University Royal Naval Unit East Scotland

Gordon Barracks in Aberdeen, the old home of the Aberdeen URNU

URNU East Scotland is the oldest of all the URNUs and was originally formed in 1967 as the Aberdeen Universities' Royal Naval Unit (AURNU) in Aberdeen, Scotland to encourage STEM undergraduates to join the RN from the University of Aberdeen and Robert Gordon University.[6] The unit was based at Gordon Barracks in Bridge of Don, in the north of the city.

Aberdeen URNU's first training ship was HMS Thornham, which was converted to a training ship at the Royal Naval Dockyard Rosyth in 1967 for the use of the unit. After the ship was broken up in 1985, the units training duties were moved to HMS Chaser, being replaced by HMS Archer in 1991. During the entire time the three ships were based there, they were the northernmost commissioned warships in the Royal Naval Fleet.[7]

In 1978, HMS Thornham, with AURNU OCs on board, became the first foreign warship to visit the Danish city of Roskilde since the Viking times,[8] when the five Skuldelev ships were sunk in the waterway of Peberrenden, c. 20km north of the city.

After being a male-only unit for its first 20 years, Aberdeen URNU finally allowed women to join its ranks in 1987, being the first URNU nation-wide to do so.[9] Women initially joined wearing the cap badge and uniform of the Women's Royal Naval Service, before its full integration into the Royal Navy in 1993.

For a period between 1989 and 1991, while HMS Archer was being handed off to the Aberdeen URNU, the unit was commanded by (then) Lieutenant Tim Fraser, who is the former Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff, holding the rank of Admiral.[10][11] Immediately following Lt Fraser's command of the unit, between 1991 and 1993 AURNU and HMS Archer were commanded by (then) Lieutenant John Clink, who subsequently achieved the rank of Rear Admiral.[12]

In 2005, Aberdeen URNU and HMS Archer had their first female Commanding Officer, (then) Lt Samantha Coulton, less than 5 years after the first female CO of a warship, (then) Lt Mel Robinson took command of Cardiff URNU (now URNU Wales) and its tender, HMS Express.

From the 2012 academic year, Aberdeen URNU paused its recruitment in anticipation of a move to Edinburgh, which occurred the following year.

In 2012,[13] the unit and HMS Archer were moved to the capital, Edinburgh, due to political pressures, allegedly relating to the Scottish independence referendum, which was announced earlier that year.[14] The former Aberdeen URNU was provisionally named the East of Scotland Universities' Royal Naval Unit (ESURNU),[15] before soon changing its name to the Edinburgh Universities' Royal Naval Unit (EURNU). The unit was moved to Hepburn House in Bonnington, northeast of the city centre, while HMS Archer was moved to be berthed first at Rosyth,[13] then to its current location in Leith. As part of this shift, the unit began exclusively recruiting from the University of Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh Napier University and Queen Margaret University.[2]

ESURNU, once moving to Edinburgh, gave its commitment to the 10 remaining Aberdeen students to see through their training to the end. They would travel down to Edinburgh or Rosyth periodically for their training.[15] One of these students was (then) A/Mid Andrew Bowie, who, since becoming a Member of Parliament in 2017, has been petitioning the government for the unit and Archer's relocation back to Aberdeen,[16] to no avail.

In June 2017, EURNU OCs onboard HMS Archer, in company with HM Ships Smiter, Ranger and Exploit, deployed to the Baltic to take part in NATO's BALTOPS exercise, the first time that Royal Navy P2000s have been involved in such an exercise.[17] Archer, and OCs from the unit, have been attending the exercise every year since, with the exception of 2022, due to increased tensions in the region following the re-escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War.

In 2021, in an URNU-wide naming change, the unit was renamed University Royal Naval Unit Edinburgh (URNUE).[2]

In 2022, URNU Edinburgh opened a satellite division based in Dundee known then as URNU Edinburgh, Tayside Division.

In mid-2022, Rear Admiral Jude Terry, Director of People and Training, approved the change of the unit name from URNU Edinburgh to the University Royal Naval Unit East Scotland to better reflect the new, expanded footprint of the unit, after the then-recent inclusion of Officer Cadets from the Tayside region, beginning in the autumn of 2021.

