LooseCannons

Nice contemporary piece, Phar Awaye.
Were you aware that the beloved children's poem, Humpty Dumpty, was based on a cannon?
The rhyme was first printed in 1810 and became famous through Lewis Caroll's book, 'Alice Through the Looking Glass', where Humpty Dumpty is shown as a round egg.

However, it is a very old rhyme and goes back much earlier than this.

The idea that 'Humpty Dumpty' was a powerful cannon, used during the English Civil War (1642-49), is one of the ideas taken most seriously.
Cannons, at this time, were very heavy and moving them, even the smallest, took many men.
At the time of the civil war in 1648, Colchester was a town with a castle and several churches and was protected by the city wall.
During the siege of Colchester, the 15th century tower of the church known as 'St Mary's by the Wall' was damaged. This happened because, on June 15th 1648, the church was strengthened against attack, by putting a cannon on the roof. As in the story, a gunner known as 'One-Eyed Jack Thompson' fired the cannon. He caused a lot of damage to Lord Fairfax's attacking troops.

Thompson's success made many of the Roundheads fire onto the church roof and, sometime during the 14th or 15th of July, Thompson and his gun came tumbling down.
The damaged cannon could not be raised again.

This was one of a number of setbacks and, on August 28th 1648, the Royalists lay down their weapons, opened the gates of Colchester and surrendered to the Parliamentarians.

And the rest, as they say, is history.
~Dean Kuch ?

Love this piece very well written