The National Museum of Scotland’s recent exhibit, “Cold War Scotland,” shows the unique and important role Scotland played in the conflict. The temporary exhibit opened this July as a part of Edinburgh Art Festival and closes January 26, 2025. I visited on September 10, 2024. Contained in one gallery room, the exhibit beautifully captures the conflicting ideologies of the Cold War, both inside Scotland and abroad, through videos, information boards, and artifacts.
The exhibit opens with an overview of the Cold War and Scotland’s role within it. Information boards and a brief video full of Cold War footage outline the origins of the conflict and how Scotland, allied with the USA and NATO, was essential in monitoring Soviet threats due to its geography and landscape. Scotland was especially involved in nuclear power and NATO war preparations, with multiple power plants and military bases. Internationally, Scots served in NATO forces in Germany and Southeast Asia.
The “Timeline of Cold War Activity” and “Mapping Cold War Scotland” information boards were especially helpful. The timeline is split vertically, the left side displays general Cold War events, Scotland-specific events are on the right. The Map highlights radar stations, nuclear power stations, government bunkers, ROC headquarters and posts, and the Faslane Peace Camp. The exhibit follows an anticlockwise path around the gallery, with clever signs projected onto the ground: “Proceed with Caution” points the correct path, and “Restricted Area” with a nuclear warning symbol prevents visitors from going the wrong way.
The first section on the right highlights “Atomic Scotland,” with sketches of power plants and art from the “Exhibition of Industrial Power,” held in Glasgow, 1951, which celebrated nuclear energy as “clean, safe, and modern.”
To the left is the “Cold War hot war” case, split into two sections: artifacts from Korea, including Chinese propaganda leaflets, Korean medals, and a drill service jacket; and the personal effects of Isabel Jackson, a Woman’s Royal Army Corps switchboard operator stationed in Germany. Isabel is one of the featured people in the exhibit; in the video interview section, she speaks fondly on her time served. Her WRAC handbag and beret, photos, and SOXMIS sighting card are on display.
Photo taken by Claire Landreneau, Sep 10, 2024. Permission to post exhibit photos granted by the National Museum of Scotland Sep 11, 2024.
The next section, “Preparing for the worst,” is dedicated to plans and artifacts which were to be used during a nuclear attack. The information board states that RAF Leuchars had fighter aircraft on “Quick Reaction Alert, ready to intercept attacks before they could enter British airspace” and that maritime patrol aircraft were also based in Scotland. A c1980 nuclear attack highlighted area ordinance map and key are displayed in this section. “Protect and Survive” information sheets, which told civilians how to protect themselves during a nuclear attack, and their counterpart, “Protest and Survive” by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament are also on display. Both are from the 1980s.
Nearby is a nuclear, biological, and chemical protective suit (NBC No1 Mk3 with S6 respirator), which was to be worn over normal uniforms in the case of nuclear attacks. With charcoal-lined fabric, chemical detector paper, a gas mask, and thick rubber gloves and overshoes, the wearer would be protected from fallout. They were issued from 1966-1986. Next is a case of artifacts from RAF Leuchars Combined Operations Centre: a ground defense board and key, an air attack panel console, engineering tote board plaques, nuclear and chemical attack exit drill instructions, and an aircraft recognition guide. This fighter station was dedicated to fighting enemy aircraft in UK air space. The ground defense board makes an impressive background to this artifact case.
Photo taken by Claire Landreneau
To the right are a battle dress blouse and motorcycle, followed by a case displaying Royal Observer Corps monitoring post artifacts. The information board outlines how the ROC volunteers transitioned from aircraft recognition in WWII to nuclear attack warnings and radiation monitoring during the Cold War. Inside the case is a model of an underground monitoring post; an ROC crest; detection instruments: ROC Handbook, Fixed Post-Radiological Dose Rate Meter, a Post Instrument with Mickletheaite height correction attachment, a bomb power indicator, and a ground zero indicator; and communication instruments to give the public a “four-minute warning” of a nuclear attack: a hand operated siren, a Carrier Speaker WB1400, and Tele-talk telephones.
