Background
For almost half a century, UK nuclear policy was shrouded in official secrecy. Researchers without privileged access to classified material were compelled to use a combination of off-record conversations with practitioners and educated guesswork. However, thanks to the 30-year rule, a post-Cold War culture of openness and the 2005 Freedom of Information Act, a lot more primary-source information is available to researchers. Consequently, this has now enabled us to compile a fuller and richer history of the 1952-1976 period in the history of British nuclear weapons.
The Mountbatten Centre responded to this with some initial work undertaken through a 2002-3 pilot study, funded by the then Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB), to establish a network of scholars and former practitioners to assist in research into this history. This network has contributed to illuminating previously unknown dimensions to the UK nuclear history of the period. All of these factors facilitate a more detailed and authoritative analysis than previously possible of policy-making in this period, its implementation at working and operational levels; and at both national and NATO multilateral layers.
Specific topics have included:
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Following the success of the pilot study, a further three-year grant was awarded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) in 2005 to both produce a series of volumes on UK nuclear-weapon policies in the period 1952-1976 and to conduct oral history interviews with those involved. As part of the project two groups were established: the Academic Advisory Board comprising senior researchers and former officials to assist the investigators with the strategic direction of the project; and the inclusive MCIS led British Nuclear History Study Group to review work in progress; act as a validating body for draft chapters; and serve as an outreach forum for doctoral students and others to present their work. The first meeting of the larger Nuclear History Study Group was held in September 2005 and a second combined with the annual meeting of the British Rocketry Oral History Programme (BROHP) held at Charterhouse in April 2006. Presentations have ranged across the field of British nuclear history from technical working level research and development to high level policy and Britain's influence upon NATO's nuclear strategy.
The chrononlogical work was divided between four periods, January 1952 - October 1958; October 1958 - September 1964; October 1964 - June 1970 and June 1970 - March 1976, with a thematic volume analysing Britain's nuclear testing activities from 1954 until 1973.
Materials produced as part of the programme so far include:
Books We have now completed five books on the British nuclear weapons programme and its international dimensions. These are due to be published with Palgrave MacMillan. All of these volumes draw heavily on declassified material available in the British National Archives (right) at Kew in London. |
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They are:
Brian Jamison - Britain, the United States and Nuclear Weapons, 1952-1958: From Independence to Transatlantic Nuclear Sharing;
Richard Moore - Nuclear Illusion, Nuclear Reality: Britain, the United States and Nuclear Weapons, 1958-1964;
Kristan Stoddart - Britain, the United States and Nuclear Weapons, 1964 - 1970: Losing an Empire and Finding a Role;
Kristan Stoddart - Britain, the United States and Nuclear Weapons, 1970-1976: The Sword and Shield;
John Walker - Britain, the United States, Weapon Policies and Nuclear Testing, 1954-1973: Tensions and Contradictions
John Simpson is General Editor for all five volumes
Developments in 2008
At the meeting of the British Nuclear History Study Group, held at Charterhouse in March, presentations were made on:
On the second day of the conference we also held a Round Table discussion on the Mutual Defence Agreement attended by a number of senior figures involved in its implementation and operation.
Developments in 2007
Presentations during the 2007 meetings of the British Nuclear History Study Group included:
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The nuclear history parallel at the 2007 BROHP conference also saw a Witness Seminar on 'Chevaline and the 1980 Trident Decision' take place. The participants were (left to right) Roy Dommett, Admiral Sir Edward Ashmore, Professor John Simpson (Chair), Lord Owen, Dr. Frank Panton and Ken Johnston.
Developments in 2006
The Meetings during 2006 covered the following topics:
A synopsis of the nuclear history seminars run by MCIS at the British Rocketry Oral History Project held at Charterhouse every Easter can be found here or here.
The Slater Archive
An important development in April 2005 was that Fiona McKenzie, the widow of John Slater, offered his collection of over 8000 pages of UK and US official documents on the UK nuclear-weapon programme that he had collected between 1997 and his death in 2004 to MCIS. This collection, and his library of books and other materials, has been loaned to us for the duration of the project and arrived in our offices in Southampton in July 2005. The materials cover the period 1945-1965 and have been meticulously listed, filed and cross-referenced and have proved invaluable for obtaining an overview of the period through to 1965, reducing the time needed to produce written work for the project by several months.
A database of the materials is available through our library page.
