127-650: Dounreay ( / ˌ d uː n ˈ r eɪ / ; Scottish Gaelic : Dùnrath ) is a small settlement and the site of two large nuclear establishments on the north coast of Caithness in the Highland area of Scotland. It is on the A836 road nine miles (fourteen kilometres) west of Thurso . The nuclear establishments were created in the 1950s. They were the Nuclear Power Development Establishment ( NPDE ), now known as NRS Dounreay , for
254-570: A brownfield site by 2336. An announcement in July 2020 that the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) will be taking over direct management of the site from the site licence company Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL) in 2021 has alleviated fears of 560 job losses. The NRTE is to be decommissioned under a ten-year contract starting in 2023, ending in the creation of a brownfield site, which would be transferred to
381-552: A fast neutron reactor core. Test pieces were encased in uranium-bearing alloy to increase the already high neutron flux of this class of reactor, and then chemically stripped of this coating after irradiation. DMTR was closed in 1969 when materials testing work was consolidated at Harwell Laboratory . The second operational reactor (although the first to commence construction) was the Dounreay Fast Reactor (DFR), which achieved criticality on 14 November 1959. Power
508-442: A 19% fall in bilingual speakers between the 1911 and 1921 Censuses. Michelle MacLeod of Aberdeen University has said that there was no other period with such a high fall in the number of monolingual Gaelic speakers: "Gaelic speakers became increasingly the exception from that point forward with bilingualism replacing monolingualism as the norm for Gaelic speakers." The Linguistic Survey of Scotland (1949–1997) surveyed both
635-564: A Pictish substrate. In 1018, after the conquest of Lothian (theretofore part of England and inhabited predominantly by speakers of Northumbrian Old English ) by the Kingdom of Scotland , Gaelic reached its social, cultural, political, and geographic zenith. Colloquial speech in Scotland had been developing independently of that in Ireland since the eighth century. For the first time,
762-594: A cash consideration of £18.2 million plus deferred consideration of £4.4 million. In April 2014, Babcock Dounreay Partnership (BDP), a consortium of Babcock International Group PLC (50%), CH2M Hill (30%) and URS (20%) was selected as preferred bidder and eventually awarded a £1.6bn contract by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority for the management and decommissioning of the Dounreay nuclear site in Scotland. In November 2014, Babcock
889-524: A central feature of court life there. The semi-independent Lordship of the Isles in the Hebrides and western coastal mainland remained thoroughly Gaelic since the language's recovery there in the 12th century, providing a political foundation for cultural prestige down to the end of the 15th century. By the mid-14th century what eventually came to be called Scots (at that time termed Inglis ) emerged as
1016-823: A challenge to revitalization efforts which occur outside the home. Positive engagements between language learners and native speakers of Gaelic through mentorship has proven to be productive in socializing new learners into fluency. In the 2022 census, 3,551 people claimed Gaelic as their 'main language.' Of these, 1,761 (49.6%) were in Na h-Eileanan Siar, 682 (19.2%) were in Highland, 369 were in Glasgow City and 120 were in City of Edinburgh; no other council area had as many as 80 such respondents. Gaelic has long suffered from its lack of use in educational and administrative contexts and
1143-756: A combined defence and support services group that annually accrued sales of £3bn and had more than 25,000 employees, which were mainly based in Britain and the United States. As a result of the merger, Babcock took over the contract to operate the Defence High Frequency Communications Service on behalf of the Ministry of Defence; this contract was originally awarded to VT Merlin Communications in 2003, for
1270-498: A design output of 250MW(e). This fuel had a high plutonium content, unlike the HEU fuel previously handled, and a plutonium separation and purification line to produce plutonium oxide was added. The modifications included work to improve containment and to meet more modern safety standards. Since the reactors have all been shut down, care and maintenance of old plant and decommissioning activities have meant that Dounreay has still retained
1397-551: A dialect known as Canadian Gaelic has been spoken in Canada since the 18th century. In the 2021 census , 2,170 Canadian residents claimed knowledge of Scottish Gaelic, a decline from 3,980 speakers in the 2016 census . There exists a particular concentration of speakers in Nova Scotia , with historic communities in other parts of Canada having largely disappeared. Scottish Gaelic is classed as an indigenous language under
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#17327810842741524-595: A division of Magnox Ltd as part of a simplified operating model for the NDA group. The site licence was transferred from DSRL to Magnox Ltd, and employees at the Dounreay site were transferred from DSRL to Magnox Ltd. In October 2023, Magnox Ltd was re-branded as ' Nuclear Restoration Services ', with the Dounreay division referred to as 'NRS Dounreay'. In April 2019, DSRL awarded six framework contracts for decommissioning services at Dounreay. The total value of these contracts
1651-635: A downturn in government orders and issues with its aviation division, necessitating a £85m writedown on leases for its North Sea helicopter fleet. During February 2020, it was reported that the company was considering exiting the off-shore helicopter sector amid intense competition; Babcock had already reduced its Sikorsky S-92 and Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma fleets from 15 to seven helicopters and 13 to one helicopters respectively. The firm's decision to downsize its S-92 inventory caused manufacturer Sikorsky to sue Babcock over its refusal to accept delivery of units ordered in 2011. In April 2021, as part of
1778-489: A full range of language skills: speaking, understanding, reading and writing Gaelic. 40.2% of Scotland's Gaelic speakers said that they used Gaelic at home. To put this in context, the most common language spoken at home in Scotland after English and Scots is Polish, with about 1.1% of the population, or 54,000 people. The 2011 UK Census showed a total of 57,375 Gaelic speakers in Scotland (1.1% of population over three years old), of whom only 32,400 could also read and write
1905-454: A lack of confidence in management at the plant and fear for their safety. In 2016, the task of dismantling the PFR core commenced. Plans were also announced to move about 700 kg (1,500 lb) of waste Highly Enriched Uranium to the United States. On 7 June 2019, there was a low-level radioactive contamination incident that led to the evacuation of the site. A DSRL spokesman said: "There
2032-420: A landfill site at the plant between 1963 and 1975, and three of illegally dumping radioactive waste and releasing nuclear fuel particles into the sea, resulting in a fine of £140,000. In 2007 a new decommissioning plan was agreed, with a schedule of 25 years and a cost of £2.9 billion, a year later revised to 17 years at a cost of £2.6 billion. Due to the uranium and plutonium held at
