Landscape with dead sheep: what they did to Gruinard Island

In the context of intensified international concern about biological weapons (BW), this article looks at the pioneering British research in this field during the Second World War, which caused the long-term contamination of Gruinard Island in north-west Scotland. Public Record Office documents have been examined to show how scientists reported on the experiments at the time and what they thought about their (top secret) work, as well as how politicians directed their efforts and used their results, leading to continued BW research post-war. In the 1960s the contamination became known and discussed in the media and was eventually the subject of a public announcement. Decontamination was not regarded as a practical proposition until the 1980s and was undertaken in 1986 in two areas of the island, which was declared safe in 1990. Some doubts remain locally about the extent and effectiveness of the clean-up process, along with a legacy of bitterness.