During the entire time the three ships were based there, they were the northernmost commissioned warships in the Royal Naval Fleet.

For a period between 1989 and 1991, while HMS Archer was being handed off to the Aberdeen URNU, the unit was commanded by (then) Lieutenant Tim Fraser, who is the former Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff, holding the rank of Admiral.

In 2012,[13] the unit and HMS Archer were moved to the capital, Edinburgh, due to political pressures, allegedly relating to the Scottish independence referendum, which was announced earlier that year.

[15] One of these students was (then) Hon Mid Andrew Bowie, who, since becoming a Member of Parliament in 2017, has been petitioning the government for the unit and Archer's relocation back to Aberdeen,[16] to no avail.

[17] Archer, and OCs from the unit, have been attending the exercise every year since, with the exception of 2022, due to increased tensions in the region following the re-escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War.

In Edinburgh, the unit uses the basement of Hepburn House as its main training area, consisting of two classrooms, an office, a galley, a casual lounge area (known as the Buffers' Shack) and a drill hall, which is shared with A company, 52nd Lowland, 6th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland.

[18] URNU East Scotland is affiliated with a number of ships, which often lend a few spaces on board for Officer Cadets to undergo training.

These are never in combat zones, as URNU OCs are non-combatants, however may be in faux-battle scenarios or training exercises, such as BALTOPS.

The unit is also overseen by a number of Military Education Committees (MECs), who uphold the relationship of the USUs with their affiliated universities.

She was converted to a training ship at the Royal Naval Dockyard Rosyth in 1967 (just prior to the foundation of AURNU) for the sole use of the unit.

She gives her name to the 'Thornham Prize', which is given at the annual prize-giving ceremony to the Officer Cadet who shows the most proficiency with working on ship at sea.

Since then, she has had her own CO, and although her primary role is still to train the Officer Cadets of URNUES, she now performs more tasks with the Coastal Forces Squadron, of which she is now a member.

She was then temporarily based out of Rosyth Naval Dockyard until final arrangements were made to have her be berthed at Leith, where she remains today.

[15] One of these students was (then) A/Mid Andrew Bowie, former Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party, who, since becoming a Member of Parliament in 2017, has been petitioning the government for the unit and Archer's relocation back to Aberdeen.

[16] The unit was allegedly moved due to political pressures relating to the Scottish independence referendum, which was announced earlier that year,[14] however, a Royal Navy spokesperson, when asked in 2012, claimed that the reason for the move was because "Edinburgh offers more sheltered waters in which to conduct sea training weekends, and allows easy access to a wider variety of destinations during those weekends.

[23] Bowie, however, rebuts that the "end of [AURNU] left a major port and huge swathe of coastline without a permanent naval presence".

[26] Christie was told that he had “fundamentally failed” in his duty of care, and may not be fit to continue with his career in the Royal Navy.