2159-586: A language ideology at odds with revitalization efforts on behalf of new speakers, state policies (such as the Gaelic Language Act), and family members reclaiming their lost mother tongue. New learners of Gaelic often have a positive affective stance to their language learning, and connect this learning journey towards Gaelic language revitalization. The mismatch of these language ideologies, and differences in affective stance, has led to fewer speaking opportunities for adult language learners and therefore
2286-459: A large workforce. Commercial reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel and waste on the Dounreay site was stopped by the UK government in 1998 although some waste is still accepted from other nuclear facilities in special circumstances. A 65-metre (213 ft) deep shaft at the plant was packed with radioactive waste and at least 2 kg of sodium and potassium. On 10 May 1977, seawater, which flooded
2413-805: A national centre for Gaelic Language and Culture, based in Sleat , on the Isle of Skye . This institution is the only source for higher education which is conducted entirely in Scottish Gaelic. They offer courses for Gaelic learners from beginners into fluency. They also offer regular bachelors and graduate programs delivered entirely in Gaelic. Concerns have been raised around the fluency achieved by learners within these language programs because they are disconnected from vernacular speech communities. In regard to language revitalization planning efforts, many feel that
2540-567: A period of 15 years. During March 2014, it was announced that Babcock had agreed to wholly acquire Avincis Group, including its subsidiary Bond Aviation Group , in exchange for £1.6 billion. The former Avincis units was subsequently rebranded under the Babcock name in January 2015. In July 2013, Babcock's Support Services division acquired Conbras Serviços Técnicos de Suporte LTDA in Brazil for
2667-549: A process of Gaelicisation (which may have begun generations earlier) was clearly under way during the reigns of Caustantín and his successors. By a certain point, probably during the 11th century, all the inhabitants of Alba had become fully Gaelicised Scots, and Pictish identity was forgotten. Bilingualism in Pictish and Gaelic, prior to the former's extinction, led to the presence of Pictish loanwords in Gaelic and syntactic influence which could be considered to constitute
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#17327810842742794-610: A proportion of Gaelic speakers greater than 65% (the highest value is in Barvas , Lewis , with 64.1%). In addition, no civil parish on mainland Scotland has a proportion of Gaelic speakers greater than 20% (the highest is in Ardnamurchan , Highland , with 19.3%). Out of a total of 871 civil parishes in Scotland, the proportion of Gaelic speakers exceeds 50% in seven parishes, 25% in 14 parishes, and 10% in 35 parishes. Decline in traditional areas has recently been balanced by growth in
2921-433: A provider of professional services to the telecoms industry. On 9 May 2006, it went on to acquire Alstec Group Ltd, a nuclear and airport services operator, and on 13 June 2006, it bought the high voltage power lines and mobile telecoms business of ABB South Africa (Pty). On 10 May 2007, 19 million new shares were placed to fund acquisitions, and on 28 June 2007, it acquired Devonport Management Limited , operators of
3048-536: A situation where new learners struggle to find opportunities to speak Gaelic with fluent speakers. Affect is the way people feel about something, or the emotional response to a particular situation or experience. For Gaelic speakers, there is a conditioned and socialized negative affect through a long history of negative Scottish media portrayal and public disrespect, state mandated restrictions on Gaelic usage, and highland clearances . This negative affect towards speaking openly with non-native Gaelic speakers has led to
3175-410: A small fire in an area used to store low-level nuclear waste. On 7 October 2014, a fire on the PFR site led to a "release of radioactivity via an unauthorised route". The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) concluded that "procedural non-compliances and behavioural practices" led to the fire, and served an improvement notice on Dounreay Site Restoration Limited. In 2015, decommissioning staff expressed
3302-876: A takeover was then completed. On 22 April 2008, to further strengthen the brand in the nuclear sector and submarine support sector, Babcock acquired Strachan & Henshaw from the Weir Group for £65m; at the time of the transaction, the company had over 50 years of experience in high integrity material handling. In September 2009, Babcock acquired the UK Atomic Energy Authority 's commercial arm, UKAEA Ltd; this acquisition extended Babcock's existing nuclear skills, bringing additional expertise in waste categorisation, decommissioning of high hazard facilities, encapsulation and storage of hazardous materials and transportation of waste. The deal also provided Babcock with its first operational Tier 1 position in
3429-625: A translation of the New Testament. In 1798, four tracts in Gaelic were published by the Society for Propagating the Gospel at Home, with 5,000 copies of each printed. Other publications followed, with a full Gaelic Bible in 1801. The influential and effective Gaelic Schools Society was founded in 1811. Their purpose was to teach Gaels to read the Bible in their own language. In the first quarter of
3556-482: A wide-ranging restructuring program, Babcock announced that it would be selling off a number of its business lines, resulting in 1,000 job losses (850 of which would be in the United Kingdom); as part of this, the firm will sell its oil and gas aviation transport arm to CHC Group . The company also confirmed the disposal of its helicopter support business in July 2022. In March 2023 Babcock International sold
3683-719: Is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family ) native to the Gaels of Scotland . As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as both Irish and Manx , developed out of Old Irish . It became a distinct spoken language sometime in the 13th century in the Middle Irish period, although a common literary language was shared by the Gaels of both Ireland and Scotland until well into
3810-635: Is a British aerospace, defence and nuclear engineering services company based in London , England. It specialises in managing complex assets and infrastructure. Although the company has civil contracts, its main business is with public bodies, particularly the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence and Network Rail . The company has four operating sectors, with overseas operations based in Africa, North America, South America, Europe and Australia. Babcock
3937-490: Is a significant step forward for the recognition of Gaelic both at home and abroad and I look forward to addressing the council in Gaelic very soon. Seeing Gaelic spoken in such a forum raises the profile of the language as we drive forward our commitment to creating a new generation of Gaelic speakers in Scotland." Bilingual road signs, street names, business and advertisement signage (in both Gaelic and English) are gradually being introduced throughout Gaelic-speaking regions in
