HMS Scotia (shore establishment)

HMS Scotia is one of the newest Royal Naval Reserve units, yet its tradition is rooted in the very cradle of Volunteer Reserve activity in Scotland. In August 1903 the Admiralty appointed the first two Commanding Officers of the then RNVR to form divisions in London and on the Clyde. Lieutenant Commander (later Commodore) the Duke of Montrose raised the Clyde Division based in Glasgow, and the division rapidly expanded across Scotland, first to Dundee on board the sailing frigate, HMS Unicorn, and then to Edinburgh on board 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 and HMS Dalriada in Greenock. Both of these had been units formed in the cold war 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, and the unit now inhabits spacious, modern accommodation with excellent facilities, close to Rosyth Royal Dockyard. The unit has excellent communication links by road, rails and air.

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. Unfortunately Forth Division in Edinburgh closed its doors in 2004. It was as a direct result of these efforts in expansion that Scotia was awarded the "Director's Trophy" in 2001.


 * 1958	HQ Unit formed at MHQ (marine headquarters) Pitreavie
 * 1960	Name of HMS Scotia adopted. Previous ship of that name was a wartime shore training establishment at Ayr (now a Butlins holiday camp!).
 * 1962	Crest of HMS Scotia matriculated on 5 Sep 62 by Lord Lyon, King of Arms, 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 94.
 * 1996	Moved to new site within Royal Naval Support Establishment HMS Caledonia on 15 May 96. Official rededication ceremony conducted on 12 Oct 96 in the presence of HRH Prince Michael of Kent as Honorary Commodore RNR.
 * 1999	40th Anniversary. Tay Division of HMS Scotia set up at Dundee.
 * 2000	Forth Division of HMS Scotia set up at Edinburgh.
 * 2004	Forth Division Closes