Yesterday morning the Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Joseph Garcia, presented the Royal Engineers with two artillery pieces to mark their work at the Northern Defences.

The Royal Engineers have had a very close relationship with Gibraltar over hundreds of years and are assisting with the clearing and the improvement of the site.

The pieces were received by Lt Col Charlie Batty, who is the Chief Instructor of REWW, in the presence of Lt Col Lumley and the Project Manager Carl Viagas. The mortar fragment will be delivered to the Royal Engineers Museum in Chatham and the cannon shot will be delivered to Lt Col Roger Morton, who was responsible for promoting the presence of the Royal Engineers at the Northern Defences and who has recently retired.

In making the presentation on the King Lines, which date back to 1789, the Deputy Chief Minister said that he was delighted to present the two artefacts to the Royal Engineers on behalf of the Government and the people of Gibraltar. He said that this was a world class site which contained a thousand years of military history, pointing out that King’s Lines dated back to the time of the French Revolution and highlighting the World War Two structures also present in the area. Dr Garcia stressed the close relationship between Gibraltar and the Royal Engineers and commented that it was very fitting that the military descendants of those who had constructed these world class defensive positons were now involved in the project to restore them.

A team of Royal Engineers will continue their work on the site this Sunday.