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4064-545: Is estimated to be £400 million. Adjacent to the Dounreay site is Vulcan NRTE. Formerly HMS Vulcan, Vulcan NRTE is a UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) establishment operated by Rolls-Royce Submarines . The site formerly operated two separate prototype nuclear reactors , trialling five different types of submarine reactor core . Scottish Gaelic language Scottish Gaelic ( / ˈ ɡ æ l ɪ k / , GAL -ik ; endonym : Gàidhlig [ˈkaːlɪkʲ] ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic ,
4191-588: Is listed on the London Stock Exchange , and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index . Babcock International traces its history back to the 19th century and the American heavy industrial manufacturers Babcock & Wilcox Company , which had been founded in 1867 by partners Stephen Wilcox and George Babcock to manufacture and market Wilcox's patented water-tube boiler . During the 1870s and 1880s,
4318-411: Is no evidence that Gaelic was ever widely spoken. Many historians mark the reign of King Malcolm Canmore ( Malcolm III ) between 1058 and 1093 as the beginning of Gaelic's eclipse in Scotland. His wife Margaret of Wessex spoke no Gaelic, gave her children Anglo-Saxon rather than Gaelic names, and brought many English bishops, priests, and monastics to Scotland. When Malcolm and Margaret died in 1093,
4445-480: The Czech -based steam turbine manufacturer, Skoda Power, became part of Doosan Babcock Energy Ltd; this venture was subsequently rebranded Doosan Power Systems Ltd in 2010. In 2000, Babcock took the strategic decision to move away from manufacturing towards maintaining and supporting the critical equipment and infrastructure of customers. Reflecting the successful shift in the company's strategic focus, in 2002 Babcock
4572-767: The Devonport Dockyard nuclear submarine and surface vessel facilities and Appledore Shipbuilders . On 25 July 2007, the United Kingdom Government announced that the Aircraft Carrier Alliance , of which Babcock International is a part, would carry out final assembly of two new aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy at their Rosyth Dockyard. On 7 August 2007, acceptances for the acquisition of International Nuclear Solutions PLC reached 58.9% of issued share capital, and
4699-837: The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages , which the UK Government has ratified, and the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 established a language-development body, Bòrd na Gàidhlig . The Scottish Parliament is considering a Scottish Languages Bill which proposes to give the Gaelic and Scots languages official status in Scotland. Aside from "Scottish Gaelic", the language may also be referred to simply as "Gaelic", pronounced / ˈ ɡ æ l ɪ k / GAL -ik in English . However, "Gaelic" / ˈ ɡ eɪ l ɪ k / GAY -lik also refers to
4826-733: The Lanarkshire -based steel tube makers A & J Stewart & Menzies, subsequently Stewarts & Lloyds . Following its establishment, the British company's sphere of operation was defined as 'the world except for North America and Cuba', which was the preserve of the US Babcock & Wilcox venture. Starting in 1885, B&W's steam boilers were manufactured in the Singer Manufacturing Company's Kilbowie Works at Clydebank near Glasgow. Around this time,
4953-555: The Outer Hebrides , accommodation ethics exist amongst native or local Gaelic speakers when engaging with new learners or non-locals. Accommodation ethics, or ethics of accommodation, is a social practice where local or native speakers of Gaelic shift to speaking English when in the presence of non-Gaelic speakers out of a sense of courtesy or politeness. This accommodation ethic persists even in situations where new learners attempt to speak Gaelic with native speakers. This creates
5080-540: The Rosyth Dockyard after winning a bid to construct a steam generation plant on the site; this presence served as a starting point for the firm's subsequent extensive involvement in the ship repair sector. During both the First World War and Second World War , B&W was a major supplier to Britain's defence establishment. During the 1940s, the workforce at Renfrew peaked at approximately 10,000. In
5207-688: The Scottish Lowlands . Between the 2001 and 2011 censuses, the number of Gaelic speakers rose in nineteen of the country's 32 council areas. The largest absolute gains were in Aberdeenshire (+526), North Lanarkshire (+305), the Aberdeen City council area (+216), and East Ayrshire (+208). The largest relative gains were in Aberdeenshire (+0.19%), East Ayrshire (+0.18%), Moray (+0.16%), and Orkney (+0.13%). In 2018,
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5334-423: The post-war era, the manufacture and support of defence equipment continued to be a long-running and key business area of the company. Throughout the 20th century, B&W was a major supplier of boilers for power stations . During the 1960s, the company became involved in the development of civil nuclear power stations in the United Kingdom. B&W also continued to diversify internationally, including into
5461-786: The significant increase in pupils in Gaelic-medium education since that time is unknown. Gaelic Medium Education is one of the primary ways that the Scottish Government is addressing Gaelic language shift. Along with the Bòrd na Gàidhlig policies, preschool and daycare environments are also being used to create more opportunities for intergenerational language transmission in the Outer Hebrides. However, revitalization efforts are not unified within Scotland or Nova Scotia, Canada. One can attend Sabhal Mòr Ostaig ,
5588-477: The 17th century. Most of modern Scotland was once Gaelic-speaking, as evidenced especially by Gaelic-language place names. In the 2011 census of Scotland , 57,375 people (1.1% of the Scottish population aged over three years old) reported being able to speak Gaelic, 1,275 fewer than in 2001. The highest percentages of Gaelic speakers were in the Outer Hebrides . Nevertheless, there is a language revival , and
5715-546: The 19th century, the SSPCK (despite their anti-Gaelic attitude in prior years) and the British and Foreign Bible Society distributed 60,000 Gaelic Bibles and 80,000 New Testaments. It is estimated that this overall schooling and publishing effort gave about 300,000 people in the Highlands some basic literacy. Very few European languages have made the transition to a modern literary language without an early modern translation of
5842-404: The 2011 Census. The 2011 total population figure comes from table KS101SC. The numbers of Gaelic speakers relate to the numbers aged 3 and over, and the percentages are calculated using those and the number of the total population aged 3 and over. Across the whole of Scotland, the 2011 census showed that 25,000 people (0.49% of the population) used Gaelic at home. Of these, 63.3% said that they had
5969-407: The 4th–5th centuries CE, by settlers from Ireland who founded the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata on Scotland's west coast in present-day Argyll . An alternative view has been voiced by archaeologist Ewan Campbell , who has argued that the putative migration or takeover is not reflected in archaeological or placename data (as pointed out earlier by Leslie Alcock ). Campbell has also questioned
