Broadway Nuclear Bunker

On Saturday I visited the Royal Observer Corps underground monitoring post (or Broadway Nuclear Bunker as it is more excitingly called) on one of it's occasional open days.

The ROC monitoring site as seen through the perimeter fence

Although it was removed from active service in 1991 the site was subsequently revived under the management of Broadway Tower and has been open to visitors since 2010. 

The access shaft hatch with the white Ground Zero Indicator for
determining the position of a nuclear detonation. 

The fenced site is situated in the corner of a field very near Broadway Tower and also includes the now roofless remains of the original above ground observation post which I believe dates from the Second World War.

Looking down the access shaft

The bunker itself is in great condition and the visit was further enhanced by a brief talk from an ex-member of the Observer Corps which gave a fascinating insight into the operation of these bunkers during the Cold War. 

Looking up the access shaft

Much of the original equipment was already in place but some items have been re-introduced and added to make it as complete as possible.

What a fully equipped bunker would have looked like.

The role of the bunkers was essentially to determine the position of nuclear explosions and gather data on the initial blast and also the radiation levels following a bomb drop.

Close-up of the BPI (Bomb Power Indicator) for
determining the approximate size of a nuclear blast.

At the height of the Cold War there were nearly 1600 of these small bunkers situated at 8 mile intervals across the UK in a grid-like formation so most of us are never more than a few miles from a ROC site. However many have since been destroyed and those that do remain are in varying states of decay and inaccessibility, so the Broadway bunker is probably one of the few remaining maintained and accessible examples in the country.

In the event of a fire inside the bunker
an asbestos fire blanket was supplied.

This was the last listed public open day for this year but for information regarding private functions and future open days you can visit the Broadway Tower website

The ROC site as seen from the top of Broadway Tower.

For more details on the history and workings of these bunkers I would recommend 2 books - 
Cold War Secret Nuclear Bunkers by Nick McCamley published by Pen & Sword and also Cold War - Building for Nuclear Confrontation 1946-1989 by Wayne D Cocroft and Roger JC Thomas published by English Heritage

Above ground elements of the FSM meter (foreground)
for measuring above ground radioactivity with the BPI (bomb power indicator) behind 

If (like me) you are more interested in the visual appeal of concrete bunkers, then Nick Catford's "Subterranean Britain - Cold War Bunkers" published by Folly Books is the book for you.

To finish - a view from Broadway Tower

and just one more...