In recognition of his brilliant career in the Navy and of his magnificent services as Commander of the Battle Cruiser Fleet in the battle of Jutland, and later as Commander-in-Chief of the British Grand Fleet, and in testimony of the profound admiration and gratitude of the whole community for the paramount and inestimable work of the British Navy and Auxiliary Forces throughout the Great War in securing the triumph of the Allies, in defending our shores, and in performing the indispensable duty of keeping open the seas; for the gallantry and unfailing vigilance, tenacity and endurance of all ranks, and for the way in which the men of the Royal Navy, amidst innumerable and unprecedented perils, have gloriously upheld their ancient renown and maintained the chivalry of the seas.
"Scotland's part in the war at sea has not been confined to harbouring the fleet and providing the dock yards and depots which have been so necessary to our efficiency. Scotsmen have played a noble part in every branch of the naval service. The tireless work of the hundreds of small craft, trawlers, drifters, whalers, manned by Scottish Fishermen, which kept our channels free from mines and protected our coasts from the submarine, furnishes a special chapter in our naval history. Their hardihood and high sense of duty have been unsurpassed."