Siren 6 (Summer 1998)

12 Pages·1998·0.8 MB·English

by  Subterranea Britannica

SIREN
The Newsletter of RSG
Issue 6 Summer 1998
An Abandoned and Forgotten ROC Post
(MAIDSTONE 15). By the roadside near
(cid:9)
This issue: Hoo at the Medway Estuary , Kent.
Domestic Bunker at Mickley, Kent
Communications Centre at Tonbridge, Kent
ROC Bunker at Hoo, Kent
Domestic Bunker at South Godstone, Surrey
Keith Ward's Nationwide Roundup
EDITORIAL ture. Family shelters are designed for three, four,
eight and twelve persons. We also design special
The retirement of Tex Bennett as editor, but shelters to house more than 12 persons, for
thankfully not from RSG in general, has caused a factories or offices etc. Shelters are also designed
hiatus in the production of Siren. However life goes for storing art treasures and valuables and in some
on and this edition has been edited and produced cases we can modify a cellar to suit certain shelter
by me - Malcolm Tadd. Clearly there is a change of requirements in fringe or rural areas.
style which hopefully is not for the worse but I have There are three types of shelter in production to
a archaeological type ofbiased attitude: I like to get suit any area in Great Britain, the types A & B
out and investigate structures rather than read both accommodate four persons. Their basic
about them. You can see this reflected in the design is such that we can add other prefabricated
following pages. Nevertheless I hope the many sections to the unit so that it will accommodate
experts within our membership will help overcome eight or twelve persons (Hence the BX at
this unintended bias and send me expert back- Pluckley), with additional entrance and ventila-
ground information about sites discussed. There is tor, fresh water tank system, goods store and
a particular need to write about communications toilet. The length of time spent in a shelter in the
systems. event of a nuclear explosion would be dependent
The next edition will still be edited by me but upon the density of the radio-active fall-out. The
Steve Fox has also agreed to help. Fortunately I will minimum time would be 48 hours, with a maxi-
not be actually producing it since Terry Wiseman mum of six or seven days. It is obvious then that
has been good enough to volunteer for this. the shelter would be your home, with all your
All newsletter editors say the same thing: you will necessities and supplies to hand. Remember it
get a newsletter only ifyou send in material. So send could be some time before services were resumed
material to ME and I'll get Terry to compile it into again, and your shelter can hold supplies of food
a newsletter when there is sufficient . and water etc., for 30 days.
Thanks to those who have contributed to this All shelters manufactured by Fall-Out Shelters
edition but some sites have been omitted because (Deal, Kent) Ltd. (unless they receive a direct hit)
I am not absolutely sure they are not still active. See are 100% safe in a war of conventional weapons.
the warning at the end of this edition. The shelters are blast-proof, fire-proof and damp
proof. They are prefabricated, precast vibrated
A COLD WAR RELIC IN PLUCKLEY
concrete units, reinforced with steel and due to
their unique design, will withstand great stress.
While researching a report on the present condi-
The three types of shelter in production are:
tion of Kent's 47 underground Royal Observer
'A' type shelter - Designed for industrial areas,
Corps posts, I came across a fascinating reminder
cities, docks etc., where the possibility of a nu-
of the cold war at Pluckley, near Ashford. In the
clear attack would be most probable. We con-
rear garden ofPrebbles Hill Cottage, in New Road,
sider this shelter will be 95% safe from nuclear
a domestic nuclear fall out shelter is to be found
hazard. if in the area 5 miles from ground zero
amongst the garden gnomes. The shelter was built
of a 10 - 15 megaton bomb, and 95% safe if one
in June 1962 by Fall Out Shelters (Deal, Kent) Ltd.
mile from a 20 kiloton bomb.
at a cost of 920 pounds stirling. It is described as
'B' type shelter - This is essentially a fringe
their BX model and is designed for 12 adults.
shelter by our standards, although it is heavier and
According to the company's brochure:
able to withstand greater stresses than most front
'These shelters are designed to withstand great
line continental shelters. It is considered 95% safe
stress and are virtually indestructible. They will
against nuclear hazards at 6.5 - 7miles from
protect their occupants against all known nuclear
ground zero of a 10 - 15 megaton bomb and 95%
hazards. They are both blast proof and fall-out
safe 2 miles from ground zero of a 20 kiloton
shelters. Fall Out Shelters (Deal, Kent) Ltd. build
bomb.