• HMS Archer
• HMS Queen Elizabeth
• HMS Vanguard[19]
• HMS Diamond[19]
• TSS Caron[19]

• 750 Naval Air Squadron
• 819 Naval Air Squadron (former, 1967 - 2001)[7][20]
• HMS Scotia
  • HMS Scotia, Tay Division
• Royal Marines Reserve Scotland
  • Royal Marines Reserve Scotland, Dundee Detachment
• Coastal Forces Squadron
• Sea Cadet Corps[7]
  • Aberdeen Sea Cadets
  • Stonehaven Sea Cadets

• University Officers' Training Corps
  • City of Edinburgh UOTC
  • Tayforth UOTC
• East of Scotland Universities' Air Squadron

• City of Edinburgh MEC
• Tayforth MEC
• Aberdeen MEC

• Worshipful Company of Clockmakers[19]
• Town of Stonehaven[19]
• Strongbow Cider (informal)[7][nb 3]

HMS Thornham, built in 1958, was one of 93 ships of the Ham-class of inshore minesweepers and was named after the civil parish of Thornham in Norfolk. She was the Aberdeen URNU's first tender, and was based at Aberdeen Harbour throughout her service with the unit.

She was converted to a training ship at the Royal Naval Dockyard Rosyth in 1967 (just prior to the foundation of AURNU) for the sole use of the unit. The ship was broken up in 1985, and the unit's training duties were handed off to HMS Chaser the same year.

She gives her name to the 'Thornham Prize', which is given at the annual prize-giving ceremony to the Officer Cadet who shows the most proficiency with working on ship at sea.

HMS Chaser was built in Southampton, originally used for RNR training, before being transferred to the Aberdeen URNU in 1985. Like Thornham, she was also permanently based at Aberdeen Harbour for the duration of her service with the unit. She served in her role for six years, until 1991, after which she was decommissioned and sold to the Lebanese Navy a year later. She is currently in use as the Lebanese patrol boat Jbeil.

HMS Archer afloat with a commodore onboard

HMS Archer has been the unit's training ship since 1991, and until March 2017,[21][22] was commanded by the Commanding Officer of the unit. Since then, she has had her own CO, and although her primary role is still to train the Officer Cadets of URNUES, she now performs more tasks with the Coastal Forces Squadron, of which she is now a member. Officer Cadets from the unit are often taken on board during these deployments to undergo operational training.

She was originally berthed at Aberdeen Harbour, similar to her two predecessors, until 2012 when the unit was moved to Edinburgh. She was then temporarily based out of Rosyth Naval Dockyard until final arrangements were made to have her be berthed at Leith, where she remains today.

In July 2012,[13] the unit and HMS Archer were moved from their old home of Aberdeen to the capital of Edinburgh. Once moving to Edinburgh, the unit gave its commitment to the 10 remaining Aberdeen students to see through their training to the end.[15] One of these students was (then) A/Mid Andrew Bowie, former Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party, who, since becoming a Member of Parliament in 2017, has been petitioning the government for the unit and Archer's relocation back to Aberdeen.[16]

The unit was allegedly moved due to political pressures relating to the Scottish independence referendum, which was announced earlier that year,[14] however, a Royal Navy spokesperson, when asked in 2012, claimed that the reason for the move was because "Edinburgh offers more sheltered waters in which to conduct sea training weekends, and allows easy access to a wider variety of destinations during those weekends.[23] Bowie, however, rebuts that the "end of [AURNU] left a major port and huge swathe of coastline without a permanent naval presence".[16]

The unit remains to be headquartered in Edinburgh, however, has begun recruiting from the University of Aberdeen and Robert Gordon University as of September 2022.

In November 2020, allegations emerged that the then Commanding Officer of HMS Archer, Lt. Rhys Christie, had raped a teenage Officer Cadet twice, after nights out in Eyemouth, Berwickshire and Ramsgate, Kent.[24] Lt. Christie admitted to sleeping with the cadet, however denied that he had raped her, maintaining that she was sober enough to consent on both occasions.[24] He was accused of 5 counts of rape.

It was claimed that the unnamed Officer Cadet was so drunk that she threw up at the pub, before being taken back to Lt. Christie's hotel room where he slept with her, despite Christie's colleagues' wishes for her to return to the ship "for her own safety".[25] Christie claimed that she "gave [him] no indication [that] the sex was not welcome" and that "she was smiling [and] there was positive body language". He admits that he abused his power, due to the disparity in rank and age and that "[he] knew that it was the wrong thing to do".[24]

After a three-day trial in February 2021, held in Bulford Military Court, Christie was cleared of all charges of rape, with it later being revealed that the accusation of rape had been made because the Officer Cadet had felt "embarrassed" when people later found out about their relationship.[26] Christie was told that he had “fundamentally failed” in his duty of care, and may not be fit to continue with his career in the Royal Navy.[26] Christie remained in the Royal Navy for another year, leaving in January 2022.

It is for this reason that Training Officers and Staff of the unit are not allowed to drink excesively with Officer Cadets, and must remain below 0.08% BAC (English legal driving limit)[27] when in the company of Officer Cadets. Exceptions are only made for special events such as Trafalgar Night.

