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A brief history.
William Speirs Bruce (1867-1921) led the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition of 1902-1904, along with many other scientific expeditions to both Polar Regions of the world. Bruce studied at Norfolk County School, before reading medicine at the University of Edinburgh, but gave up his studies in 1892, before he qualified as a doctor, in order to take part in a whaling expedition to the oceans surrounding the Falklands. Though he was, officially, ship's surgeon, he spent most of his time sealing and making 2-hourly meteorological observations over a 3-month period - the evidence gained in these observations of the weather giving the first ever evidence of the Antarctic anticyclone.
For several years, Bruce perfected his scientific technique at the meteorological observatory on Ben Nevis. Then, over a period of about 20 years, he made repeated visits to the arctic island of Spitsbergen in the Svalbard archipelago, in association with the Prince of Monaco. He became the major expert on the area, having carried out meteorological, zoological, geological and geographical surveys of the island. These led to the economic development of the archipelago, mainly for coal mining. Bruce also carried out ornithological work there, discovering new species of arctic bird, and discovering more about known species - he was, for example, the first to find chicks of the sanderling, on Spitsbergen.
The expedition for which he is remembered, however, is the remarkably successful Scottish National Antarctic Expedition of 1902-1904. The observations made by this expedition completely changed the way Antarctica was seen, from a geographical point of view, as well as the way the surrounding islands were seen from a zoological perspective. During this trip, a base was set up on South Georgia, a new area, Coats Land (named in honour of the Coats brothers, who had bankrolled the enterprise) was discovered and 1100 species of animal were catalogued, 212 of them previously unknown to science. The seas around the Antarctic were explored in the yacht 'Scotia'.
Bruce did not, however, always enjoy the good luck that made the Antarctic expedition such a success. In 1907, Bruce founded the Scottish Oceanographical Laboratory, an organisation he had great ambitions for, hoping it would one day challenge Monaco as a centre for oceanographical sciences. However, it was not to be, and it was disbanded in 1920, the year before his death, due to his ill health, and the lack of other people of Bruce's stature to continue the work. In 1910-1911, Bruce tried to raise funds for a second Antarctic expedition, but this enterprise too would end in failure. A whaling business he managed in the Seychelles from 1914 failed too, killed off by the outbreak of war.
He was honoured by several learned societies for his work. He did not publish widely nor attempt to publicise his work, and it is perhaps this, along with the lack of spectacular upsets like those that dogged Scott and Shackleton's polar expeditions, that meant Bruce has been largely forgotten by the public.
View attachment 77200
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The TV presenter Neil Oliver did an excellent documentary on Dr W. S. Bruce which can be viewed on YouTube here
I have been unable to find any actual drawings of the Scotia other than some very preliminary ones in a book I obtained on ebay entitled 'The Log of the Scotia' by William Speirs Bruce, published by Edinburgh University Press. This is probably due to the fact that the Scotia was originally built in Norway as a Whaler/Sealer called the Hekla, even the Norwegian Maritime Museum have no records.
View attachment 77203
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There are quite a number of photos available on the internet, so these will be referred to for the major part of the build. One particularly good source is http://gdl.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/scotia/
In order to reduce costs for the project I will be cannibalising the following kit, a review of which can be found here. http://www.scale-models.co.uk/threads/constructos-le-pourquoi-pas-scientific-research-vessel-1-80-scale-80835.17652/
this vessel is however shorter and wider than the Scotia so this will have to be corrected.
View attachment 77201
William Speirs Bruce (1867-1921) led the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition of 1902-1904, along with many other scientific expeditions to both Polar Regions of the world. Bruce studied at Norfolk County School, before reading medicine at the University of Edinburgh, but gave up his studies in 1892, before he qualified as a doctor, in order to take part in a whaling expedition to the oceans surrounding the Falklands. Though he was, officially, ship's surgeon, he spent most of his time sealing and making 2-hourly meteorological observations over a 3-month period - the evidence gained in these observations of the weather giving the first ever evidence of the Antarctic anticyclone.
For several years, Bruce perfected his scientific technique at the meteorological observatory on Ben Nevis. Then, over a period of about 20 years, he made repeated visits to the arctic island of Spitsbergen in the Svalbard archipelago, in association with the Prince of Monaco. He became the major expert on the area, having carried out meteorological, zoological, geological and geographical surveys of the island. These led to the economic development of the archipelago, mainly for coal mining. Bruce also carried out ornithological work there, discovering new species of arctic bird, and discovering more about known species - he was, for example, the first to find chicks of the sanderling, on Spitsbergen.
The expedition for which he is remembered, however, is the remarkably successful Scottish National Antarctic Expedition of 1902-1904. The observations made by this expedition completely changed the way Antarctica was seen, from a geographical point of view, as well as the way the surrounding islands were seen from a zoological perspective. During this trip, a base was set up on South Georgia, a new area, Coats Land (named in honour of the Coats brothers, who had bankrolled the enterprise) was discovered and 1100 species of animal were catalogued, 212 of them previously unknown to science. The seas around the Antarctic were explored in the yacht 'Scotia'.
Bruce did not, however, always enjoy the good luck that made the Antarctic expedition such a success. In 1907, Bruce founded the Scottish Oceanographical Laboratory, an organisation he had great ambitions for, hoping it would one day challenge Monaco as a centre for oceanographical sciences. However, it was not to be, and it was disbanded in 1920, the year before his death, due to his ill health, and the lack of other people of Bruce's stature to continue the work. In 1910-1911, Bruce tried to raise funds for a second Antarctic expedition, but this enterprise too would end in failure. A whaling business he managed in the Seychelles from 1914 failed too, killed off by the outbreak of war.
He was honoured by several learned societies for his work. He did not publish widely nor attempt to publicise his work, and it is perhaps this, along with the lack of spectacular upsets like those that dogged Scott and Shackleton's polar expeditions, that meant Bruce has been largely forgotten by the public.
View attachment 77200
View attachment 77202
The TV presenter Neil Oliver did an excellent documentary on Dr W. S. Bruce which can be viewed on YouTube here
I have been unable to find any actual drawings of the Scotia other than some very preliminary ones in a book I obtained on ebay entitled 'The Log of the Scotia' by William Speirs Bruce, published by Edinburgh University Press. This is probably due to the fact that the Scotia was originally built in Norway as a Whaler/Sealer called the Hekla, even the Norwegian Maritime Museum have no records.
View attachment 77203
View attachment 77204
There are quite a number of photos available on the internet, so these will be referred to for the major part of the build. One particularly good source is http://gdl.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/scotia/
In order to reduce costs for the project I will be cannibalising the following kit, a review of which can be found here. http://www.scale-models.co.uk/threads/constructos-le-pourquoi-pas-scientific-research-vessel-1-80-scale-80835.17652/
this vessel is however shorter and wider than the Scotia so this will have to be corrected.
View attachment 77201
