Dome from dome for Queen Mother

Published on Sunday 1 November 2009 21:12

PHOTOS of the Queen Mother inside the "new" experimental nuclear reaction station at Dounreay more than 50 years ago have been published for the first time.

The pictures, taken during royal visits to the site in Caithness in October 1957 and August 1961, are among more than 1,000 photographs being posted on a new, online picture library on the Dounreay website today.

The move comes as the plant gears up to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moment when the reactor went "critical" – starting up on 14 November, 1959.

Much of the nuclear power station was still under construction in October 1957 when the Queen Mother made her first visit.

The first plant to begin operating was the fuel fabrication plant, known as D1202, early in 1957, and the D8550 labs went critical for the first time in August 1957.

The Queen Mother returned in August 1961, when she went inside the now-complete Dounreay Fast Reactor before a visit to the Fuel Cycle Area and the apprentices' hostel in Thurso.

The photo library allows anyone to download images of Dounreay, old and new, opening up the work of the site to a worldwide audience.

Heritage officer James Gunn said: "The photo library will make an important contribution to preserving and communicating Dounreay's cultural heritage by allowing the public access to unique collections of photographs such as the Queen's Mother's visits."

Communications manager Colin Punler said: "Members of the public cannot walk into Dounreay to see how their money is being spent, so creating a library like this is the next best thing.

"We'll continue to add more photographs as we record the closure of the site. These images are available for anyone, including staff, to use.

"All you need to do to access the library is register your e-mail address and create a password."

Among those who were introduced to the Queen Mother on her 1961 visit was Ben McGrory, a fitter who chaired the shop stewards' committee at the site.

The 83-year-old, from Thurso, said: "The director, Dr Robert Hurst, wanted the trade unions to be part of the visit, so I was introduced to her inside the sphere.

"We were well-groomed beforehand. If we were spoken to, we were to refer to her in the first instance as Her Majesty and Ma'am after that.

"I remember she was very pleasant. She recognised by my accent that I wasn't local. I was from the Clydebank area before starting at Dounreay in 1958."

Mr McGrory, who retired from Dounreay in 1986, said: "

In Thurso, there were still some feelings of opposition, not towards the atomic authority, but to the atomicers who'd moved in.

"The Queen Mother coming to Dounreay, I think, helped."