Dunfermline Abbey

The Abbey, whose foundation goes back to 1072, was built by King David I of Scotland in honour of his mother the saintly Queen Margaret who was married to King Malcolm III in 1070.

Many Kings and Queens were buried at Dunfermline Abbey.  King Robert the Bruce remains lay in a position later occupied by the pulpit. 

Dunfermline Palace

Many important visitors, such as  King James VI's wife, Anne of Denmark, was granted the guest house in 1589.  It was redesigned specifically for her use. The future King Charles I was born there in 1600.

The abbey ceased to function as such after the Reformation of the church in Scotland in 1560, but fortunately the nave of the church continued to be used as the local parish church. As a result much of the abbey has survived to this day.

Stirling Castle dates from the end of the Middle Ages, the oldest part being the Great Hall, which has been restored to its medieval glory.  The castle is considered to be the grandest of Scotland's castles and one of the most popular visitor attractions in the country.

Built 250 feet above the plain on an extinct volcano, and over the centuries has been a favourite royal residence to many of the Stuart Monarchs, of which Mary Queen of Scots spent her childhood in the castle and Mary's coronation took place in the Chapel Royal in 1543.

Military connections with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders having their museum there. 

Stirling Castle is widely regarded as having the finest examples of architecture from that period in Europe.

There is so much to see.

The Wallace Monument took 8 years to build and was completed in 1869.  Built on Abbey Craig, in memory of a national hero William Wallace, at a cost of over £10,000.

It is from this point that in 1297 observed the English army approach across Stirling Bridge.  Willaim Wallace led the Scots into battle and victory.   

The Wallace Monument stands 220 feet high.  You can climb to the top, via 246 steps.  

Approximately 2 miles from Stirling.  Why not spend a day out in Stirling where you could visit both Stirling Castle and the Wallance Monument and see the spectacular views.

Reflections of the H.M. Frigate Unicorn

H.M. Frigate Unicorn was one of four vessels built in Chatham Naval Dockyard under an Admiralty Order issued in 1817.  By 1824 when she was commissioned the Neoploanic threat was over.  In consequence she was moored from the Portsmouth roads and used as a munitions hulk.  

The ship during construction was sheathed in copper plating attached to the timber sides to protect her again marine beetle, which are found in tropical waters.  This was necessary since the ship was scheduled to join the fleet operating in tropical waters.  This form of protection is largely responsible for the long levity of the ship to the extent that her sister ships have long gone, and she is now the oldest timber built warship in the world, still afloat.

Late 1873 the ship was brought to Dundee and birthed in what was then the Earl Grey Dock, to function as the training ship for the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR).

The RNVR consisted of shore based personnel of all walks of live, who had a common interest which was the defence of the Realm and a love of the sea.  Their training covered all aspects of naval training.  Perhaps, the signal greatest tragedy and there were many in the First World War, was the fact, that the government at that time, drafted all RNVR personnel to the trenches in France.  Their training was not in any way compatible with that of infantry warfare.  The result was obvious  --- very few survived.

After the war, an Act of Parliament was passed to the effect that any volunteer of any of the three services would in the event of a National Emergency would continue to function in his or her choice of branch of the service.

This was implemented throughout the Second World War to the extent that by the end of the Second World War 70% of naval personnel were reservist the remaining 30% were professional Royal Naval Personnel.

It should be noted that up to the conclusion of the Second World War, there were in addition to RNVR personnel, Royal Naval Reservists (RNR).

The RNR consisted of sea going merchant serviceman who had an interest in naval warfare and had trained with the RNVR and the RNR. 

After W.W.II. a stream lining exercise was carried out by their Lordships and the RNVR  and RNR were amalgamated under the one banner and became simply the RNR.   The volunteers were men and women from the ages from seventeen and a half, many of whom had minimum education but wished to advance themselves and the RNR offered them a golden opportunity.  Indeed many of them transferred from the RNR to the RN.

The range of activities and training offered covered seamanship, navigation, marine and electrical engineering, medical, communication, ship handling, small boat handling, gunnery, accountancy/secretarial work.

Many obtained watch keeping certificates and minesweeping command tickets.  It is worthwhile noting that many of these youngsters had never been exposed to religion prior to joining the service.  Included in the ships company, were padres representing all major religions.

In 1892 the vessel was moved to the Graving Dock in Dundee for an underwater inspection, which was found to be satisfactory.  On completion of the examination she return to the Earl Grey Dock and remained there until late 1962, when she was moved again to her new birth in Camperdown Dock. A year later she was moved yet again to her present birth in Victoria Dock.  These moves were necessary because of the construction of the Tay Road Bridge and the Earl Grey Dock had to be filled in to provide access to and from the bridge.

It is of interest to appreciate the uniqueness of the construction of the ship.  Her vital statistics are: 150 feet long:  40ft beam:  15 foot draft; carrying in access of 17,000 feet of canvas on three masts;  her armament totalled 46 18lb cannons;  the stem of the ship was formed by laminating straight sections of timber rather than being formed by natural bent trees.  This concept was the brainchild of the Admiralty Accountant, Samuel Peeps.  Because the ship was essentially a reconnaissance vessel it was a requirement that she avoided direct conflict as much as possible.  If that was unavoidable and she was out gunned and being highly manoeuvrability she could ram her adversary because reinforcing timbers extending to the stem to the stern were built into the walls of the ship.  These reinforcing timbers were known as ramming stays, thus making the ship highly resistant to structural damage.

The overseer of the four ships was a Sir Robert Seppings, who introduced an additional innovation in the form of wrought iron knees to reinforce the junction of the cross timbers to that of the walls of the ship and additional wrought iron reinforcing at the stem of the ship.  The ships timbers are oak and the timbers below the waterline are in excellent condition where as some of the timbers above the waterline are in need of attention due to the exposure to fresh water.

Commander Douglas Steen

Published in the Rolls Royce Enthusiast’s Club, Scottish Section Newsletter.  January 2005.