6096-569: The Bible; the lack of a well known translation may have contributed to the decline of Scottish Gaelic. Counterintuitively, access to schooling in Gaelic increased knowledge of English. In 1829, the Gaelic Schools Society reported that parents were unconcerned about their children learning Gaelic, but were anxious to have them taught English. The SSPCK also found Highlanders to have significant prejudice against Gaelic. T. M. Devine attributes this to an association between English and
6223-546: The EU's institutions. The Scottish government had to pay for the translation from Gaelic to other European languages . The deal was received positively in Scotland; Secretary of State for Scotland Jim Murphy said the move was a strong sign of the UK government's support for Gaelic. He said; "Allowing Gaelic speakers to communicate with European institutions in their mother tongue is a progressive step forward and one which should be welcomed". Culture Minister Mike Russell said; "this
6350-538: The Forth–Clyde line and along the northeastern coastal plain as far north as Moray. Norman French completely displaced Gaelic at court. The establishment of royal burghs throughout the same area, particularly under David I , attracted large numbers of foreigners speaking Old English. This was the beginning of Gaelic's status as a predominantly rural language in Scotland. Clan chiefs in the northern and western parts of Scotland continued to support Gaelic bards who remained
6477-687: The Fuel Cycle Area (FCA) and a safety audit of the plant was undertaken by the UK Health and Safety Executive and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency . In September 1998, the highly critical report was published and made 143 recommendations for improvement. The main points of concern were: The final report in 2001 on the audit noted that the UKAEA had responded satisfactorily to 89 recommendations, and
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#17327810842746604-684: The Gaelic Act falls so far short of the status accorded to Welsh that one would be foolish or naïve to believe that any substantial change will occur in the fortunes of the language as a result of Bòrd na Gàidhlig 's efforts. On 10 December 2008, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , the Scottish Human Rights Commission had the UDHR translated into Gaelic for
6731-762: The Gaelic aristocracy rejected their anglicised sons and instead backed Malcolm's brother Domnall Bán ( Donald III ). Donald had spent 17 years in Gaelic Ireland and his power base was in the thoroughly Gaelic west of Scotland. He was the last Scottish monarch to be buried on Iona , the traditional burial place of the Gaelic Kings of Dàl Riada and the Kingdom of Alba. However, during the reigns of Malcolm Canmore's sons, Edgar, Alexander I and David I (their successive reigns lasting 1097–1153), Anglo-Norman names and practices spread throughout Scotland south of
6858-619: The Highland and Island region. In 1616, the Privy Council proclaimed that schools teaching in English should be established. Gaelic was seen, at this time, as one of the causes of the instability of the region. It was also associated with Catholicism. The Society in Scotland for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge (SSPCK) was founded in 1709. They met in 1716, immediately after the failed Jacobite rising of 1715 , to consider
6985-416: The Highlands and Islands, including Argyll. In many cases, this has simply meant re-adopting the traditional spelling of a name (such as Ràtagan or Loch Ailleart rather than the anglicised forms Ratagan or Lochailort respectively). Some monolingual Gaelic road signs, particularly direction signs, are used on the Outer Hebrides , where a majority of the population can have a working knowledge of
7112-426: The Inner Hebridean dialects of Tiree and Islay, and even a few native speakers from Western Highland areas including Wester Ross , northwest Sutherland , Lochaber and Argyll . Dialects on both sides of the Straits of Moyle (the North Channel ) linking Scottish Gaelic with Irish are now extinct, though native speakers were still to be found on the Mull of Kintyre , on Rathlin and in North East Ireland as late as
7239-410: The Irish language ( Gaeilge ) and the Manx language ( Gaelg ). Scottish Gaelic is distinct from Scots , the Middle English -derived language which had come to be spoken in most of the Lowlands of Scotland by the early modern era . Prior to the 15th century, this language was known as Inglis ("English") by its own speakers, with Gaelic being called Scottis ("Scottish"). Beginning in
7366-449: The NDA reported that it would be completed in 2018/2019. On 1 April 2005, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) became the owner of the site, with the UKAEA remaining as operator. Decommissioning of Dounreay was initially planned to bring the site to an interim care and surveillance state by 2036, and as a brownfield site by 2336, at a total cost of £2.9 billion. A new company called Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL)
7493-410: The NDA. Dounreay is the site of Dounreay Castle (now a ruin) and its name derives from the Gaelic for 'fort on a mound'. Dounreay was the site of the battle of Sandside Chase in 1437. Robert Gordon 's map of Caithness, 1642, uses Dounrae as the name of the castle. William J. Watson 's The Celtic Place-names of Scotland gives the origin as Dúnrath , possibly a reference to a broch . Dounreay
7620-487: The North American market; by 1979, the company's North American subsidiary was being attributed for generating one-third of total sales (£844 million) and more than half of the business's overall profits. That same year, Babcock & Wilcox Ltd was renamed Babcocks International Ltd . During 1982, Babcock International was floated on the London Stock Exchange , becoming Babcock International PLC . Around this time, subsidiary company Babcock & Wilcox (Operations) Ltd
7747-428: The UK Government as Welsh . With the advent of devolution , however, Scottish matters have begun to receive greater attention, and it achieved a degree of official recognition when the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act was enacted by the Scottish Parliament on 21 April 2005. The key provisions of the Act are: After its creation, Bòrd na Gàidhlig required a Gaelic Language Plan from the Scottish Government. This plan
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#17327810842747874-462: The UKAEA and two by the Ministry of Defence. The sites are adjacent to the North Atlantic Ocean , with south east winds prevailing. During the 1980s and 1990s, a visitor centre was opened in the former air traffic control tower. Visitors would be taken by bus to the PFR building where anything electronic, including watches and cameras, would be stored away securely until return. White coats were worn along with radiation badges. A guided tour through
8001-424: The UKAEA, first a materials test reactor, then two fast breeder reactor prototypes. There were also fabrication and reprocessing facilities for the materials test rigs and for fuel for the FBRs. Dounreay was chosen as the reactor location, remote from large centres of population, for safety reasons. The site was operated by the site licence company Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd (DSRL) from 2008, and in 2012 management
