HMS ''Scotia'' is one of the newest

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

units, formed in 1958, and currently recruiting from the east of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The unit inhabits spacious, modern accommodation with excellent facilities, headquartered in Rosyth Naval Dockyard. The unit has excellent communication links by road, rails and air.

History

The unit, despite being relatively new, has tradition rooted in the very cradle of Volunteer Reserve activity in Scotland. In August 1903

the Admiralty The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy until 1964, historically under its titular head, the Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State. For much of it ...

appointed the first two

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

s of the then

RNVR The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

to form divisions in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and on

the Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

. Lieutenant Commander (later Commodore) The Duke of Montrose raised the Clyde Division based in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, and the division rapidly expanded across Scotland, first to

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

onboard the sailing frigate, HMS ''Unicorn'', and then to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, onboard the monitor, renamed HMS ''Claverhouse''. These two East Coast divisions were, many years later, to form the heart of the modern HMS ''Scotia''. Under the 1994 defence review all three of these original Scottish Sea Training Centres, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee, were combined into two units of a different type, HMS ''Scotia'' in

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

and HMS ''Dalriada'' in

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

. Both of these had been units formed in the

cold war The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

to support nearby naval headquarters, and both were rapidly expanded to accommodate the closing units. In the case of ''Scotia'', this required a complete rebuild.

Timeline

*1958 - HQ Unit formed at MHQ (Marine Headquarters) Pitreavie *1960 - Name of HMS ''Scotia'' adopted. The previous ship of that name was a wartime shore training establishment in

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...

(currently a Butlins holiday camp). *1962 - Crest of HMS ''Scotia'' matriculated on 5 Sep 1962 by

Lord Lyon, King of Arms The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grant ...

, in the Public Register of Arms and Bearings in Scotland. *1962 - HMS ''Scotia'' moved out of MHQ into accommodation above ground at Pitreavie. *1994 - HMS ''Scotia'' absorbed 267 reservists from HMS ''Camperdown'' and ''Claverhouse'' to become the largest RNR establishment in the UK with 375 personnel. Re-designated a Reserve Training centre on 1 Oct 1994. *1996 - Moved to a new site within Royal Naval Support Establishment HMS ''Caledonia'' on 15 May 1996. Official rededication ceremony conducted on 12 Oct 1996 in the presence of

Prince Michael of Kent Prince Michael of Kent, (Michael George Charles Franklin; born 4 July 1942) is a member of the British royal family, who is 51st in the line of succession to the British throne as of September 2022. Queen Elizabeth II and Michael were first ...

as Honorary Commodore RNR. *1999 - Tay Division of HMS ''Scotia'' set up in

. *2000 - Forth Division of HMS ''Scotia'' set up in

. *2004 - Forth Division closes

Tay and Forth Divisions

An important 'first' has been the establishment of ''Scotia''s Satellites. Although ''Scotia'' is a large and vigorous unit, it was recognised that its distance from the city centres of Edinburgh and Dundee was inhibiting recruitment at a time when the Royal Navy's demand for reservists was growing. ''Scotia'' became the testbed for a scheme to extend the RNR footprint with the first satellite unit, the Tay Division of HMS ''Scotia'' in Dundee, which started training in 1999 and rapidly established itself as the national benchmark. It was soon followed by another ''Scotia'' satellite, Forth Division, in Edinburgh. It was as a direct result of these efforts in expansion that ''Scotia'' was awarded the "Director's Trophy" in 2001. Forth Division in Edinburgh closed in 2004.

References

External links

HMS ''Scotia'' on the Royal Navy website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scotia Royal Navy bases in Scotland