every type of nuclear shelter to suit most areas and
'C' type shelter - We endeavour at all times to
conditions. They are constructed only of the best
keep the cost ofthese shelters down to a minimum
materials and are tested at every stage of manufac-
Page 2
and the 'C' type shelters have been designed trated) of a fully furnished type 'BX' shelter,
especially for the man, his wife and one child. It which this one never was, shows four double beds
is the cheapest fall-out shelter in the world and (presumably thee are two more), cupboards and
although it was designed with rural areas in mind, storage areas. It makes the shelter look quite
it can be strengthened to a fringe area shelter. We spaceous which it certainly isn't. The toilets on the
consider it 95% safe 2.5 miles from ground zero lower level must have been very cramped as they
of a 20 kiloton bonb. It incorporates the same are shown as less than half the height of the main
ventilating unit as 'A' and 'B' type shelters.' 'living' area. The two rotary controls for the vents
'A good family shelter will cost no more than a protrude down from the roof necesitating a duck
good second hand car. There are no running costs to avoid serious head injury not that the beds
to consider and ofcourse no depreciation. It does would have left much room to walk around.
not date, the are no survey fees to pay and the Apart from some rust on the rotary vent con-
foundation and erection are included in the cost.' trols and the rotary control to the lower level
At the surface there are two hinged convex steel hatch, the shelter is still in good condition. The
hatches and two 'mushroom' shaped air vents. owner, Ken Rawlings, has used it as a wine celler
The roof of the shelter is 1 metre below ground in the past but he found it was too damp so it is
level and the shelter is accessed by a removable now unused. He has considered removing the soil
steel ladder. The shelter takes the form ofa buried cover and the roof to create an ornamental pond
concrete cylinder 6.62 metres long and 1.7 metres but I hope I have persuaded him to drop this idea.
wide. A flat concrete floor divides the cylinder It is interesting to note that the shelter was
into two unequal parts giving a floor to ceiling constructed 1 year after the nearby underground
height of 1.8 metres. There is an access hatch at ROC post, MAIDSTONE 30 (now also owned
one end which canot be opened but it would apear by Ken Rawlings) was opened. No doubt the then
to lead to toilets and a battery compartment owner of the cottage had a conversation with his
beneath the floor. ROC neighbours about the dangers of nuclear
The manufacturers artists impression ( illus- fall-out in the event of an attack.
Nick Catford
"THE BOMB"
and your protection
FACTS ON FALL-OUT
Issued by
FALL OUT SHELTERS (DEAL, KENT) LIMITED
1.1)." ii.ii.moRAI. Rom).
ki\(isDowN. 1)1.A1., KFNT
Telephone: KingNdown 3
Page 3
Artists impression of a fully furnished fallout shelter
Page 4
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Page 5
FIELD REPORTS FROM KENT empty rooms. The rooms marked 'out ofbounds'
on the corners of the plan were Ladies and Gents
Visit to Cold War bunker at Tunbridge Wells, toilets containing shower facilities and curiously
an ROC post, Mai 15, near Rochester and a there were no doors on the toilet cubicles merely
Cold War bunker at Gravesend. curtains.
Between the toilet rooms the room marked
Date:(cid:9) Monday 21st April 1997 `Furniture Store' on the plan, had contained the
air-conditioning plant but apart from the 'Tor-
Present: Malcolm Tadd, Barbara Tadd, Nick nado' centrifugal fan was largely stripped out.
Catford, Stuart Goldsmith, Victor Smith and Next to it 'Out ofBounds' was the diesel genera-
others. tor room but only switch gear remained.
Upstairs was a former canteen area.
Tunbridge Wells Stuart Goldsmith knew someone who worked
in the installation.
The bunker at Tunbridge Wells was at the time of Nick Catford took photographs
our visit a very large and prominent ugly, win-
dowless, above-ground concrete structure in the Hoo
grounds of the Land Registry Offices in Forest
Road. It was one of the early Cold War commu- From Tunbridge Wells we drove to Hoo near
nications centres but its function was eventually Rochester and looked at the ROC bunker (TQ
superseded and more recently it has been used to 78007360, MAIDSTONE 15) whichNick Catford
store documents from the Land Registry. How- had discovered. It was in field just off the road
ever at the time of this visit nearly, but not quite next to a WWII pill box. The pill box contained
all, documents had been removed and the building bunk beds which it was surmised may have been
was awaiting demolition. It looked like a bomb used in connection with the ROC post.
proof structure and one could imagine demolition To enter the ROC post, the round manhole
was going to be a substantial job. cover had to be lifted. At the bottom of the ladder
We were provided with a plan of the ground there was an Elsan toilet to one side but the main
floor but it only showed its layout as a document part of the installation was tiny - barely big
store. The whole of the installation had been enough to accommodate the two people it was
previously stripped of its Cold War fittings and designed for. The purpose of the post was to
English Heritage had preceded us in visiting it. monitor nuclear radiation but all scientific instru-
Later we discovered that English Heritage had ments had been removed. Otherwise the post was
stored what they had collected in Dumpy Level as left at the date of its closure. There were even
under Dover Castle. two uniforms hanging up. It was a little smelly but
We were not provided with a plan of the upper quite dry perhaps partially due to its polysty-
floor (the building had just two floors) because it rene(?) lining.
