Friday, March 15, 2013

Oct 2012: Visiting the Secret Nuclear Bunker

This was an extraordinary event, seriously weird, creepy, fascinating, eerie, you name it. This was a visit, with Ma and Baba, to the Secret Nuclear Bunker. In short, this was the place where the UK government would withdraw to, in the event of a nuclear war, and then well, basically try to run the country from here. Here’s the link to the wiki entry.

 photo 001-IMG_0002_zpsdd70e4d9.jpg 

a giant mast welcomes us

 photo 003-IMG_0007_zps34d85015.jpg

A lovely day, hard to believe that below this little hill is a huge 3 story bunker

 photo 009-IMG_0029_zps9ac7a8f9.jpg

heh, ok, lets go check the secret nuclear bunker

 photo 012-IMG_0038_zps9093210e.jpg

lovely woods

 photo 013-IMG_0044_zps8de4c022.jpg

a jolly green giant, a firefighting vehicle used by the armed forces.

 photo 014-IMG_0047_zps46c661c0.jpg

this innocuous bungalow is the entrance to the bunker, can you imagine?

 photo 017-IMG_0056_zps113dd15c.jpg

whoa!

 photo 019-IMG_0062_zps578f6a21.jpg

Some batteries left out in the rain

 

 photo 023-IMG_0074_zpsd927ef9d.jpg

we enter and see the old signs.

 photo 028-IMG_0088_zpsce7050cb.jpg

a very long passageway…to protect against blasts

 photo 038-IMG_0100_zpsba112ec5.jpg

Geiger counters hanging on the walls..

 photo 042-IMG_0104_zpsecb0ed4a.jpg photo 043-IMG_0105_zps603d5e22.jpg

The radio room

 photo 044-IMG_0106_zpscefbed13.jpg 

Gigantically heavy blast doors after a dogleg on the corridor

 photo 045-IMG_0107_zps9936ba63.jpg 

The armoury

 photo 053-IMG_0120_zps89b2c1cd.jpg

looking back at the entrance

 

 photo 056-IMG_0123_zpsef32485b.jpg

its a 3 story bunker, looking up the stairwell

 photo 057-IMG_0124_zps07be397b.jpg  photo 058-IMG_0125_zpsd65d4849.jpg  photo 064-IMG_0134_zps17873361.jpg

More equipment…telecoms

 photo 069-IMG_0139_zps98cd3334.jpg

BBC broadcasting station

 photo 070-IMG_0141_zpsd1a86f04.jpg

that’s Margaret Thatcher broadcasting to the nation.

 photo 077-IMG_0148_zps419a9db6.jpg

hmmm, some estimation required..

 photo 079-IMG_0150_zpsadd026c7.jpg

Radiation…

 

 photo 080-IMG_0151_zpse1918128.jpg photo 081-IMG_0152_zpsc566236d.jpg

charts and maps

 photo 084-IMG_0155_zps3052ca12.jpg

the ready room

 photo 092-IMG_0163_zps6de0d508.jpg photo 093-IMG_0164_zps295dcbd7.jpg

where shall we be without forms, eh?

 photo 099-IMG_0171_zps8f132f60.jpg

maps…

 photo 096-IMG_0168_zpse01488a2.jpg

one of the control centres

 photo 100-IMG_0172_zpsacb7b402.jpg

a blast door

 photo 102-IMG_0174_zps016fb290.jpg

A mannequin wearing an NBC suit

 photo 105-IMG_0178_zps464c8431.jpg

filtration plant

 photo 107-IMG_0180_zpsdac279b3.jpg 

a big problem, how to sort out sewage is an issue…

 photo 109-IMG_0182_zps64917237.jpg 

One of the exits of the bunker

 photo 112-IMG_0185_zps604f7d2f.jpg 

An airlock

 photo 114-IMG_0188_zpsc2edfb5c.jpg

the engine room, refrigeration room, main plant room..

 photo 119-IMG_0193_zps2751a034.jpg 

Ma, as a Professor of Geography, got interested in the maps.

 photo 122-IMG_0196_zps4f7c81e6.jpg  photo 123-IMG_0197_zps06c25e78.jpg photo 124-IMG_0199_zps1eeb3b11.jpg photo 125-IMG_0200_zpsafc9e646.jpg

One of the civil administration offices…

 photo 128-IMG_0203_zpsd40c74eb.jpg

a room for the commander of the bunker

 photo 131-IMG_0206_zps5545c229.jpg

the room for the prime minister

 photo 132-IMG_0207_zps2cd630a0.jpg

offices

 photo 133-IMG_0208_zps13158483.jpg

more offices

 photo 134-IMG_0209_zpsc15719e1.jpg

emergency radio communications

 photo 137-IMG_0212_zps4933831e.jpg

Ministry desks

 photo 140-IMG_0215_zpsefe99b8f.jpg photo 145-IMG_0220_zpsedbc591c.jpg photo 146-IMG_0221_zps4fc7387c.jpg

various ministeries who will handle the distribution of food, clothing, reconstruction, transportation, police, etc. etc. Its an PC XT!

 photo 149-IMG_0224_zps9f6e36a2.jpg

Baba checking the maps as well

 photo 151-IMG_0226_zpsbd8f2406.jpg

heh, bureaucracies and cockroaches will survive a nuclear winter

 photo 152-IMG_0228_zpsd5c1e564.jpg

another office

 photo 161-IMG_0237_zps45826462.jpg  photo 162-IMG_0238_zpsb3bb39fc.jpg photo 163-IMG_0239_zps49e598a1.jpg photo 164-IMG_0240_zpsc7869be4.jpg photo 165-IMG_0241_zps54352357.jpg photo 166-IMG_0242_zps7658afce.jpg

More offices…

 photo 168-IMG_0248_zpsb0f78171.jpg

you still need paper to survive

  photo 178-IMG_0258_zps087c3913.jpg

the private loo of the commander, the only private loo in the bunker

 photo 180-IMG_0260_zpsacb19ff2.jpg

a fully equipped little hospital and dental place

 

 photo 184-IMG_0264_zps0c785e01.jpg

And cardboard coffins

 photo 188-IMG_0269_zpsf9b0dca7.jpg

Dorms for the residents

 photo 192-IMG_0273_zpsf060cb09.jpg

Washroom

 photo 198-IMG_0279_zpsc11cd965.jpg

these mannequins were bloody frightening, I tell you

 photo 202-IMG_0283_zpsabdf9391.jpg

we head out of the bunker

 photo 203-IMG_0284_zpsab0fbce4.jpg

via this tunnel

 photo 205-IMG_0286_zpsc14a16e2.jpg

emerging out into the hillside

 photo 208-IMG_6040_zps8b65bebd.jpg 

Yep, secret bunker. Not all the photographs are here, click here for the full lot.

It made me think quite a lot about how frightened we were back then, that we constructed something like this. And the strange thing is, we still have nukes all over the world. Just yesterday, North Korea threatened to attack USA with nukes! and now we just dont care about them…like we are assuming that they wont even be used again. Who knows? we may again need one of these bunkers again

No comments: