At the height of the Cold War, every Prime Minister knew that if it tipped into World War III, he would probably find himself in a secret bunker deep beneath the rolling Cotswolds countryside.
With only a tiny group of ministers and advisers, he would have to decide whether to retaliate with every nuclear weapon at Britain’s disposal. He would essentially be contemplating the end of the world as we know it.
It was the most ghastly contingency a prime minister would have to consider. If that point was reached, above ground, as the sirens sounded, the nation would be awaiting armageddon.Hospitals would have been prepared for a deluge of casualties, troops mobilised, makeshift fall-out shelters would have been built.
Even so, the devastation would be catastrophic. How would Britain ever recover? Every two years during the Cold War, civil servants in key ministries rehearsed this end-of-the-world scenario.
Their job was to test the Government War Book, which outlined in terrifying detail what would happen during the countdown to a nuclear apocalypse – and beyond.
Fragments of the so-called War Book have appeared before. But the declassification of the whole 1970 edition, three large files of secret documents, allows us to see how the whole interlocking plan would have been implemented for the very first time.
If nuclear war became inevitable, the PM, Foreign Secretary, a small group of ministers and other vital personnel would be evacuated to a central bunker deep beneath the Cotswolds near Corsham, Wiltshire.
They would have been rushed there by helicopter at the last minute from Horse Guards Parade, having left Downing Street through the back door.
Other ministers would head to one of 12 more bunkers around the country, which would act as regional hubs of power after the attack.
As the clock ticked down to R-hour – the final release of nuclear weapons – medical units would be prepared for a catastrophe, and the police, fire service and civil defence forces would activate their emergency plans.
Emergency food distribution networks would be implemented and restrictions would even be placed on broadcasting weather forecasts so the enemy couldn’t use them to their benefit.
The BBC – a crucial tool for communicating with a country in chaos – had a bunker in Wood Norton, Worcestershire, as well as a studio inside the central government bunker under the Cotswolds.
Read the full article on Mail Online.
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