Saxon 3 Posted August 2, 2017 Report Share Posted August 2, 2017 I'm sorry to hear of the passing of Firbeck, my condolences to all who knew him. Thank you both for replying so quickly and informatively, I find it absolutely fascinating that something so terrifying became such a reality that government's all over the country were expecting the worst. I wonder if there is anything still down there such as the expected damage map which firbeck referred to? i can see on google earth about the untouched area of green... would love to have a look round but looks quite private and concealed with houses surrounding it. Can anyone enlighten me as too why there were two huge bunkers placed relatively close to each other (Chalfont drive and this one?) and why were two needed? Also if there are any real Cold War enthusiasts reading this... how did Chalfont drive or this one communicate with others over the country? Cheers! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NewBasfordlad 3,599 Posted August 2, 2017 Report Share Posted August 2, 2017 Chalfont Drive was just one off many in and around Nottm and by far the biggest at the time and of course it served a different purpose, I do believe it ended up a regional seat of government. Communications in those days was what the military called 'layered' in other words it had built in redundancies. First there was of course radio but this was considered unreliable, which it certainly was, the shock wave from any nuclear blast would have taken down the antenna and the electrical pulse fried the radio sets unless they were specially shielded. There was a special network of deep underground cables with its own exchange's run by the 'B' reserve of the TA, far deeper than ordinary civilian stuff, again with built in redundancy. Some will remember the old disused WW2 airfield just a couple of miles the other side of Grantham on the right hand side of the A52 now Prince William of Gloucester barracks. Back in the 60s/70s there was a large bunker under the grass airstrip there which was to be run by a signals regiment from Nottingham. They would drive their specialist 4 tonners down a ramp deep underground each vehicle would drive to its own allocated place and plug into the network 30 minutes and the exchange was up and running. Went there a couple of times when in the army in the 70sn the entrance ramp was ingeniously hidden it had been built inside a WW2 hanger. Funnily this was one of the few that stood a decent chance of survival due to its remoteness, the rest in and around the city would have been in the crater as the bomb yields vastly increased. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Michael Booth 7,364 Posted August 3, 2017 Report Share Posted August 3, 2017 Welcome to Nottstalgia, Saxon. I look forward to reading your posts and sharing your memories. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
loppylugs 8,427 Posted March 17, 2018 Report Share Posted March 17, 2018 We stared that in the face during the Cuban missile crisis. October 1962. The general consensus was, hide under the bed and kiss yer rear end goodbye. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MargieH 7,599 Posted March 17, 2018 Report Share Posted March 17, 2018 I was born about 3 miles away from the city centre in 1943. My mum said there was an air raid warning just after I'd been born but she told my dad she wasn't going to get up and take cover anywhere at that point!! It must have been a false alarm as I'm still here to tell the tale... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cliff Ton 10,458 Posted March 17, 2018 Report Share Posted March 17, 2018 Margie, maybe the sirens went off to announce your arrival ? 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
radfordred 6,284 Posted August 22, 2022 Report Share Posted August 22, 2022 Bunker you say? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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