8128-581: The Western Isles (−1,745), Argyll & Bute (−694), and Highland (−634). The drop in Stornoway , the largest parish in the Western Isles by population, was especially acute, from 57.5% of the population in 1991 to 43.4% in 2011. The only parish outside the Western Isles over 40% Gaelic-speaking is Kilmuir in Northern Skye at 46%. The islands in the Inner Hebrides with significant percentages of Gaelic speakers are Tiree (38.3%), Raasay (30.4%), Skye (29.4%), Lismore (26.9%), Colonsay (20.2%), and Islay (19.0%). Today, no civil parish in Scotland has
8255-589: The Western Isles. The Scottish Qualifications Authority offer two streams of Gaelic examination across all levels of the syllabus: Gaelic for learners (equivalent to the modern foreign languages syllabus) and Gaelic for native speakers (equivalent to the English syllabus). An Comunn Gàidhealach performs assessment of spoken Gaelic, resulting in the issue of a Bronze Card, Silver Card or Gold Card. Syllabus details are available on An Comunn's website. These are not widely recognised as qualifications, but are required for those taking part in certain competitions at
8382-466: The age and reliability of the medieval historical sources speaking of a conquest. Instead, he has inferred that Argyll formed part of a common Q-Celtic -speaking area with Ireland, connected rather than divided by the sea, since the Iron Age. These arguments have been opposed by some scholars defending the early dating of the traditional accounts and arguing for other interpretations of the archaeological evidence. Regardless of how it came to be spoken in
8509-468: The air lock into the reactor building was then conducted, walking around the reactor core and then returning via scientists working behind thick mineral glass screens. Dounreay Nuclear Power Development Establishment was formed in 1955 primarily to pursue the UK Government policy of developing civil fast breeder reactor (FBR) technology. The site was operated by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA). Three nuclear reactors were built there by
8636-408: The annual mods . In October 2009, a new agreement allowed Scottish Gaelic to be formally used between Scottish Government ministers and European Union officials. The deal was signed by Britain's representative to the EU, Sir Kim Darroch , and the Scottish government . This did not give Scottish Gaelic official status in the EU but gave it the right to be a means of formal communications in
8763-413: The bill be strengthened, a revised bill was published; the main alteration was that the guidance of the Bòrd is now statutory (rather than advisory). In the committee stages in the Scottish Parliament, there was much debate over whether Gaelic should be given 'equal validity' with English. Due to executive concerns about resourcing implications if this wording was used, the Education Committee settled on
8890-442: The business decided that it would dispose of its more risky business venture altogether. Amongst other changes, Babcock International's works at Rosyth was heavily impacted, being redirected towards the civil sector, such as the oil industry . During late 1996, Babcock purchased Rosyth from the Ministry of Defence at a net cost of £21m. During 1995, a 75% stake in the boiler manufacturing and energy services activities (originally
9017-625: The census of pupils in Scotland showed 520 students in publicly funded schools had Gaelic as the main language at home, an increase of 5% from 497 in 2014. During the same period, Gaelic medium education in Scotland has grown, with 4,343 pupils (6.3 per 1000) being educated in a Gaelic-immersion environment in 2018, up from 3,583 pupils (5.3 per 1000) in 2014. Data collected in 2007–2008 indicated that even among pupils enrolled in Gaelic medium schools, 81% of primary students and 74% of secondary students report using English more often than Gaelic when speaking with their mothers at home. The effect on this of
9144-568: The cities and professors of Celtic from universities who sought to preserve the language. The Education (Scotland) Act 1872 provided universal education in Scotland, but completely ignored Gaelic in its plans. The mechanism for supporting Gaelic through the Education Codes issued by the Scottish Education Department were steadily used to overcome this omission, with many concessions in place by 1918. However,
9271-409: The civil nuclear market and a direct relationship with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority , complementing its existing Tier 1 position in the military nuclear market. In March 2010, Babcock acquired VT Group for £1.32bn or 750p a share; the firm offered 361.6p per share in cash, as well as 0.7 new Babcock shares for each VT Group share. The acquisition, which was completed on 8 July 2010, created
9398-469: The company, having decided to expand internationally, developed an initial footprint in the British market, centring on cities such as Glasgow , Scotland. On 9 April 1891, Babcock & Wilcox chose to establish a separately financed (capitalised at £ 250,000 initially) British company, called Babcock & Wilcox Ltd . The initial board members of the British company included the renowned Scottish structural engineer Sir William Arrol and Andrew Stewart, of
9525-570: The concept of 'equal respect'. It is not clear what the legal force of this wording is. The Act was passed by the Scottish Parliament unanimously, with support from all sectors of the Scottish political spectrum, on 21 April 2005. Under the provisions of the Act, it will ultimately fall to BnG to secure the status of the Gaelic language as an official language of Scotland. Some commentators, such as Éamonn Ó Gribín (2006) argue that
9652-469: The core businesses of Babcock), by then known as Babcock Energy Ltd, were sold to Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding of Japan, and became Mitsui Babcock Energy Ltd. In November 2006, Mitsui sold the company to Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction , a subsidiary company of the Doosan Group of South Korea : at that time the company was renamed Doosan Babcock Energy Ltd . In September 2009,
9779-439: The design of the United Kingdom's next generation nuclear-armed submarines. In August 2014, Babcock issued a statement declaring that there would be job losses at HMNB Clyde if Scotland were to vote in favour of independence in the 2014 Referendum . In October 2014, both Babcock and BAE Systems won contracts from the Ministry of Defence worth a total of £3.2 billion to maintain British warships, submarines and naval bases for
9906-589: The development of civil fast breeder reactors , and the Vulcan Naval Reactor Test Establishment (NRTE) , a military submarine reactor testing facility. Both these no longer perform their original research functions and will be completely decommissioned. The two establishments have been a major element in the economy of Thurso and Caithness, but this will decrease with the progress of decommissioning. NRS Dounreay will enter an interim care and surveillance state by 2036, and become
