 12.55 the ball is raised halfway up then raised to the top at 12.58 and dropped at 13.00.  At the same time the One O’clock Gun is fired from Edinburgh Castle but with light travelling faster than sound, the Time Ball was more accurate for navigators, although in foggy conditions the sailors relied on the sound of the gun.  The photo was taken at 12.59.