Today's Legacy

While a few navy buildings remain, their future must inevitably be uncertain. C.P.O. Hopkins' grave can be seen in Glen Nevis and the grave of Chief Engine Room Artificer Harry Parks of Tolworth who died on 28th November 1940 can be found in the Graveyard of St Andrews Episcopalian Church, Fort William.  To the uninitiated, the only easily recognisable legacy of the base is the memorial at the front of the Highland Hotel. The memorial was unveiled in October 1997 and bears a plaque which reads…

We in Coastal Forces came to Fort William during the Second Great War
and were billeted in the Highland, Waverley and Grand Hotels.
The Royal Navy gave them the collective name of HMS St Christopher.
On Loch Linnhe we learned the art of small boat management.
As veterans we have returned to the Highland Hotel each year
since 1985 to remember a great many of our shipmates who were
lost in that conflict and subsequent;
Lest we forget.
We shall remember them.
This Cairn is erected by the North British Hotels Trust and
through the goodness of Norris D Beith OBE, its Chairman.

Perhaps most significantly, the name and spirit is continued in the local Sea Cadet Unit, the Training Ship St Christopher. As a charity aimed at encouraging local youngsters to take an active and constructive part in the   community, using the traditions of the Royal Navy.  Its staff and cadets regularly attend events in the local area including fetes, shows, parades & memorial services.

 

A thought for the future

While many of the buildings built by the navy are still being used, their future must inevitably be uncertain in the light of current developments taking place at Annat and while they are of no great architectural merit, they are of local significance. Surely, it would be a shame if they were all to disappear without trace?