10033-499: The dialect of the Scottish Gaelic language, and also mixed use of English and Gaelic across the Highlands and Islands. Dialects of Lowland Gaelic have been defunct since the 18th century. Gaelic in the Eastern and Southern Scottish Highlands, although alive until the mid-20th century, is now largely defunct. Although modern Scottish Gaelic is dominated by the dialects of the Outer Hebrides and Isle of Skye, there remain some speakers of
10160-610: The emergency aviation businesses in Finland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden to UK group Alacala Partners which re-formed them into the Avincis Group. On 1 March 2024, Babcock signed a £560 million contract to refit the submarine, HMS Victorious at Devonport, securing over 1,000 jobs and extending its service life into the 2030s. In February 2023, the British Royal Navy ordered an investigation into
10287-582: The entire region of modern-day Scotland was called Scotia in Latin, and Gaelic was the lingua Scotica . In southern Scotland , Gaelic was strong in Galloway , adjoining areas to the north and west, West Lothian , and parts of western Midlothian . It was spoken to a lesser degree in north Ayrshire , Renfrewshire , the Clyde Valley and eastern Dumfriesshire . In south-eastern Scotland, there
10414-527: The environmental group remained opposed to further fuel reprocessing at the site. Following the 1998 report, the Department of Trade and Industry was presented with three options for dealing with 25 tonnes of radioactive reactor fuel at Dounreay. The options were: A plan was eventually devised to remove irradiated and unirradiated fuel to the Sellafield nuclear site, starting in 2014. In 2018,
10541-517: The firm bought Middle Eastern energy industry contractor King Wilkinson . That same year, the Swedish ship-to-shore handling business Consilium was also acquired. During 1994, Babcock acquired British conglomerate Thorn EMI 's 35 per cent stake in the Rosyth Dockyard , resulting in the creation of Babcock Rosyth Defence . In the same year, Babcock's material handling business, centred in Germany,
10668-560: The first time. However, given there are no longer any monolingual Gaelic speakers, following an appeal in the court case of Taylor v Haughney (1982), involving the status of Gaelic in judicial proceedings, the High Court ruled against a general right to use Gaelic in court proceedings. While the goal of the Gaelic Language Act was to aid in revitalization efforts through government mandated official language status,
10795-502: The following five years. In December 2014, the Ministry of Defence alienated the non-aerospace assets of the Defence Support Group to Babcock. In September 2019, it was announced that Babcock had been selected as the preferred bidder to build the new fleet of five Type 31 frigates for the Royal Navy . During 2018 and 2019, Babcock rebuffed multiple unsolicited advances by public services provider Serco to merge
10922-554: The former airfield. The Nuclear Power Development Establishment site is owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) but was previously owned and run by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority . Adjacent to this site is the Ministry of Defence Vulcan Naval Reactor Test Establishment . The two sites are best known for their five nuclear reactors , three formerly owned and operated by
11049-479: The initiatives must come from within Gaelic speaking communities, be led by Gaelic speakers, and be designed to serve and increase fluency within the vernacular communities as the first and most viable resistance to total language shift from Gaelic to English. Currently, language policies are focused on creating new language speakers through education, instead of focused on how to strengthen intergenerational transmission within existing Gaelic speaking communities. In
11176-648: The inventor and businessman Isaac Singer was a significant and influential shareholder in the business. During 1895, Babcock & Wilcox Ltd opened a new boilermaking works, based on the 33-acre (130,000 m ) site of the Porterfield Forge on the opposite side of the River Clyde near Renfrew . In 1900, the company secured £1.57 million of investment, which was used to finance the expansion of its global presence via numerous overseas subsidiary ventures. During 1913, B&W began its involvement with
11303-502: The language. Compared with the 2001 Census, there has been a diminution of about 1300 people. This is the smallest drop between censuses since the Gaelic-language question was first asked in 1881. The Scottish government's language minister and Bòrd na Gàidhlig took this as evidence that Gaelic's long decline has slowed. The main stronghold of the language continues to be the Outer Hebrides ( Na h-Eileanan Siar ), where
11430-497: The language. These omit the English translation entirely. Bilingual railway station signs are now more frequent than they used to be. Practically all the stations in the Highland area use both English and Gaelic, and the use of bilingual station signs has become more frequent in the Lowlands of Scotland, including areas where Gaelic has not been spoken for a long time. Babcock International Babcock International Group plc
11557-532: The late 15th century, it became increasingly common for such speakers to refer to Scottish Gaelic as Erse ("Irish") and the Lowland vernacular as Scottis . Today, Scottish Gaelic is recognised as a separate language from Irish, so the word Erse in reference to Scottish Gaelic is no longer used. Based on medieval traditional accounts and the apparent evidence from linguistic geography, Gaelic has been commonly believed to have been brought to Scotland, in
11684-694: The lifetime average annual net output was 32.1 GWh. The third and final UKAEA-operated reactor to be built on the Dounreay site was the Prototype Fast Reactor (PFR). In 1966, it was announced that the PFR would be built at Dounreay. PFR was a pool-type fast breeder reactor , cooled by 1,500 tonnes of liquid sodium and fuelled with MOX . The design output of PFR was 250 MWe (electrical). It achieved criticality in 1974 and began supplying National Grid power in January 1975. There were many delays and reliability problems before reaching full power. It had three cooling circuits. Leaks in
11811-459: The members of Highland school boards tended to have anti-Gaelic attitudes and served as an obstacle to Gaelic education in the late 19th and early 20th century. Loss of life due to World War I and the 1919 sinking of the HMY Iolaire , combined with emigration, resulted in the 1910s seeing unprecedented damage to the use of Scottish Gaelic, with a 46% fall in monolingual speakers and
11938-734: The mid-20th century. Records of their speech show that Irish and Scottish Gaelic existed in a dialect chain with no clear language boundary. Some features of moribund dialects have been preserved in Nova Scotia, including the pronunciation of the broad or velarised l ( l̪ˠ ) as [w] , as in the Lochaber dialect. The Endangered Languages Project lists Gaelic's status as "threatened", with "20,000 to 30,000 active users". UNESCO classifies Gaelic as " definitely endangered ". The 1755–2001 figures are census data quoted by MacAulay. The 2011 Gaelic speakers figures come from table KS206SC of
12065-532: The modern era. Some of this was driven by policy decisions by government or other organisations, while some originated from social changes. In the last quarter of the 20th century, efforts began to encourage use of the language. The Statutes of Iona , enacted by James VI in 1609, was one piece of legislation that addressed, among other things, the Gaelic language. It required the heirs of clan chiefs to be educated in lowland, Protestant, English-speaking schools. James VI took several such measures to impose his rule on