• Admiral Sir Tim Fraser KCB ADC (1989–1991), former Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff[10]
• Rear Admiral John Clink CBE (1991–1993), former Rear Admiral and Flag Officer Scotland, Northern England & Northern Ireland[12]
• Commodore Richard Bridges (1974–1975), former Commodore, Captain HMS Raleigh, and Commodore Amphibious Warfare[28]

• Chaplain of the Fleet The Reverend Scott Brown CBE QHC (1987–1992), the former Chaplain of the Fleet, senior chaplain of the Royal Navy[29]
• Vice Admiral Phil Hally CB MBE (1987–1991), current Vice Admiral, Chief of Defence People and Honorary Captain of the Volunteer Cadet Corps
• Sub Lieutenant Rowann Sinclair (2017–2022), international[30] and inter-service Rugby Union player,[31][32] and current Worcester Warriors Women player[33]

• Andrew Bowie MP (2008–2013),[34] Member of Parliament for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, former RN officer and current junior RNR Officer[35]
• Angus Konstam (1971–1976), historian, author of popular history and former RN officer[36]
• Alice Loxton (2016–2018),[37] historian, TV presenter and internet personality[38] best known for her TikTok account (~675k followers as of Oct 2023)[39]

HMS Thornham command shared with Aberdeen URNU

• 1967 – 1968 : Lt Cdr Douglas "Neil" Murray (Later Cdr)[40]
• 1968 – 1969 : Lt Cdr Christopher Terrell[41]
• 1969 – 1970 : unknown
• 1970 – 1971 : Lt Cdr William Crutchley[42]
• 1971 – 1972 : Lt Cdr John Douglas[43]
• 1972 – 1973 : unknown
• 1973 – 1974 : Lt Cdr Anthony Bensted[44]
• 1974 – 1976 : Lt Cdr Richard Bridges (Later Cdre)[28]
• 1976 – 1977 : A/Lt David E. Mitchell (Later Lt)[45]
• 1977 – 1978 : Lt Cdr Ian Parkinson[46][47]
• 1978 – 1979 : unknown
• 1979 – 1980 : Lt Cdr David Pritchard[48]
• 1980 – 1981 : Lt Cdr David Ludbrook[49]
• 1981 – 1982 : Lt Cdr Richard Potez[50]
• 1982 – 1985 : Lt Cdr Henry Milner[51][52]

HMS Chaser replaces HMS Thornham as AURNU's affiliated ship

• 1985 – 1987 : unknown
• 1987 – 1989 : Lt Cdr Colin Milne[53]
• 1989 – 1991 : Lt Tim Fraser (Later Adm)[10]

HMS Archer replaces HMS Chaser as AURNU's affiliated ship

• 1991 – 1991 : Lt Tim Fraser (Later Adm)
• 1991 – 1993 : Lt John Clink (Later RAdm)
• 1993 – 1995 : Lt Cdr Glen MacDonald[54]
• 1995 – 1997 : Lt Cdr Malcolm Pollock (Later Cdr)[55]
• 1997 – 1999 : Lt James Clark (Later Lt Cdr)[56]
• 1999 – 2001 : Lt Cdr Ian Wiseman (Later Cdr)[57]
• 2001 – 2003 : Lt Paul Hammond (Later Cdr)[58]
• 2003 – 2005 : Lt Stuart Armstrong (Later Cdr)
• 2005 – 2007 : Lt Samantha "Sam" Coulton (née Scott)[nb 4] (Later Lt Cdr)[59][60]
• 2007 – 2009 : Lt Cdr Jamie Wells[61]
• 2009 – 2012 : Lt Michael Hutchinson (Later Lt Cdr)[62][23]
• 2012 – 2012 : Lt James Martin[63]

• 2012 – 2014 : Lt James Martin
• 2014 – 2015 : Lt Iain Giffin[64]
• 2015 – 2017 : Lt Andrew Platt (Later Lt Cdr)[65][21][66]

HMS Archer and Edinburgh URNU command separated

• 2017 – 2018 : unknown
• 2018 – 2020 : Lt Cdr Ollie Loughran[67]
• 2020 – 2022 : Lt Gordon Pickthall (Later Lt Cdr)[2]

• 2022 – 2022 : Lt Gordon Pickthall (Later Lt Cdr)
• 2022 – present : Lt Cdr Nick Bates

• University Service Units (USUs), the umbrella that the URNU, UOTC, and UAS fall under.
  • Tayforth Universities Officers' Training Corps, URNU East Scotland's British Army counterpart in St Andrews, Dundee and Stirling
  • East of Scotland Universities Air Squadron, URNU East Scotland's Royal Air Force counterpart, covering roughly the same geographic area

• Defence Technical Undergraduate Scheme
• Reserve Officers Training Corps, the United States' equivalent to the USUs
  • Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps, the United States' equivalent to the URNU