Dates: 1943 -

HMS Copra was the Combined Operations Pay & Drafting officeat Largs, Southend, London. Commissioned 30th August 1943.
HMS Copra was not a Royal Navy ship. It was a Royal Navy shore base for the calculation of ’pay, ratings and allowances’ for RN personnel attached to Combined Operations.
HMS Copra was an acronym for Combined Operations Pay, Ratings and Accounts. It was a shore based establishment set up to process the pay and allowances of Royal Navy personnel serving in Combined Operations in WW2. In wartime the military authorities had the power to requisition property in the national interest, and the venue selected for HMS Copra was ’The Moorings’ - a shopping and entertainment complex, built pre-war, in the town of Largs. The building had a nautical look with railings around the roof line and a flag pole prominently positioned in the superstructure. The accommodation used by Copra, within the complex, comprised a tea room, a ballroom and a cafe.
HMS Copra continued to function for another 6 months or so but finally closed as the mass demobilisation came to an end. After the war The Moorings resumed its pre-war role but today the site is occupied by a complex of luxury flats and shops.

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