Dounreay heritage annual report 2019 to 2020
Updated 17 May 2022
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Dounreay heritage strategy
The Dounreay Heritage Strategy was published in 2010 and is managed by James Gunn, DSRL Heritage Officer with advice from a panel of external experts. The Heritage Advisory Panel held its ninth meeting on 26 March 2019 in Nucleus: The Nuclear and Caithness Archives. The tenth meeting was due to be held on 21 March 2020 at Historic Environment Scotland’s Engine Shed in Stirling, but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Key activities for 2019/20
Collection of objects
22 objects were collected throughout the year;
- AEA Constabulary pin badge
- Laboratory glassware item made at Dounreay (with coat of arms on side
- Pocket sized booklet of blank “point of work” safety assessment forms, dated 2003
- UKAEA house rent cards for 1975,1976 and 1977 (12 Pennyland Drive)
- Thirteen items that are for currently sale in Dounreay’s public information office in Thurso
- Commemorative medal given to UK and USA staff involved with the recent highly enriched uranium project
- Mini torch given to staff for safety challenge in circa 2014
- Sword of honour for 2011 presented by British Safety Council
- Travel mug given to staff in December 2019 at safety roadshow
- Menu for a Dounreay Materials Test Reactor dinner and social evening on 8 Aug 1958. Many signatures are written on the back
A total of 448 objects have been collected since 2008 with numerous items donated to the Caithness Horizons museum and the National Museum of Scotland. The closure of Caithness Horizons Museum in February 2019 means that there is no local permanent display of Dounreay objects. Highlife Highland is now responsible for the collections in the museum, which is due to re-open in 2020.
Nucleus had a temporary display of Dounreay objects that they have acquisitioned.
The National Museum of Scotland has Dounreay objects on display in their Energise gallery (on top floor). The museum attracts over 2 million visitors per year.
The V&A Dundee museum includes a model of the sphere in their permanent exhibition. The museum had over 830,000 visitors in its first year.
The Dounreay Fast Reactor control room panels and desk were jointly acquisitioned by the National Museum of Scotland and the Science Museum, London a few years ago. The Science Museum intends to put the control room on public display and has invited tenders to assemble the panels. The museum attracts over 3 million visitors per year.
Recording history
A process to capture the memories of those leaving the site is in place and 6 forms were completed and returned. The form has 5 questions.
James Gunn gave an interview to the Wick Voices oral history project about Dounreay history. This is available on the Wick Heritage Society’s website.
Other activities
Archives
The records held in the Dounreay archives (circa 22,000 boxes) were successfully transferred to Nucleus in the period January to April 2019. The Nucleus request, search and retrieval process has proved to be excellent, with the majority of general record requests being completed within 1 hour.
Knowledge sharing presentations
James Gunn gave talks about the early history of Dounreay, to:
- The Caithness Family History Society
- Dounreay staff - 2 sessions
- Nucleus staff - 2 sessions
- Halkirk Reminiscence Group
International conference
Dounreay hosted an international workshop in September 2019 about nuclear cultural heritage with 16 attendees from the UK, France, Germany, Sweden and Lithuania. Dounreay Stakeholder Group (DSG) Chair, Roger Saxon and past Chair, David Flear also attended.
Workshops were also held in the Pentland hotel and Nucleus and were chaired by a professor from Kingston University, London. James Gunn helped to organise the 3-day event and also gave a guided tour of the former United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority housing estates. A position paper on nuclear cultural heritage was issued as the output from the workshops.
The international knowledge network and associated workshops are funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. A final workshop is due to be held in 2020 in London.
Educational studies
Linda Ross, PhD student at the University of the Highlands and Islands successfully gained her doctorate after nearly 4 years study. The thesis title is; Nuclear fission and social fusion: the impact of the Dounreay experimental research establishment on the built environment and communities of Caithness, 1954 – 1966. A copy of the 375-page thesis is available to read from James Gunn or Nucleus.
Nuclear Decommisioning Authority (NDA) heritage activities
The NDA issued a document entitled - Guidelines for safeguarding the UK’s civil nuclear cultural heritage. A lot of it is based on the Dounreay heritage work and it was written with advice and guidance from numerous national heritage bodies.
James Gunn was appointed as the NDA’s Heritage Officer, initially for a 2-year period. It will involve a few hours of work per month giving guidance and advice to sites, reviewing documents, plus organising and chairing the NDA Heritage Advisory Panel. It will also involve writing a biennial progress report to be issued to the UK Government via Historic England. The panel has members representing all civil nuclear sites and numerous national heritage organisations, such as Historic England and the Science Museum. The first meeting was due to be held on 1 April, but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The panel communicates through a forum on the NDA knowledge hub platform.
Miscellaneous
The DSG Chair wrote to the National Museum of Scotland (NMS) concerned about the wording on a panel about Dounreay and were not satisfied with the reply.
Note: Dounreay’s memorandum of understanding with NMS and Caithness Horizons details that Dounreay can advise on the factual accuracy only (of exhibition panel wording) and not the editorial content.
Old photographs of Thurso Technical College and Dounreay craft apprentices were donated to the UHI North Highland College for their sixteith anniversary exhibition on 18 December 2019.
Old photographs of Thurso auction marts were donated in February 2020, to the auction mart exhibition held at Forss hall in aid of charity.