HMCS Discovery is a Royal Canadian Navy Reserve division and shore facility based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Created during World War II from the Vancouver Half Company of the Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer Reserve, it was used for recruitment and training, and provided almost 8,000 personnel during the war. It continued its training role after the war, and is also headquarters for several Reserve and Cadet units.
HMCS Discovery
HMCS Discovery on Deadman's Island, as seen from Stanley Park
Discovery traces its history to the creation of the "Number 2 (Vancouver) Company" of the Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer Reserve at the beginning of the First World War. This small group was composed of 87 members of the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club who served and were demobilized at the end of the war. It was not until May 1924 that Lieutenant-Commander J.W. Hobbs was given permission to form the first "Vancouver Half Company" of the Naval Volunteer Reserve. Robert Louis Stevenson's schooner Casco was used for a time to train cadets in the 1920s.
During the Second World War, the role of the reserves increased, reflecting the need to maintain sufficient manpower for the war effort. On 1 November 1941, the division was newly commissioned as HMCS Discovery and it moved into Stanley Park Barracks. In 1944, the unit was permitted to occupy Deadman Island in Stanley Park and turn this property into a training facility. During the Second World War, Discovery was one of the greatest sources of naval recruits in Canada, having enrolled 372 officers, 6,974 ratings and 650 Wrens (Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service – WRCNS). Of those, 61 were killed in action. At the end of the war, Discovery became the discharge centre for the whole of the British Columbia mainland, and 8,378 men and women were discharged through the base.
Modern eraEdit
HMCS Discovery continues to serve as a training facility, force-generating personnel for Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) operations. Discovery personnel have been deployed to Korea, the Persian Gulf, Egypt, Bosnia and Afghanistan. The facility provided support for the 1997 APEC meeting in Vancouver. It was the Olympic Maritime Operations Centre for the 2010 Winter Olympics and conducted port-security around the country.
It is also the site of the Western Region Diving Centre, coordinating the efforts of the various port inspection diving teams at Naval Reserve Divisions in Western Canada. The unit continues to serve as host and ambassador to dozens of foreign vessels visiting the Port of Vancouver.
In addition to the Naval Reserve, Discovery houses Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps Captain Vancouver and Navy League Cadet Corps Captain Rankin. Discovery is also the site of the Naval Museum of Vancouver and Vancouver Naval Veterans Association.
hmcs, discovery, royal, canadian, navy, reserve, division, shore, facility, based, vancouver, british, columbia, canada, created, during, world, from, vancouver, half, company, royal, naval, canadian, volunteer, reserve, used, recruitment, training, provided, . HMCS Discovery is a Royal Canadian Navy Reserve division and shore facility based in Vancouver British Columbia Canada Created during World War II from the Vancouver Half Company of the Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer Reserve it was used for recruitment and training and provided almost 8 000 personnel during the war It continued its training role after the war and is also headquarters for several Reserve and Cadet units HMCS DiscoveryHMCS Discovery on Deadman s Island as seen from Stanley ParkActive1941 presentCountryCanadaBranchRoyal Canadian NavyTypeNaval Reserve divisionRoleReserve unitSize140Part ofCanadian Forces Naval ReserveGarrison HQ1200 Stanley Park DriveVancouver British ColumbiaV6G 3E2Motto s Steadfast and VigilantColoursBlue and whiteEquipment24 ft 7 3 m RHIB ZH 733 CDO Battle honoursPortland 1653 Copenhagen 1801CommandersCommanding OfficerCdr Rebecca HardieExecutive OfficerLCdr Jeff BaxterCoxswainCPO2 Jason Eldridge The stone frigate takes its name from HMS Discovery the ship used by George Vancouver to chart most of North America s northwestern coast Originally based at the Stanley Park Barracks in 1944 it moved to its current location on Deadman s Island in Coal Harbour adjacent to Stanley Park Contents 1 History 1 1 World wars 1 2 Modern era 2 Badge 3 Citations 4 References 5 External linksHistory EditWorld wars Edit Discovery traces its history to the creation of the Number 2 Vancouver Company of the Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer Reserve at the beginning of the First World War This small group was composed of 87 members of the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club who served and were demobilized at the end of the war It was not until May 1924 that Lieutenant Commander J W Hobbs was given permission to form the first Vancouver Half Company of the Naval Volunteer Reserve Robert Louis Stevenson s schooner Casco was used for a time to train cadets in the 1920s During the Second World War the role of the reserves increased reflecting the need to maintain sufficient manpower for the war effort On 1 November 1941 the division was newly commissioned as HMCS Discovery and it moved into Stanley Park Barracks In 1944 the unit was permitted to occupy Deadman Island in Stanley Park and turn this property into a training facility During the Second World War Discovery was one of the greatest sources of naval recruits in Canada having enrolled 372 officers 6 974 ratings and 650 Wrens Women s Royal Canadian Naval Service WRCNS Of those 61 were killed in action At the end of the war Discovery became the discharge centre for the whole of the British Columbia mainland and 8 378 men and women were discharged through the base Modern era Edit HMCS Discovery continues to serve as a training facility force generating personnel for Canadian Armed Forces CAF operations Discovery personnel have been deployed to Korea the Persian Gulf Egypt Bosnia and Afghanistan The facility provided support for the 1997 APEC meeting in Vancouver It was the Olympic Maritime Operations Centre for the 2010 Winter Olympics and conducted port security around the country It is also the site of the Western Region Diving Centre coordinating the efforts of the various port inspection diving teams at Naval Reserve Divisions in Western Canada The unit continues to serve as host and ambassador to dozens of foreign vessels visiting the Port of Vancouver In addition to the Naval Reserve Discovery houses Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps Captain Vancouver and Navy League Cadet Corps Captain Rankin Discovery is also the site of the Naval Museum of Vancouver and Vancouver Naval Veterans Association Badge Edit nbsp Sir Arthur W Cochran Clarenceaux King of Arms suggested that the badge of HMCS Discovery take the form of a rebus It depicts a gold disc on top of a shake fork that looks like the letter Y a disc over Y Citations EditReferences EditWinters Barbara 1995 H M C S Discovery A History of the Naval Reserve in Vancouver p 200 ISBN 978 0 9695265 3 7 OCLC 36191328 Davis Chuck 2009 The History of Metropolitan VancouverExternal links EditHMCS Discovery official site49 17 42 76 N 123 7 22 13 W 49 2952111 N 123 1228139 W 49 2952111 123 1228139 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title HMCS Discovery amp oldid 1169776012, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