had not been used as a document store as there After this we drove to Gravesend through
was claimed to be an asbestos hazard on the upper Cooling and stopped at another ROC post' which
floor; we saw no signs of this. Victors knows but it had no remaining internal
Outside there were three doors to the building ladder and could not therefore be entered.
and (referring to the plan) they were single wooden
doors on both the right hand side and the left hand Gravesend
side, but additionally double steel doors for stores
and equipment on the left hand side. The wooden At Gravesend Victor showed us the former
single doors actually disguised heavy steel doors council cold war bunker which is underground
on their inside. at King George V memorial recreation
It was possible to work out that access to the grounds. It was commodious and Victor was in
flat roof had been by outside ladders. One could charge of its restoration. This bunker should
see brackets which had supported aerials make a good article for a future edition of
Inside the building were a series of virtually Siren.
Page 6
O// Sum*
Cable Entry
Ground Floor Plan of Early Cold War Communications Centre at Tonbridge, Kent
Page 7
Abandoned Private Cold War Bunker near off the floor, with a 19 cm thick steel door which
Lower South Park Farm, South Godstone, allowed access to rungs in a narrow shaft which led
Surrey. TQ 349 470 to a man-hole the surface 4.5m above. The man-
hole had been earthed over at the surface. The
During 1996-1997 this bunker was advertised whole installation was rather like a WWII trench
for sale in a local estate agent's window. Thus we air raid shelter except that it was deep and not just
obtained permission to view it. below the surface.
The general area in which the bunker was The bunker was constructed of concrete (pre-
situated was used for tipping soil and general sumably reinforced) and measurement at the
rubbish and was very unpleasant. The bunker escape hatch indicated it was 330 mm thick. The
was sited on a little hill from which there were main room had artexed walls and ceilings. Gener-
good views of the surrounding district. ally it was a very damp a dreary place and looked
We entered through double steel doors which too small for 12 inhabitants. Ones thoughts turned
were set horizontally in the ground within a to to the fantasy of 12 very frighted and starving
rectangular concrete frame which lay proud of people crowded together, totally isolated from the
the ground. We wondered if there should have rest of the world and not knowing if the outside
been a building which had never been con- world was lethally contaminated with radioactive
structed above this entrance. substances and diseases.
The descent started with a short flight of
concrete steps but then came a steel stairway
which had a landing part way down. At floor
level the immediate area contained a minute
kitchen and toilet - no concessions to hygene
with the two together!
The toilet was a Norfolk Broads Flushing and Escape Shaft
privacy was effected by a flimsy plastic curtain.
J(cid:9)
One wonders if there ws some policy behind this
Filter
since the Tonbridge bunker toilets also merely
had plastic curtains as did the former Surrey
County Standby HQ under Reigate Town Hall.
This area also had a drain grill in the middle of
w B
the floor and a hand pump on the wall to pump
a
out water from the presumed sump under the n
k
grill to the surface.
Water to the bunker was supplied by tanks and M
a
cisterns beside the steel stairway.
p
8.65m 254 deg
The remainder of the bunker was rectangular on Mayes
and contained: bunks for twelve, a large wall compass
map of the Northern Hemisphere, an air filtra-
tion apparatus (0. Mengue Ing Elgg 2H), shelves
and a wooden cupboard. Lying around were
magazines: Protect and Survive Monthly and
one British Civil Defence News. These maga-
U
zines dated to 1981 which might be described as
Kitchen and
the Thatcher Era when Soviet military build-up
Toilet Area
caused anxiety and thoughts about improving
Civil Defence.
Stairs
There was an escape hatch from the far end of
the main bunker room which was a rectangular
exit in the wall (ht 780mm , width 600mm) lm
4.60m
Page 8
NOTES FROM KEITH WARD
4. Winchester and Bedford ROC Group Con-
trol was still intact as ofDec. 1996 but are for sale.
Royal Navy Pitreavie Castle Site near Dun-
Ref Page 231. War Plan UK. Both listed as
fermline, Fife
UKWMO
This large site is for sale including a RN Com-
mand Bunker under the castle which was closed 5. North Cheam. London SW Cold War Room
only in 1994. has been demolished and is now flats.
