University Royal Naval Unit Edinburgh

University Royal Naval Unit Edinburgh (URNU Edinburgh or URNUE) is one of 16 University Royal Naval Units and a Royal Navy training establishment based in Edinburgh, Scotland, accepting potential Officer Cadets from universities in Edinburgh, Fife, Aberdeen and the Tayside region.[1] The unit's affiliated P2000 ship is HMS Archer, which is used for training Officer Cadets.[2]

University Royal Naval Unit Edinburgh
Crest Of URNU Edinburgh
Active1967 – present
  • 1967 – 2012 : Aberdeen
  • 2012 – present : Edinburgh
Country United Kingdom
Branch Royal Navy
TypeTraining establishment
RoleOfficer Training
Size~ 50 Officer Cadets
~ 8 Training Staff
3 Permanent Staff
Part ofBritannia Royal Naval College
University Service Units
Garrison/HQHepburn House, Edinburgh
RMR Strathmore Avenue, Dundee
Nickname(s)URNU Edinburgh
URNUE
'Edinburgh'
Colours  Navy Blue
  Gold
MarchOfficial – Heart of Oak
Unofficial – Scotland the Brave
EquipmentHMS Archer
Websiteroyalnavy.mod.uk
Commanders
Current
commander		Lt Gordon Pickthall RN (2020-)[1]
Notable
commanders		Lt John Clink RN (1991-1993)
Her Majesty's
Naval Service
of the British Armed Forces
Components
History and future
Ships
Personnel
Auxiliary services

The unit is commanded by its commanding officer (CO), currently a full-time Royal Navy Lieutenant. The remainder of its staff comprises of a full-time Chief Petty Officer acting as the unit Coxswain (Coxn), an Royal Naval Reserve Lieutenant as the unit's Senior Training Officer (STO) and a number of Training Officers (TOs), who vary between Royal Naval Reserve Acting Sub-Lieutenants,[3] Sub-Lieutenants and Lieutenants. In addition, the unit has a Unit Administration Officer (UAO), who is a civilian and does not wear uniform.[1]

History

Aberdeen

URNU Edinburgh is the oldest of all the URNUs and was originally formed as Aberdeen Universities' Royal Naval Unit (AURNU) in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1967 to recruit STEM undergraduates to the RN from the University of Aberdeen and Robert Gordon University.[4] 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, until being replaced by HMS Archer in 1991.

Between 1991 and 1993 both AURNU and Archer were commanded by (then) Lieutenant John Clink who subsequently achieved flag rank.

Edinburgh

In 2012,[5] due to political pressures, the unit and HMS Archer were moved to the capital, Edinburgh, where it was initially named East of Scotland Universities' Royal Naval Unit,[6] although soon changed its name to Edinburgh Universities' Royal Naval Unit (EURNU). The unit was moved to Hepburn House in Bonnington, northwest of the city centre, while HMS Archer was moved to be berthed first at Rosyth,[5] 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.

In 2021, in an URNU-wide naming change, the unit was renamed University Royal Naval Unit Edinburgh,[1] as it is today.

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

HMS Archer
Main article: HMS Archer (P264)
HMS Archer afloat with a commodore onboard

HMS Archer has been the unit's training ship since 1991, and until 2020, was commanded by the commanding officer of the unit. Since then it has had its own CO, and although its primary role is still to train the Officer Cadets of URNUE, it now performs more tasks with the Coastal Forces Squadron, of which it is now a member. Officer Cadets from the unit are often taken on board during these deployments to undergo operational training.

The role of the training ships within the unit is to provide opportunities for Officer Cadets to receive practical training and gain experience afloat. Archer's programme is generally divided into two durations of training – a weekend, or the longer deployments that take place during the university Easter and summer holidays, which can be 1-3 weeks long.

Tayside Division

Opened in January 2022, the unit opened a satellite division known as URNU Edinburgh Tayside Division (often abbreviated to Tay Div), after the Firth of Tay which runs just south of Dundee, the city in which the division is based. It is based out of a Royal Marines Reserve base in the north of the city, RMR Strathmore Avenue.

The division, while under the jurisdiction of URNU Edinburgh and its CO, has its own Officer in Command (OiC) in charge of the division, a part-time Leuitenant RNR. The administration and resources are still headquartered in Edinburgh, with the Tayside Division having no full-time, dedicated staff.

The new division was created to recruit Officer Cadets from the University of Dundee, Abertay University, the University of St Andrews, Perth College, the University of Stirling and, in a return to the unit's history, Robert Gordon University and the University of Aberdeen.

Notable alumni
Then Commodore John Clink in Gibraltar in 2013

See also
Hepburn House in Edinburgh, home of the Edinburgh Division, URNUE

References
  1. "Royal Navy - URNU Edinburgh". Royal Navy. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  2. "Royal Navy - HMS Archer". Royal Navy. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  3. "BR3, Ch 110 – The University Royal Naval Units and Cadet Forces" (PDF). Royal Navy Books of Reference. Royal Navy. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  4. "Aberdeen UNRU Reunion page". Navy Net. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  5. "ESURNU intro Scotsman". Scotsman. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  6. "MEC minutes" (PDF). Aberdeen MEC. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  7. "Aberdeen UNRU MP Article". The Press and Journal. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  8. "John Clink Biography". ProfilesInfo. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
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