The 2008 season on the Alderney Elizabethan wreck was the most ambitious yet attempted. The main objective was to recover two cannon which were then to be taken by ship to the Tower of London for cleaning and exhibition. After the summer it was planned that one of the cannon would be replicated and tested.

Objectives

For the sake of planning the season was divided into 7 phases:

1. (Preparation): The preparation of Cannon 1 and 3 for lifting. The latter had an intact hand-grenade attached. Additional items for recovery included a musket, a breast plate, a helmet and one or two pieces of shot.
2. (Recovery): On 8 June the project was to be joined by the scientific diving vessel Cdt Fourcault under the command of its owner Pim de Rhoodes. The actual recovery of the guns would be carried out by the ship’s crane.
3. (Shipping): Following an open-day on Alderney the cannon were to be taken up the Thames on the Cdt Fourcault and delivered to the Tower of London for exhibition.
4. (Exhibition): The cannon would be exhibited all summer at the Tower.
5. (Conservation): Following the exhibition the cannon were to be taken to the York Archaeological Trust for final cleaning, data-recovery and conservation.
6. (Replication): A mould would be taken of the cannon which would be used for casting a replica.
7. (Testing): Following replication the cannon would be tested at a live-firing range in order to establish its ballistic characteristics and capability.

The season

Work began on 29 May. The first divers reported a large build-up of sand across the centre of the site which had buried Cannon 3 completely.

On the fourth day of diving, Sunday 1 June, there was a tragedy when, following a routine dive, Peter le Sautier died on the surface from an embolism. Peter was a highly experienced diver form Jersey who had just joined the team.

Following Peter’s death all diving was stopped by the police as a matter of procedure. Diving resumed on 5 June after the police had received the coroner’s report.

The dive ship Cdt Fourcault arrived at Alderney on 8 June. On board was a team of nine Belgian and Dutch divers. The ship anchored on station over the site and diving began the next day. The over-burden of sand was blown away from the centre of the site by prop-wash from aquascooters. Cannon 3 was soon revealed, as were a number of other artefacts that had been buried beside the gun during the 2007 season.

On 12 June Cannon 3 was recovered. The following day later Cannon 1 was recovered. Both cannon were submerged in a metal holding-tank on the deck that had been specially constructed by the ship’s captain, Pim de Rhoodes.

The concretion on Cannon 3 contained a helmet, a wooden powder flask and at least one musket barrel. The ceramic hand-grenade that was in clear view on one side of the gun was found to have a hair-line crack across its body.

Other artefacts that were recovered during this phase included a breast-plate, a musket, a helmet and a piece of shot. These were all items that had been found in 2007, or before, and had been depoted beside Cannon 3. Two unexpected finds of particular importance were also made. Beneath Cannon 3 an intact set of copper alloy navigational dividers was found, and nearby a copper alloy pestle was discovered that appeared to complement the mortar that had been found in 1996.

Despite major dockworks, the Harbour Master of Alderney (Mr Steve Shaw) was able to arrange for the Cdt Fourcault to go alongside on 16 June and hold an open-day so that members of the public could go on board and view the cannon before they went off for exhibition and conservation in England.

It is believed that as many as 800 people may have visited the ship while it was alongside. This was far more that expected and can be taken as an indication of keen public interest in the work of the Trust.

By this time the ship was extremely low on water, having used up most of its supply in the holding tank for the cannon. Because of dockworks the vessel was not able to take on water in the normal manner. It was thanks to the Alderney Fire Brigade the ship was able to rebunker.

On the evening of 17 June the States of Alderney hosted a party for the captain, divers and crew of the Cdt Fourcault, during which the President of Alderney, Sir Norman Browse, made a presentation to Captain de Rhoodes and thanked him, on behalf of the States of Alderney and the Alderney Maritime Trust, for all he had done for the Island and the Elizabethan wreck project.

The Cdt Fourcault sailed for England that night arriving at the mouth of the Thames the following evening. A pilot was taken on and the ship entered the main basin at Chatham where the cannon and several other artefacts were off-loaded for x-ray examination at a nearby industrial radiographic unit. No useful information was obtained from the cannon but radiographical studies of the breastplate revealed the presence of at least eight ‘apostles’. Apostles are small, conical, metal flasks each of which contains enough powder for a single discharge of a musket.

That evening the Mayor of Chatham hosted a party on the Cdt Fourcault at which the captain and team were thanked and a presentation was made to Bryan and Anne Smith for their many years of service to the Alderney wreck.

The following day, Friday 18 June, the Cdt Fourcault was piloted up the Thames to the Tower of London. To mark the occasion the basicules of Tower Bridge were opened and the ship was allowed to enter the Upper Pool of London. Under tug the Fourcault processed up the Pool towards London Bridge where it was turned; it then went back down the Pool and passed once more through Tower Bridge where it berthed beside H.M.S. President on the North Bank beside St Katharine’s Docks.

Once alongside the divers and crew walked over to the Tower of London where the cannon (which had been sent ahead by truck from Chatham) had just arrived. Before the public, the cannon were taken into the Tower, by the Middle Drawbridge and Raven Gate, to an exhibition area that had been prepared by the Trust’s Director of Conservation, Mike Corfield, working in close collaboration with the Deputy Governor and Operations Manager of the Tower.

The exhibition, which opened to the public on 22 June, consisted of the two cannon, and a range of artefacts on loan from the Alderney Museum which were displayed in two specially designed, humidity controlled cabinets.