A full photographic survey of this bunker is
deposited at Imperial War Museum Photo Ar- Ref Page 203 War Plan UK Listed as a 1950's
chive and can be viewed by appointment. RSG
Ref Page 346, War Plan UK. Listed as Strategic 6. Mill Hill. Inglis Barracks War Room London
Command Centre NW. The outside of the barracks on the common
was completely derelict in mid-1997 and partly
Royal Navy Southwick Fort Portsmouth burnt out.
The naval command centre in this Palmeston Fort Ref Page 203 War Plan UK Listed as 1950's
has either closed or will be closing soon. RSG
During WWII a very deep bunker controlled
shipping movements in the Portsmouth area . 7. Lansdown Gun Operations Centre near Bath.
However a modern 'high-tec' centre under the fort Site now HQ of Avon Fire Brigade.
in the old magazie has just closed. The fort is listed
so disposal should not effect the fabric. Ref Page 186 War Plan UK Listed as AAOR
Ref Page 346, War Plan UK. Listed as Strategic 8. Horsham. UKWMO HQ Downs Road. Now
Command Centre TA centre.
RSGs and UKWM HQs Ref page 231 War Plan UK Listed as UKWMO
HQ Metropolitan Sector
1. Loughborough . Converted WWII cold store
demolished early in 1997 9. Shipton, North York.. Cold War ROTOR
Sector Operations Centre.
Ref Page 221 War Plat; UK Listed as Sub-
Regional or Zone HQ. Ref Page 221 War Plan UK Listed as Sub-
Regional or Zone HQ.
2. Hexham. Converted WWII cold store due for
demolition. It is a valuable town centre site. On three levels with new top level cut into old
structure. Apparently now sold to museum
Ref Page 221 War Plan UK Listed as Sub- scheme.
Regional or Zone HQ
10. Frodsham, Merseyside. Cold War gun op-
3. Norwich ,Old Catton. Former ROC centre is eration bunker is still intact.
in use by cadets but sign on bunker gates says:
'Acquired for redevelopment.' Ref Page 186 War Plan UK Listed as AAOR
Ref Page 221, War Plan UK Listed as Midlands
Section UKWMO. 11. Inverkip (Clyde) and Torrance House,
East Kilbride.
Page 9
4. Barnham, Suffolk
Cold War Gun Operation Bunker still intact.
Inverkip is derelict but Torrance is still accessible This was a special weapons sites (SWS). It is
by asking warden of the Country Park. virtually intact with loop road which carried
cranes for moving warheads. It closed to the RAF
Ref Page 221 War Plan UK. Torrance House in 1966 and is now the Gorse Trading estate.
listed as Sub-Regional or Zone HQ Aerial photographs are available.
12. Wenallt Hill, Cardiff.
5. Alconbury, Bentwater, Greenham Com-
Cold War Gun Operation Bunker. Intact but mon, Upper Heyford.
overgrown. It's near BT Microwave Tower.
The USAF used a basic design called an igloo
Ref Page 186 War Plan UK Listed as AAOR. which was a concrete box with an earth covering
The microwave tower is shown on page 243. and blast walls laid out in rows. At the four sites
named above, which are all closed, the igloos
13. Warren Row. RSG is now a commercial survive.
archive store. The igloos at the last two are clearly visible from
adjoining land especially at Greenham Common
Ref Page 207 War Plan UK Listedfirst as RSG6 where the fence has been removed. At Greenham
but it had a possible later use as an Armed Forces the Cruise Bunkers built next to to the igloos can
Wartime HQ. (Page 131) also be viewed at close quarters.
Cold War Nuclear Bomb Stores
1. Gaydon, Warwickshire. Site about 1.5 miles
from main airfield.
All V-bomber airfields were equipped with a
'clutch'. This consisted ofa series ofburied maga-
zines with massive steep sided concrete walls like
"walls of death'. Also buried were component
stores and main weapon assembly buildings and WARNING
travelling crane.
The site is intact but used by the National Film RSG is a sub-group of Subterranea Britannica
Archive to store old nitro cellulose film. Visits can devoted to studying the archaeology of the Cold War at
be arranged. (Contact Keith Ward.) a hobby level.
It is concerned only with defunct, abandoned or sold-off
2. Hutches
structures and literature within the public domain
relating to such structures.
Small concrete cells. Buried parts were contain-
ing cobalt cores for warheads and had lead linings Members must keep away from sites still within
government control - there are severe penalties for
to floors.
infringing Official Secrets!
3. Scampton, Waddington and Finninglut,
Additionally members are reminded to seek permission
to visit any site.
The 'clutches' have survived but the first two are
of slightly different layout consisting of rows of
buried magazines. There are 16 at Scampton.
Page 10