Voyage of the Scotia 1902-04

People of the Expedition

The Scotia returning home to the Firth of Clyde in 1904

This picture shows the Scotia in July 1904, under the command of Captain Thomas Robertson, escorted by three unidentified vessels on the last leg of her homeward journey from the 1902-1904 Scottish National Antarctic Expedition.

The location is unspecified, and unidentifiable because of the absence of any landmarks, but is probably in the lower reaches of the Firth of Clyde, possibly between Arran and the Cumbrae islands.

The immediate destination was Keppel Pier on Great Cumbrae, where on Thursday 21 July 1904 a grand homecoming reception had been arranged at the adjacent marine biological station, just outside the town of Millport.