I found the next section of the exhibit to be the most impactful; on an information screen, visitors could choose to view video interviews on three different topics. In “US Navy in Dunoon,” Donald Gabel, who served in the US Navy, and Margaret Hubbard, a citizen of Dunoon, give military and civilian accounts of the American base there. Despite initial fear of Soviet targeting, both highlight the integration of the soldiers into the community through parties, church, children’s activities, and marriages. Isabel Jackson’s interview recounts her time in the Woman’s Royal Army Corps. As stated before, she enjoyed her time in Germany, stating, “It was happy times, I wish I would have spent longer in it.” Finally, Kim Folden, in “Royal Observer Corps, Kirkwall” details her experience as an observer. She recounts the process of checking instruments and the day-to-day routine. Her fear for her family while working in the bunker is deeply impactful. She resigned due to her children. Her simple statement of, “If I had to go [in a nuclear attack], I’d go,” beautifully summarizes the anxiety of the times. These well-executed videos are important sources of Cold War history. I hope the museum publishes them when the exhibit is over.
Perhaps the most interesting section of the exhibit are interactions with the USSR. A case dedicated to spy work displays Russian course and exercise books from a Joint Services School for Linguists in Crail. This school, with 700 pupils from 1956-1959, taught Russian to servicemen for the purpose of monitoring Soviet military communications. Nearby is a Soviet General Staff map of East Lothian, marked with information essential to invasion, e.g., road widths and bridge capacities.
Above the spy case hangs a Soviet flag from a fishing ship, which would frequently stop at Ullapool and Lerwick. The nearby information board recounts the visits of Khrushchev in 1956 and Dmitri Shostakovich in 1962, as well as the foundation of The Scotland-USSR Friendship Society.
This Scotland-USSR Friendship Society, established in 1945, promoted Soviet culture in Scotland through concerts, exhibitions, film showings, talks (e.g., the Edinburgh Conversations on nuclear control), and vacation tours of the USSR. One tourist, Eileen Crowford, has her items displayed in the exhibit, including figurines, brochures, and badges. Additional artifacts in the case include a Latvian life Jacket, Soviet pin badges, a dress from traditional silk, and a British Homophone Co. Ltd. Published book on Yuri Gagarian.
Next to the Soviet artifacts is a display on “Little America” in Dundoon, the topic of one of the video selections. Artifacts include American Forces tartan ties and photos of American soldiers.
In the middle of the gallery is a slice of the TAT-1 cable that was built from Newfoundland to Oban in 1955-56. Above which is a gallery divider is covered in common nuclear protest slogans, including “peace for a future without fear” and “waste not, war not.” The protest section of the exhibit includes a video on Kristin Barrett. Her “pram stall” protest flyer and homemade protest rattle are in the display case next to persuasive Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament flyers protesting US military bases in Scotland. Across from this case, buttons and flyers for an anti-nuclear festival are displayed.
Finally, the “What Remains?” section closes the exhibit with photos and information about remaining Cold War structures. The information board closes with: “A long-lasting intangible legacy of the conflict and connections made across the East-West divide remains in people’s memories; preserved in art, literature, poetry, film and songs.”
The “Cold War Scotland” exhibit by the National Museum of Scotland eloquently captures Scotland’s necessity – through its geographic location – and impact on the conflict by using an entertaining mix of media. The exhibit expertly navigates communicating the conflicting ideological positions of the period. Mixing nuclear and protest symbols throughout the gallery imposes upon the visitor the pressure and conflict of the era. The gallery case on Scottish-Soviet friendship is situated between a video and an exhibit on “Little America in Scotland.” The placement of the artifacts reflects the push-and-pull Scotland and the rest of the world felt between the two powers. Dedicating space to American and Soviet, soldiers and protesters more fully represents the conflict. The exhibit’s artifacts cover the entire timescale of the war, and the information boards are interesting, easy-to-read, and helpful. The gallery is easy to maneuver. The exhibits are attention-grabbing without being overwhelming, a staple of the National Museum of Scotland. The exhibit is a must-see for Cold War enthusiasts.