The Tale of Gunner Haines

On the western edge of the Mendip hills

There stands a lonely peak

Surrounded on three sides by sea

A peninsula so bleak

60 feet above the waves

Brean Down Fort now stands

In 1864 was built to guard the western lands

With 7 guns the fort was armed

Each weighing 7 tonnes

Manned day and night by 50 men

Fathers, brothers, sons

For nearly forty years it stood

No shot in action fired

But 1900, July the 6th, 5am it was retired

The blast was heard for miles around

The flames lit up the sky

No decent explanation found

Or ever given why

Suicide or accident, tragic either way

The mystery of Brean Down Fort

The tale of Gunner Haines

Now Gunner Haines was a normal lad

A soldier 13 years

Described as conscientious

And reliable by his peers

And spent his night in Burnham

Maybe had a drink or two

But a flat tyre on his bike would mean

That he missed the forts curfew

For this minor indiscretion

Haines was placed on charge

The punishment for lateness

Unlikely to be harsh

But it's said this made him lose his mind

And want to lose his life

By blowing up the magazine with the gunpower inside

The blast was heard for miles around

The flames lit up the sky

No decent explanation found

Or ever given why

Suicide or accident, tragic either way

The mystery of Brean Down Fort

The tale of Gunner Haines

The magazine ignited in a single burst of flames

The blame for which laid firmly

At the feet of Gummer Haines

The explosions only victim

Will never get his day in court

So we'll never know what happened

That night at Brean Down Fort

The blast was heard for miles around

The flames lit up the sky

No decent explanation found

Or ever given why

Suicide or accident, tragic either way

The mystery of Brean Down Fort

The tale of Gunner Haines