12192-548: The newly merged company's head office in London and more than two-dozen plants were closed, causing the loss of around 6,000 jobs, over half of these based in Britain, reducing its workforce to less than 30,000. Several engineering and transport businesses were purchased during this period. During August 1989, FKI Babcock PLC demerged to form Babcock International Group PLC and FKI plc . The newly independent Babcock International soon engaged in several acquisitions. In April 1992,
12319-434: The number of speakers of the language under age 20 did not decrease between the 2001 and 2011 censuses. In the 2022 census of Scotland , it was found that 2.5% of the Scottish population had some skills in Gaelic, or 130,161 persons. Of these, 69,701 people reported speaking the language, with a further 46,404 people reporting that they understood the language, but did not speak, read, or write in it. Outside of Scotland,
12446-695: The official language of government and law. Scotland's emergent nationalism in the era following the conclusion of the Wars of Scottish Independence was organized using Scots as well. For example, the nation's great patriotic literature including John Barbour's The Brus (1375) and Blind Harry's The Wallace (before 1488) was written in Scots, not Gaelic. By the end of the 15th century, English/Scots speakers referred to Gaelic instead as 'Yrisch' or 'Erse', i.e. Irish and their own language as 'Scottis'. A steady shift away from Scottish Gaelic continued into and through
12573-459: The outcome of the act is distanced from the actual minority language communities. It helps to create visibility of the minority language in civil structures, but does not impact or address the lived experiences of the Gaelic speaker communities wherein the revitalization efforts may have a higher return of new Gaelic speakers. Efforts are being made to concentrate resources, language planning, and revitalization efforts towards vernacular communities in
12700-560: The overall proportion of speakers is 52.2%. Important pockets of the language also exist in the Highlands (5.4%) and in Argyll and Bute (4.0%) and Inverness (4.9%). The locality with the largest absolute number is Glasgow with 5,878 such persons, who make up over 10% of all of Scotland's Gaelic speakers. Gaelic continues to decline in its traditional heartland. Between 2001 and 2011, the absolute number of Gaelic speakers fell sharply in
12827-466: The prosperity of employment: the Highland economy relied greatly on seasonal migrant workers travelling outside the Gàidhealtachd . In 1863, an observer sympathetic to Gaelic stated that "knowledge of English is indispensable to any poor islander who wishes to learn a trade or to earn his bread beyond the limits of his native Isle". Generally, rather than Gaelic speakers, it was Celtic societies in
12954-460: The reform and civilisation of the Highlands, which they sought to achieve by teaching English and the Protestant religion. Initially, their teaching was entirely in English, but soon the impracticality of educating Gaelic-speaking children in this way gave rise to a modest concession: in 1723, teachers were allowed to translate English words in the Bible into Gaelic to aid comprehension, but there
13081-587: The region, Gaelic in Scotland was mostly confined to Dál Riata until the eighth century, when it began expanding into Pictish areas north of the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde. During the reign of Caustantín mac Áeda (Constantine II, 900–943), outsiders began to refer to the region as the kingdom of Alba rather than as the kingdom of the Picts. However, though the Pictish language did not disappear suddenly,
13208-541: The remaining 54 would be responded to in the medium to long term. In November 1998, in the report Dounreay - The way ahead , the UKAEA announced a proposed timetable for accelerated decommissioning, reducing the original schedule from 100 years to 60 years. The cost was initially estimated at £4.3 billion. An accelerated decommissioning plan was welcomed by the Friends of the Earth Scotland , but
13335-514: The sea as cooling ponds were drained. As of 2011, over 2,300 radioactive particles had been recovered from the sea floor, and over 480 from the beaches. As of 2019 the 2 km ban on harvesting seafood was still in place, but there were no other restrictions. Following an incident in May 1998, where a mechanical digger cut through a main power cable and interrupted the site's main and back-up electricity supplies for 16 hours, operations were halted in
13462-430: The shaft, reacted violently with the sodium and potassium, throwing off the massive steel and concrete lids of the shaft. This explosion littered the area with radioactive particles. Tens of thousands of fragments of radioactive fuel escaped the plant between 1963 and 1984, resulting in fishing being banned within two kilometres (one nautical mile) of the plant since 1997. These milled shards are thought to have washed into
13589-466: The site, it is considered a security risk and there is a high police presence. In 2013, the detail design of the major project to decommission the intermediate-level waste shaft was completed, and work was to begin later in the year. The work would include the recovery and packaging of over 1,500 tonnes of radioactive waste. As of 2013, the "interim end state" planned date had been brought forward to 2022–2025. In March 2014, firefighters extinguished
13716-423: The sodium water steam generators shut down one and then two of the cooling circuits in 1974 and 1975. By August 1976 it had reached 500 MWt, (to produce about 166 MWe) and in 1985 it first reached its design output of 250 MWe. In 1988, it was announced that funding for FBR research was being cut from £105 million to £10 million per year, and the PFR funding would end in 1994. The reactor
13843-419: The two businesses together. Merger proposals had been unanimously rejected by Babcock's board, having reportedly found the proposal to lack strategic merit. Reportedly, Rupert Soames , Serco's Chief Executive, remained interested in aligning his company's defence operations with Babcock's own divisions. At multiple occasions in 2019 and early 2020, Babcock issued profit warnings, which the firm attributed to
13970-444: Was a highly pure solution of enriched uranium nitrate solution for subsequent re-fabrication into fuel. It was not efficient to use this plant for reprocessing natural or low enriched fuel, Dounreay breeder blanket fuel was reprocessed at Windscale/Sellafield. In the 1970s this plant was substantially modified and enlarged to enable it to reprocess mixed oxide fuel from the commercial scale Prototype Fast Reactor (PFR) on site, which had
14097-399: Was accepted in 2008, and some of its main commitments were: identity (signs, corporate identity); communications (reception, telephone, mailings, public meetings, complaint procedures); publications (PR and media, websites); staffing (language learning, training, recruitment). Following a consultation period, in which the government received many submissions, the majority of which asked that
