Faslane: 50 years of nukes on the Clyde

Some say its arsenal has helped preserve peace since the end of the Second World War, while others – not least the Scottish Government – have condemned it as a costly and reckless mistake which inches the world closer to doomsday.

Today it is Scotland’s largest military base – providing jobs for almost 7,000 people and massively contributing to the economy of Argyll.

Inside Faslane: Everyday life in UK's most contentious base

Yet its business costs millions to maintain, and will cost billions to replace in the future, with many arguing the money would be better spent on schools and hospitals.

Ratings at a ceremony for Astute Class submarine HMS Artful.

The base, then called HMS Neptune, was officially opened in 1968 by the Queen Mother as a home for the submarines of the Polaris weapons system, the predecessor to the Trident nuclear deterrent.

Later that year, HMS Resolution conducted the first operational Polaris patrol and in 1969 the UK fully adopted its policy of Continuous At Sea Deterrence, which remains unbroken to this day.

This sees at least one submarine always on patrol somewhere in the world, ready to strike back if the UK comes under nuclear attack.

It is a policy of mutually assured destruction. Should an enemy nation fire on Britain, it does so in the knowledge it ensures its own obliteration.

Colin Robertson plays happily in 1983.

A protest at Faslane Camp gates in 1984.

Unseen and undetectable, Faslane’s nuclear submarines would launch their own payloads even if Britain is overwhelmed, replying kind for kind.

Eric Thompson, the former Commodore at Faslane, believes the base and its complement of submarines has kept the world safe.

He said: “I volunteered for submarines in 1968 at the height of the Cold War. The Red Army had invaded Hungary and was about to invade Czechoslovakia. The Vietnam War was raging.

Inside Faslane: Everyday life in UK's most contentious base

“Little did I know that 30 years later, I would be Commodore in charge of the Base, the Cold War would have ended peacefully and that 50 years later our deterrent submarines would still be continuously patrolling.

Nowadays, people in Britain take peace for granted, few sparing the slightest thought for our submariners out there on patrol.

“Lest we forget, in the first half of the 20th Century, there were two horrific world wars involving both mass destruction and megadeath, with 78 million killed.

That was before nuclear weapons were invented.

It is now 73 years since the end of the Second World War and three generations of British citizens have never known war.

A protester is carried away at Faslane base.

“That is not by accident. It is because of our (Nato) nuclear deterrent force. Over the past 50 years, hundreds of thousands of Scots have benefited economically from Faslane but we must never forget that its purpose is to maintain our peace.”

The UK transitioned from Polaris to the Trident missile system and HMS Vanguard carried out the first operational Trident patrol in December 1994.

From 2020 the base will become the sole home of the UK Submarine Service as well as the future home of the Dreadnought class of nuclear deterrent submarines, with the workforce expected to increase to 8,500.

Yet for all the might within, outside the massive base’s gates can be found its direct counterpoint.

Inside Faslane: Everyday life in UK's most contentious base

Just along the road a collection of colourful, ramshackle huts, caravans and trailers mare the site of the Faslane Peace Camp, the longest-occupied peace camp in the world.

For 35 years an ever-shifting cast of activists, drop-outs and dreamers have called the camp their home, organising regular protests and defiance against the nuclear arsenal.

Many of these acts can result in a criminal conviction, yet the peace campers continue on undeterred as the years roll by.

Johnny in his caravan at the peace camp.

Kate Hudson, general secretary of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) thinks the opposition would continue as long as the base is open.

She said: “Fifty years of nuclear weapons subs at Faslane has meant 50 years of protest against these weapons of death and destruction.

“Across the decades, Falsane has been a key focus for the anti-nuclear movement, with blockades, the peace camp, direct action, protests and vigils – with national and international participation.

Inside Faslane: Everyday life in UK's most contentious base

“It has come to symbolise both the terror that is nuclear weapons and the courageous democratic struggle that is opposition to these weapons of mass destruction.”

Ms Hudson added: “Our view – and that of the majority of Scottish parliamentarians and people – is that the UK should back the UN’s new treaty to ban all nuclear weapons globally. It’s time for the UK to join the global majority and end its nuclear role. Time for the denuclearisation of Faslane.”