[2] In 1901 the Admiralty decided to convert the cave so that it could be used as a magazine and they arranged for the approach to be lined with bricks because the ground was made up of red sand.
[5] In 1943 the magazine was nearly the site of a major explosion during Gibraltar's part in World War II.
José Martín Muñoz a Spaniard working in Gibraltar created an explosion and fire at a fuel tank at Coaling Island on 30 June 1943.
He was under suspicion and in August 1943 he was arrested as he attempted to place a bomb inside this fully loaded magazine.
He fought and killed a giant using an uprooted tree, hence the symbol of a ragged staff, but there is no consensus.