During the first week of exhibition, conservators from the York Archaeological Trust removed the thick covering of corrosion products from the gun. In the course of this shoe leather and additional powder flasks were found. Both cannon were loaded and had their tampions in place. One gun was marked with the monogram FW and both were inscribed with their weights in hundredweight (14 - 0 - 0).

During November a replica cannon was cast by the Andrew Young Foundry at Oldham. The bore, however, was not central and the gun had to be cast again.

On 3 rd December, 2009, the gun was test-fired at a live-firing-range within a disused quarry near Wells, Somerset, that is owned by the explosives company Alford Technologies. The actual discharging of the gun was performed by Nick Hall, the Keeper of Artillery at the Royal Armouries.

The gun was fired eight times with round-shot (wt 2.2 kilos, diam 80mm, barrel at zero elevation). The target was 9 edge-to-edge oak planks, 4 inches thick, representing an area of 2.0 x 2.5 m. The first was a ‘warming’ shot and another was to achieve a particular camera angle for the documentary. Of the 6 ‘scientific’ shots, all hit and passed right through the target. Shot no. 4 achieved a muzzle-velocity of 333 m/s. Shot no. 5 achieved a muzzle-velocity of 300 m/s. In general the team was surprised by the accuracy of the gun and the apparent ease with which it passed through the target.

The gun was also fired twice, over the same range, using long-shot (one ‘spike’-shot, one bar-shot). The target was a 1.5 inch sheet of plyboard. Both times the target was hit, the shot passing through the board with ease. Both times the shot struck the target while it was in broadside flight, thus leaving a hole in the target that was a perfect profile of the projectile.

Much more test-firing is needed.

On 21 st February, 2009, BBC2 ‘Timewatch’ broadcast a documentary on the recovery, replication and firing of the cannon. It appears to have been well received by the public and has since been broadcast around the world.

Acknowledgements

Never has the Trust been indebted to so many people. Our foremost gratitude is to our patron, The Duke of York, who on 24 April, 2008, hosted a fund-raising dinner for the project at Buckingham Palace. The sponsors who attended the dinner (without whom the work of the summer and the exhibition that followed would not have been possible) were Major General Keith Cima, Resident Governor HM Tower of London, The Rt. Hon. Sir Anthony Clarke, Lady Antonia Fraser, His Honour Judge Francis Gilbert, Mr Malcolm Hart, Mr Bruno Kay-Mouet, Mrs Jane Meyer, Mr Tim Meyer, Mr Jonathan Neame, Mr David Purdon, The Honourable Justice Mr. David Steel and Robin Whicker Particular thanks are also owing to Captain Pim and Angel de Rhoodes who for two seasons have supported the excavation with their ship, the Cdt Fourcault, and this year raised the guns and transported them to the Tower of London for exhibition. During the season we could not have managed without the help of the Alderney Harbour Master, Mr Steve Shaw and his staff, Aurigny Airlines (Mr Malcolm Hart) and Alderney Shipping (Mr Bruno Kay-Mouet). We are also indebted to the Alderney Police, Fire Brigade, Ambulance Crew, Lifeboat, the General Services Committee of the States of Alderney (Mr Bill Waldon) and the States of Alderney Tourism and Information Department (Joanna Parmentier). John and Briget Postelthwaite, Robin Whicker and Mike Harrisson kindly provided accommodation. As always we are grateful to our colleagues at the Alderney Museum (especially Don Oakden and Peter Arnold) and the Alderney Society (especially Rosemary Hanbury, Royston Raymond, David Thornburrow). Bringing the Cdt Fourcault up the Thames was a complicated operation and in this we could not have managed without the guidance and help of Commander David Waters (HMS President, Naval Liaison Officer Eastern England), Lieutenant Zena Handcock (HMS President), Mr Wilf Lower (European Maritime Events, Chatham), Mr Dave Shoebridge (Dock Master Chatham), Mr Curtis Dudley (Upper Port of London Authority), Cathryn Spain (West India Docks), Tom Naughton (Harbour Master West India Docks) and the staff of Turks Boatyard, Chatham Historic Dockyard. The radiographical studies at Chatham were carried out by Dana Goodburn Brown and Mike Turner. At the Tower of London our foremost debt is to the Resident Governor, Major General Keith Cima who was a supporter of the project from the moment he first heard of it. During the period of the exhibition we are grateful for the help and support we received from the following staff at HM Tower of London, Richard Harold, Vic Duggan and Jayne le Marquand. At the York Archaeological Trust it is always a pleasure to acknowledge the help we received from Ian Panter and Margrethe Felter). With the replication of the cannon we are indebted to Andrew Young of the founders Archibald Young Ltd and with the test firing to Sidney and Roland Alford of Alford Technologies Ltd. The following volunteered their time to be exhibition wardens at the Tower of London: Bryan Baird, Mensun Bound, Mike Corfield, Sebastian Cross, Phil Donaldson, Jason Goodchild, Nigel Harrison, Tim Harrison, Mike Harrisson, Robin King, Sherry Millan, Jo Parmentier, Hugo Pickering, Anne Smith, Bryan Smith, J-J Robinson, Russel Stanford, Harry Tallboys, Robin Whicker and Cody Yellowlees-Bound. Finally the Trustees would like to thank the dive team; they were Stewart Bowsher, Philippe Claes, Dirk de Bie, Pim de Rhoodes,Eddy Dewachter, Phil Donaldson, Brian Edwards, Ronald Struyf, Jason Goodchild, Robin King, Elaine le Claire, Peter le Sauteur, Phil Murrey, Roland Neal, Mary Restell, Roy Restell, Fred Shaw, Russel Stanford, Mark Trowel, Maarten Vanhaecht, Dave Venn and Steve Wright.