The role of ordinary Scots during the Cold War
Image source, Trinity Mirrorpix Alamy
- Author, Oliver Coe
- Role, BBC Scotland News
“From 1961, when the US submarines arrived, Scotland became a legitimate target for nuclear attack,” says Dr Meredith Greiling, director of a new exhibition on the Cold War.
The decision to allow the Americans to station their Polaris submarines – and the associated nuclear missile system – in Holy Loch near Dunoon placed Scotland at the forefront of a conflict between the world’s two greatest superpowers – the USA and the Soviet Union.
The new exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland examines the role of ordinary Scots in the Cold War – the decades of blockade during which the USA and the USSR were constantly on the brink of nuclear Armageddon.
It explores the legacy that continues to influence Scottish politics, culture and memory.
After the Second World War, the atomic age offered the possibility of new jobs and low-cost electricity generation, but also brought with it the looming threat of nuclear annihilation.
The conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union led to the largest arms race in history, with both sides increasing their nuclear arsenals at an alarming pace.
Scotland played a key role in these years of geopolitical tensions.
“Scotland was of great strategic importance due to its geographical location, particularly when the US Navy brought the Polaris submarines that served as NATO’s nuclear deterrent in the 1960s,” said Dr Greiling.
Scotland was ideally positioned to detect Russian communications systems and submarines in the waters between the USA and the USSR.
Military bases were established throughout Scotland, some of which were under US control, including the RAF base at Edzell.
This base was the headquarters of the US Army and part of its HFDF (High Frequency Direction Finding) network, which was used to track targets worldwide.
One of the most controversial facilities was the US Navy’s ballistic missile submarine base at Holy Loch.
This base housed American nuclear submarines during the Cold War and enabled the United States to patrol waters 2,400 kilometers from the USSR.
Image source, National Museum of Scotland
Kim Foden from Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands was one of the people who helped the museum with the “Cold War Scotland” exhibition.
She said: “I grew up in a household where I was very aware of the issues of nuclear energy and nuclear power – and the destruction that nuclear bombs can cause.”
After graduating from school in 1968, she worked for the Royal Observer Corps and was trained to carry out a very specific task in the event of a nuclear weapon being launched.
In the event of an alarm, their job was to transport special equipment to an underground outpost and establish communications with other locations across the country.
She was trained to take measurements, such as radiation levels, and to transmit them to scientists and other military personnel in the event of an atomic bomb being dropped.
“Getting information could be the key to saving lives,” she said.
Another important part of the exhibition are the stories of those who protested against the nuclear facilities in Scotland.
Kristin Barrett fought for nuclear disarmament for more than 60 years.
She began campaigning for the cause in 1960 at the age of 17 while studying at the University of Aberdeen, taking part in protest marches at RAF bases Edzell and Aldermaston, the site of the British government’s nuclear weapons programme.
The exhibition features photographs of Ms Barrett, including some with her daughter’s pram, which she converted into a stall to distribute leaflets and badges for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) in her home town of Blairgowrie.
In 1982 she took part in the Peace March Scotland from Inverness to Edinburgh.
During the march, she received a protest rattle made from an old washing powder bottle and decorated with the CND logo from a Church of Scotland minister. It is one of the objects on display in the exhibition.
The Cold War ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, but in the four decades prior to that, the prospect of nuclear war was a very real threat.
The exhibition also features items such as the steel blast doors of an Air Defence Operations Room (AAOR) in East Kilbride.
These underground bunkers formed a network built in the 1950s to protect important targets from possible air attacks.
Other impressive relics on display include the control panel of Hunterston Nuclear Power Station, which was built on the North Ayrshire coast and opened in 1964.
At the time, it was the largest nuclear power plant of its kind in the world and the first in Scotland to be intended for civilian use.
An earlier plant at Chapelcross, opened in 1959, was primarily used to produce weapons-grade plutonium for nuclear weapons.
“Cold War Scotland” runs until January 26 at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.
Admission is free and includes a program of events such as guided tours and lectures by curators and museum experts.
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