Facing the Bear: Scotland and the Cold War

by Trevor Royle

Overview

Between the end of the Second World War and the collapse of Communism confrontation with the Soviet Union was an everyday reality. As part of Nato’s response, Scotland played a key role in the alliance’s forward maritime defence strategy, aimed at containing the Soviet threat from naval and air forces. During this period 10 per cent of the UK’s naval and air forces were based in Scotland, and there was a substantial US presence as well as top secret satellite and command stations.

In this book Trevor Royle paints a fascinating portrait of this extraordinary period, examining not just the wider military and political contexts, but also showing how the defence industry brought huge economic benefits, how CND maintained a high-profile presence, and how anti-nuclear sentiments underpinned much of the left’s thinking in Scotland and contributed to the hegemony enjoyed by the Labour Party in Scotland during the Cold War.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781780275260
Publisher:	Birlinn, Limited
Publication date:	10/22/2019
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Trevor Royle is a broadcaster and author specialising in the history of war and empire. His most recent books include Patton: Old Blood and Guts and Civil War: The Wars of the Three Kingdoms 1638-1660. He is an associate editor of the Sunday Herald and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Table of Contents

List of Plates vii

Picture Credits viii

List of Abbreviations ix

Preface and Acknowledgements xi

Prologue: Saxa Vord 1

1 Last Shots, First Shots 5

2 When Cold War Became Hot War 26

3 The Yanks Are Coming 47

4 Frontline Scotland 72

5 Ding Dong Dollar: Opposing Armageddon 99

6 The Past Is a Foreign Country: Families on the Front Line 128

7 The Watch on the Rhine: Scots in Germany and on Other Fronts 148

8 Ploughshares into Swords: Profiting from the Cold War 173

9 War in the Shadows 196

10 Trident and Thatcher 223

11 The Walls Came Tumbling Down 242

Epilogue: A New Cold War? 265

Notes 275

Select Bibliography 290

Index 295

Editorial Reviews

"An interesting look back at the Cold War era in Scotland."

The Washington Times

"Engrossing... this is not simply a story of military hardware and confrontation. Royle is very interesting on how the Cold War influenced our cultural life from the novel to poetry and the protest song."

The Herald

Projects a big picture, tracing the cold war across the UK and beyond'

Yorkshire Post

Engrossing… Like a military commander at the top of his game, Royle marshals his material to maximum effect to show how Scotland has been shaped by, and also helped shape, the Cold War, which began in 1945 and ended after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. He ranges far and wide and has that rare talent to marry the local with the geopolitical… But this is not not simply a story of military hardware and confrontation. Royle is very interesting on how the Cold War influenced our cultural life from the novel to poetry and the protest song'

The Herald - Barclay McBain