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Facing the Bear: Scotland and the Cold War
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.
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.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2019
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About the author
Trevor Royle
56 books34 followersTrevor Royle is a broadcaster and author specialising in the history of war and empire. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and was a member of the Scottish Government’s Advisory Panel for Commemorating the First World War.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 19, 2020
I really enjoy Cold War history, so when I saw this charity shop bargain, I picked it up straight away. The title reminds me of an old Hofmeister advertising campaign ("for great lager, follow the bear")!
It's a varied and generally quite readable book that I ploughed through fairly quickly. The author sets the scene well, by describing the impact of the Cold War on the UK as a whole, which set the policy background, but also going into detail on the very specific things that affected Scotland. In particular, he emphasises why Scotland's geography was a major influence on the decision to base nuclear weapons at Faslane, and also how and why other infrastructure came to be based here. He describes in fascinating detail the way that both British and American bases in Scotland impacted their local communities economically, socially, politically and culturally.
There's lots more in here, including the contributions of significant Scots to espionage and overseas service, various military exercises that took place, protests against nuclear weapons, and how the Cold War ended, with widespread withdrawal of troops and equipment from Scotland. Generally it's all very readable, with fascinating little details tossed in regularly, although in a few places - mainly when describing military exercises in depth - I found it a little dry and technical.
Really interesting if you have an interest in Cold War history, and it adds a distinctive Scottish perspective to a familiar set of events. Very good.
It's a varied and generally quite readable book that I ploughed through fairly quickly. The author sets the scene well, by describing the impact of the Cold War on the UK as a whole, which set the policy background, but also going into detail on the very specific things that affected Scotland. In particular, he emphasises why Scotland's geography was a major influence on the decision to base nuclear weapons at Faslane, and also how and why other infrastructure came to be based here. He describes in fascinating detail the way that both British and American bases in Scotland impacted their local communities economically, socially, politically and culturally.
There's lots more in here, including the contributions of significant Scots to espionage and overseas service, various military exercises that took place, protests against nuclear weapons, and how the Cold War ended, with widespread withdrawal of troops and equipment from Scotland. Generally it's all very readable, with fascinating little details tossed in regularly, although in a few places - mainly when describing military exercises in depth - I found it a little dry and technical.
Really interesting if you have an interest in Cold War history, and it adds a distinctive Scottish perspective to a familiar set of events. Very good.
February 23, 2020
Very thorough, packed with fascinating anecdotes and areas of Scottish history I hadn’t really considered. Royle provides a heck of a lot of military detail which I think some might find daunting. The impact American bases had on Scottish communities, and the impact of the Cold War on Scottish culture, were my highlights.
June 28, 2020
A good gallop through Cold War history, though actually a bit lacking in substance when considering Scotland. The Scottish experience was in this telling, one dimensional - it simply being used as a base by others. The story could have probably been made slightly more personal, but still an enjoyable read.
November 10, 2019
Definitely was more military history than political history but there were some interesting anecdotes and I appreciated the focus on Scottish figures, movements, events and stories. Overall I found it to be a bit poorly written and therefore a bit tough to power through
January 3, 2026
I am being generous bc this is an acute intersection of things I have big feelings about
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews