A sleepy Scottish village played a crucial part during Cold War as it found itself on the front line of the global conflict.
For many years, Sandbank in Argyll and Bute, built in 1858, was a favourite destination for Glaswegians taking a leisurely trip ‘Doon the Watter’. But that all changed in 1958, when the Holy Loch became the home base for the US Atlantic Fleet’s Submarine Squadron 14.
As a result, the base at Sandbank was at the forefront of the nuclear showdown between the USA and the USSR. It was home to the Polaris and, later, Poseidon Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) submarines after Holy Loch was identified as a suitable deep-water base when it was used by the Royal Navy during the Second World War.
The Scottish Daily Express reports that the village was at the centre of many anti-nuclear protests over the decades, but the 3,000 US military personnel on the base were always made to feel welcome on the Cowal Peninsula. They were even granted a Polaris Military Tartan designed by Alexander MacIntyre of Strone.
On November 9, 1991, the USS Will Rogers was the last submarine to leave Holy Loch before Submarine Squadron 14 was deactivated at the end of the Cold War. However, many local people still remember the base.
When a proposal for eight wind turbines above the village was being debated in 2010, the following submission was made to Argyll and Bute Council: “The last time such a threat to the local economy happened, it was outside of the control of local people as the decision was taken in the Pentagon and the White House. This time it is firmly in the hands of the people of Dunoon and the rest of the Cowal Peninsula and the responsibility for the financial future of them, their children and grandchildren lies with them and in which they do have a say.
“The village of Sandbank made a huge sacrifice for the Cold War, in hosting an American nuclear submarine base. When the Americans left, the community was left damaged, and had to rebuild, a process still being carried out over 20 years later. Now we are being asked to take a front line role in the fight against greenhouse gases and climate change.
“The area has regenerated after 30 years of American Navy. The Holy Loch and local vicinity have again naturalised, the tranquillity adjoining this has encouraged return of amazing birdlife, this does not need to be disturbed again with movement of heavy goods and transport, let alone disrupting a large area of natural vegetation, this I fear would be an epicentre of devastation.”
Now, locals are celebrating after being awarded money for a community buy-out of their local pub, the Oakbank Hotel. The venue was once a watering hole where many of the regulars were American servicemen and women from the Holy Loch nuclear submarine base.
The 150-year-old landmark, located at a gateway to the southern Highlands, has been closed for almost two years. Now, thanks to £147,411 from the Scottish Land Fund, it has been offered a new lease of life.
Sue McKillop of Oakbank Community Inn Sandbank (OCIS) said: “We have lost so many fantastic venues in this area in recent years. Hopefully our success will encourage and inspire other communities to pull together and save their local hostelries and other assets. The Oakbank Inn is more than a pub, it’s a community hub.”
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