HMCS Discovery
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
HMCS Discovery is a unit of the Canadian Forces Naval Reserve based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The mission of HMCS Discovery is to recruit and provide trained and operationally current personnel who are both committed and available for the manning of combat and support elements to meet Canada's Naval Defence Objectives in time of peace, crisis and war. It is named after the HMS Discovery, which, under the command of Captain George Vancouver, mapped much of North America's north-western coast and learned more about the area than had hereto been discovered.
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[edit] History
Discovery traces its history to the creation of the "Number 2 (Vancouver) Company" of the Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer Reserve at the beginning of World War I. This small group was comprised 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 Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve.
During the Second World War, the role of the reserves had to increase in order to maintain sufficient manpower. On November 1, 1941 the division was newly commissioned HMCS Discovery and they moved into the Stanley Park Barracks. In 1944 the unit was permitted to occupy Deadman's Island in Stanley Park and turn this property into a training facility. During the Second World War, HMCS Discovery was one of the greatest sources of naval recruits in Canada having enlisted 372 officers, 6,974 ratings and 650 WRENS. Of those, 15 were killed in action. At the end of the war, Discovery became the discharge centre for the whole of the British Columbia mainland. In total, 8,378 men and women were discharged through Discovery.
Today, HMCS Discovery continues to be a fully modern training facility. Discovery personnel have been deployed to Korea, the Persian Gulf, Egypt, and Bosnia. They have provided support for the 1997 APEC meeting in Vancouver and conducted port security around the country. It also is the site of the Western Region Diving Centre, co-ordinating 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 Reserves, Discovery houses Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps Captain Vancouver and Navy League Cadet Corps Captain Rankin. Discovery is also home to the Naval Museum of Vancouver.
[edit] Crest
It was suggested by Sir Arthur W. Cochran, KCVO, Clarenceaux King of Arms that the crest of Discovery take the form of a rebus. It depicts a gold disc on top of a shake-fork that looks like the letter Y. So in the design we find a Disc-over-y. It is unique in that it is the only crest in the Canadian military that the name of the unit is spelled out in pictorial form.