14224-544: Was built early in the life of the Dounreay facility and operated for over 30 years, reprocessing on a small scale both fuel from UKAEA and other British reactors and, on a commercial basis, some foreign fuel. In the late 1950s the Dounreay Fast Reactor Irradiated Fuel Reprocessing Plant was built to reprocess irradiated HEU core fuel from the 15MW(e) Dounreay Experimental Fast Reactor. The main output from this plant
14351-668: Was contracted out to a Babcock -led consortium. However, the NDA was to assume complete control when DSRL became a wholly owned subsidiary of the NDA in March 2021. The first of the Dounreay reactors to achieve criticality was the Dounreay Materials Test Reactor (DMTR) in May 1958, which was a DIDO class research reactor, producing a high neutron flux. This reactor was used to test the performance of materials under intense neutron irradiation, particularly those intended for fuel cladding and other structural uses in
14478-638: Was designed to generate 60 MW thermal power and achieve a 2% fuel burn-up. It reached 30 MWt in August 1962, and 60 MWt in July 1963 allowing it to produce its rated 14 MWe (electrical). The reactor was surrounded by a 139-foot (42 m) steel sphere, still a prominent feature of the landscape, which was constructed by the Motherwell Bridge Company. DFR was a loop-type FBR cooled by primary and secondary NaK circuits, with 24 primary coolant loops. The reactor core
14605-492: Was duly reclassified on the London Stock Exchange from 'Engineering' to 'Support Services'. On 19 June 2002, the company acquired Service Group International Ltd, a provider of support services in defence and civil markets. It successfully bid for Peterhouse Group plc, and on 18 June 2004, its bid was declared unconditional as over 50% of shares were held. On 30 September 2004, it acquired Turner and Partners,
14732-472: Was exported to the National Grid from 14 October 1962 until the reactor was taken offline for decommissioning in March 1977. During its operational lifespan, DFR produced over 600 million kWh of electricity, of which 540 million kWh was supplied to the grid. DFR and associated facilities cost £15 million to build in late-1950s money (equivalent to £370 million in 2021). It
14859-634: Was formed as a subsidiary of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) to handle the decommissioning process. By May 2008, decommissioning cost estimates had been revised. Removal of all waste from the site was expected to take until the late 2070s to complete, and the end-point of the project was scheduled for 2300. Apart from decommissioning the reactors, reprocessing plant, and associated facilities, there were five main environmental issues to be dealt with: Historically, much of Dounreay's nuclear waste management
14986-472: Was initially fuelled with uranium metal fuel stabilised with molybdenum and clad in niobium . The core was later used to test oxide fuels for PFR and provide experimental space to support overseas fast reactor fuel and materials development programmes. It had over 5,000 breeder elements of natural uranium in stainless steel arranged in inner and outer breeder sections. Many were replaced in 1965. The peak annual net output of 55.9 GWh occurred in 1972, while
15113-554: Was long suppressed. The UK government has ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of Gaelic. Gaelic, along with Irish and Welsh, is designated under Part III of the Charter, which requires the UK Government to take a range of concrete measures in the fields of education, justice, public administration, broadcasting and culture. It has not received the same degree of official recognition from
15240-557: Was named as the British Government's preferred buyer of the land repair and maintenance business of the Defence Support Group , an executive agency and trading fund of the Ministry of Defence. The sale and transfer to Babcock was completed on 1 April 2015. Throughout the 2010s, the company secured numerous naval contracts. In May 2012, Babcock was awarded a £15m contract by the Ministry of Defence to support
15367-510: Was no further permitted use. Other less prominent schools worked in the Highlands at the same time, also teaching in English. This process of anglicisation paused when evangelical preachers arrived in the Highlands, convinced that people should be able to read religious texts in their own language. The first well known translation of the Bible into Scottish Gaelic was made in 1767, when James Stuart of Killin and Dugald Buchanan of Rannoch produced
15494-466: Was no risk to members of the public, no increased risk to the workforce and no release to the environment". On 23 December 2019, the NDA announced completion of the transfer of all plutonium from Dounreay to Sellafield, where all significant UK stocks of plutonium are now held. On 20 August 2020, a new date for the site to become available for other uses was announced of 2333, as part of a new draft strategy for reclamation. In April 2023, Dounreay became
15621-539: Was poor. On 18 September 2006, Norman Harrison, acting chief operating officer, predicted that more problems will be encountered from old practices at the site as the decommissioning effort continues. Some parts of the plant are being entered for the first time in 50 years. In 2007, UKAEA pleaded guilty to four charges under the Radioactive Substances Act 1960 relating to activities between 1963 and 1984, one of disposing of radioactive waste at
15748-571: Was rebranded Babcock Power Ltd ; this division has subsequently become Babcock Energy Ltd . By 1985, Babcock International's turnover had reached £1.1 billion; its subsidiaries were engaged in ventures and projects across the world, typically focusing on its contracting activities. Its materials-handling business, which had been unprofitable since the 1970s, was subject to restructuring efforts and job losses around this period. During 1987, Babcock merged with rival engineering company FKI Electricals plc , forming FKI Babcock PLC . Shortly thereafter,
15875-409: Was reorganised and rebranded as Babcock Materials Handling . Following the recording of a £42 million loss for the business in 1994, which was largely attributed to its energy division and repercussions from a contract at Drax Power Station , Babcock International responded by strategically avoiding overly-large contracts, unless the associated risk was being shared with other partners. Furthermore,
16002-562: Was taken offline in 1994, marking the end of nuclear power generation at the site. It had supplied 9,250 GWh in all. The lifetime load factor recorded by the IAEA was 26.9%. The peak and lifetime average annual net outputs were 1042.6 GWh and 528.1 GWh, respectively. The control panel for the reactor was earmarked for an exhibition on the reactor at the London Science Museum in 2016. A plant for reprocessing MTR fuel
16129-518: Was the site of a Second World War airfield , named RAF Dounreay . It became HMS Tern (II) in 1944 when the airfield was transferred to the Admiralty from RAF Coastal Command as a satellite of HMS Tern at Twatt in Orkney . It never saw any action during the war and was placed into care and maintenance in 1949. There are two nuclear sites at Lower Dounreay built on and around the site of
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