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New sculpture restores pride in HMS Caledonia’s iconic emblem
20 March 2025
From shabby to fabby. For the first time in more than 65 years the emblem of the Royal Navy’s home on the north bank of the Forth shines – thanks to a comprehensive rebuild.
It’s thought the anchor sculpture near the entrance of HMS Caledonia in Rosyth last enjoyed an overhaul in the 1950s – and certainly hadn’t received much TLC in recent years.
With the base’s motto – uterque exerceat artem (Let each practise the art) – either faded or obliterated by paint, one of the anchor hooks broken, the wood rotting away and the paint fading badly, personnel assigned to Caledonia, which sits on the hillside overlooking Rosyth dockyard, decided it needed replacing.
The 40-acre site, which traces its history back to the late 1930s, provides accommodation, sporting facilities and food for RN personnel based or assigned to the neighbouring Rosyth dockyard or serving in the area, including crew of new frigate HMS Venturer) and the Royal Marines Band Scotland.
In addition, Caledonia is home to the RN’s regional headquarters, the local reservist unit HMS Scotia, an acquaint centre to give prospective military personnel a taste of life in the Service, and a training centre for Sea Cadets among other units.
A team of engineers and fabricators from Babcock based in the dockyard spent several weeks designing a new anchor from scratch, then fabricated the steel structure, and passed to their team of painters for the finishing touches.
The sculpture was mounted on the existing plinth at the entrance to Caledonia where the old ceremonial anchor sculpture had stood since the base’s earliest days.
The new anchor was officially unveiled in a small ceremony attended by base personnel and Babcock.
“These anchors have long stood as a prominent symbol of Caledonia’s Naval traditions and history,” said First Lieutenant Lieutenant Commander Morgan McDonald.
“Babcock’s skilled team have done a fantastic job at crafting new modern replacements, these will stand as a testament to the strong links between Babcock and the RN whilst preserving our proud Naval traditions here in Caledonia.”