Fort Nelson volunteers needed to man Victorian gun enactments

The Portsdown Artillery Volunteers are hoping to boost their numbers to fire and maintain the large guns

Volunteers are being urged to come forward to help enable Victorian cannon to boom out from a historic fort again.

The weaponry was regularly used for displays at Fort Nelson on Portsdown Hill, Portsmouth, but has been silent since the Covid pandemic.

The Portsdown Artillery Volunteers are hoping to boost their numbers so they can fire and maintain the large guns.

Mike Darling, of Palmerston Forts Society, said it would be a "terrible shame" if the tradition ended.

Fort Nelson was built high above Portsmouth in the 1860s to protect against a feared French invasion, and was manned by a local volunteer force.

Fort Nelson was built to protect against a feared French invasion, and manned by a volunteer local force

Mr Darling said: "If you worked in the dockyard as a butcher or baker or candlestick-maker or undertaker, you would volunteer here.

"It gave you a slight increase in your social standing, it gave you a smart uniform, and it made you feel like you were doing something useful."

The society has been carrying out its own uniformed re-enactments, with members dressed as the 2nd Hampshire Volunteer Artillery, since the 1880s.

"We're missing it," Mr Darling explained. "You never feel happier than when going home smelling of gunpowder smoke."

Mike Darling, of Palmerston Forts Society, said it would be a "terrible shame" if the tradition ended

He added: "We need young, fit, healthy, keen people to come along and help fire the guns here.

"It is hard work and it is dirty work, but it is fun, and we like making big bangs on the whole."

New volunteers would be trained over the winter in time to fire the guns in 2024, he said.

The scheme is supported the Royal Armouries at Fort Nelson, with selected guns used from the museum's collection.

Follow BBC South on Facebook, X, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].