Australian warship and crew take part in Naval Review and maritime parade in Sydney Harbour for Australia's Bicentenary, 1988

Australian warship and crew take part in Naval Review and maritime parade in Sydney Harbour for Australia's Bicentenary, 1988

Australian warship and crew take part in Naval Review and maritime parade in Sydney Harbour for Australia's Bicentenary, 1988

US servicemen, army, airforce, marines and navy provide security at The National World War II Memorial, Washington DC, USA

Chief Petty Officer Dudley Malgas using a wooden ram rod to push the charge into the muzzle of the noon gun cannon in Cape Town. The daily noon gun is Cape Town’s oldest living tradition and the two cannons used are the oldest guns in daily use in the world. They have marked the midday hour in the mother city in this distinctive, albeit noisy manner since early 1806. The cannons were cast in Britain in 1794 and still bear the royal crest of King George the third. The firing of the cannon was originally to give ships in the bay a means of re-setting their clocks accurately.

Chief Petty Officer Dudley Malgas of the South African Navy posing alongside the noon gun cannon in Cape Town. CPO Malgas has been in charge of firing the canon since 1995. The daily noon gun is Cape Town’s oldest living tradition and the two cannons used are the oldest guns in daily use in the world. They have marked the midday hour in the mother city in this distinctive, albeit noisy manner since early 1806. The cannons were cast in Britain in 1794 and still bear the royal crest of King George the third. The firing of the cannon was originally to give ships in the bay a means of re-setting their clocks accurately.