![Please use the three levels of tabs to navigate around this site. Only the bottom row of tabs will display another page. Have a look at [Detection] and [Public Warning] as a starter.](img/NavigateHint.gif)
This web site gives both an overview and a more detailed description of the United Kingdom's Public Nuclear Warning System code named 'HANDEL' and the communications system employed by the United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation 'UKWMO' during the Cold War Period. Political changes in the Soviet Union signalled the end of the Cold War. The closure of the UKWMO was announced in Parliament on 12 November 1992. Everything described on this site is historic, the bunkers sold off, sirens removed and the warning system dismantled.
During the Cold War period the UK Civil Defence went through a number of phases from the initial creation of the UKWMO in 1957 to its stand-down in 1992. In 1968 the government reduced the spending on Civil Defence and disbanded the Civil Defence Corps, Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) and the Industrial Civil Defence Service (ICDS). Civil Defence continued on a care and Maintenance basis only. A reorganisation in 1972 shaped Civil Defence into the structure described on this site. The Thatcher government of the eighties increased in spending on armaments and Civil Defence. This led to modernisation of the Civil Defence and Emergency Communications networks, no sooner was this completed the Cold War came to an end. Only the AFS Green Goddesses were retained in mothballs and used during various Fire Brigade strikes until being sold off in 2004.
Please use the tabs at the top of the page to navigate around the 27 Topic pages on this site. The four tabs currently visible give only a brief summary of each topic but it is worth looking at these before progressing onto the detailed topics.
I became interested in the UK Civil Defence for the Cold War, as a result of working as a engineer for 'Post Office Telephones' later privatised and renamed 'British Telecom'. Between 1978 and 1981 I maintained the early warning equipment and visited ROC posts in part of North Northamptonshire and South Leicestershire.
I was very inquisitive and discovered many things such as government centres that at the time were not common public knowledge. During holidays, I travelled around the local area tracing civil defence radio links, a full account of my exploits is given on this site [ top navigation tabs:
At the time I never disclosed this information even to my closest friends. Now Twenty years have passed, the Cold War has ended and with the Internet we have a good medium to disseminate the details. I hope you find this site interesting and would be pleased to receive feedback.
This site was created in 2001 and contained only a few pages about the public warning systems. Since then the site has grown to 27 Pages thanks to a lot of helpful feedback and encouragement from people able to plug the holes in my knowledge and help me update the site.
In August 2005, Bob Pickwoad kindly offered me a recording he made in the sixties of a routine test, this was the first time I had heard the sounds of the WB400 since 1981 when I last worked on the system, I felt like a dog with two tails.
One reader has even sent me a copy of a piece of paper showing radio links in North Wales he found blowing around in a car park that has proved invaluable. I have re-drawn this and added it to the topic about my hunt for radio masts.
I am most grateful to Roy Coulter for his assistance in providing me with copies documents that have increased my understanding of the RN4 and the telegraph network and also for photographs used on this site.
Other visitors have sent me pictures of apparatus I would otherwise be unable to show or described their own work for the ROC. I have received two emails from people who saw the warning receivers as children and did not know anything about their purpose until they found this site.
I have only mentioned a few of the countless emails I have received so a big thank you to everyone who has been in touch.