Great video. Please consider doing the York bunker. This one is located in a housing estate and you can go and the best/worst thing about it was that the occupants jobs were to record where the bombs had landed to organise relief efforts. Once their job was complete they then flung open the doors into the world and walked out. Very scary
.... Do you know Jesus Christ can set you free from sins and save you from hell today Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today Romans 6.23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus
I designed the traffic sign in the thumbnail. It was part of highway works for a new Sainsbury's store in Brentwood. I was saying at the time it can't be that secret if we were providing signs to it, the Russian would find it with ease :-D
I've always wondered... how do you do the whole sign design thing? Is it some kind of fancy crappy software the government paid for like 30 years ago and held together with tape but still kind of does the job so isn't replaced? Or Illustrator (which isn't much better lol) and a style guideline booklet?
.... Do you know Jesus Christ can set you free from sins and save you from hell today Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today Romans 6.23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus
@@TalesOfWarMe too. It's easy to think of 5 ways they "probably" did it, but it'd be interesting to hear about the real process. Truth is often stranger than "probably", especially when multiple departments chime in 😂
@@TalesOfWar I'm sure it differs by region, but I think there's legal guidelines as far as the shape, color, size, height, etc. of a sign based on it's intended use and location, so I'm sure the design process is more than anything just ensuring you're properly adhering to the guidelines while cleearly conveying the necessary information and not creating an eyesore.
Nice video! Kelvedon Hatch is my favorite nuclear bunker. When I visited it, I told the taxi driver to take me to the “Secret nuclear bunker”. He was confused, so I showed him the location on Google Maps, and he said, “I guess it isn’t very secret!”. I’ve been to the U.S. equivalent at The Greenbrier in West Virginia, which is bigger, yet lacks any of the equipment and furnishings from that era (the government took it all). The Titan Missile Museum in Tucson, AZ is interesting too.
We went to the one in Scotland, when my dad was in nato, he we visited there, when it was actually going to be used and they did training sessions there. He told someone he would rather be with his family .
The equipment from the Greenbriar isn't there because they moved it to the new bigger, and more luxurious secret government bunker ! I don't know which one, but if you actually believe that they just stopped building them and turned them into cold war museums you need to get out more ! I don't know about other governments, but I'd wager a good amount that the US government has way more than one or two.
For those interested in this kind of thing, look for the old BBC drama called "Threads". It's set in Sheffield after a nuclear attack and follows some survivors. They use the actual members of staff from the local council who would have been conducting said operation with their actual procedures. Be warned, it's not pretty. It doesn't have a happy ending. It's essentially a "you survived but probably wish you didn't" kind of story. It's fantastic, but like I say, extremely depressing.
Or there's the older one "The War Game" which the BBC filmed in the early 60s (IIRC) but then decided it was too scary so didn't broadcast it until threads came out.
I’ve watched “Threads” and it is truly chilling in its portrayal of how interconnected the events of the world can be. Seemingly innocuous and trivial events can lead to horrifying results. Definitely worth watching! I believe it is available, for free, on UA-cam.
They have, deliberately, stifled any and all production of films of that nature in the last few decades. If the population hasn't seen films such as this they won't be as up in arms over their governments starting wars with other nuclear near peer nations.
Here in NZ a whole lot of rich North Americans and Europeans have been buying up land over the past couple of decades for bolt holes. What they seem to forget is in the case of doomsday, they wouldn't have time to get on their jet to come here. As a local though, I'll appreciate the work they've done, and will certainly sample their wine cellars.
They will know in advance, with plenty of time to get there. This much is obvious. They aren't that ignorant, they know that NZ is on the opposite side of the world from where a nuclear war will most likely happen, it's a beautiful country, with a great climate, and they have already bought and paid for the government there ! So, it's the perfect place to wait out the nuclear fallout, at least that's what they have obviously concluded !
Jet? Most of them have boats and some of them even have submarines... so yeah, I hope you can enjoy as much of that wine cellar before the stormtroppers rock up and rock you off their land.
@@grahamfisher5436 Not necessarily correct, markets indicated what was going on long before it reached mainstream... take from that what you will. But the price of gold is astronomical at the moment, what do you make of that? Obviously there are many factors and peace could break out over night which adds another spanner but I'm a firm believer that the markets will often indicate something before the news does.
@@eieieiodownthepremierleagu5335markets react for all sorts of reasons. There’s no way to tell what’s causing it at the time. Only tends to be in hindsight for the reasons markets are crashing.
Visited this and the main thing I got from it was "What a depressing life". The new Fallout series satirises the bunkers well, but I would take them over what I saw at Kelvedon any day.
I have visited there and on leaving felt I would have rather died in a nuclear blast than “surviving” in this bunker. It was a depressing experience if interesting.
It's just an office sleepover facility, conceptually nobody cared if the politicians could do anything more than stay alive and work to find a way to re-organize functions. It wasn't to happily stay down there for decades and enjoy the facilities.
Once you've learned a bit of Fallout lore, you'd know life in a Vault-Tec vault should be avoided at all costs! Being at ground zero when the bombs fell would in many circumstances be preferable! But the reality is that most of what Fallout's vaults could do (sustain a breeding population for centuries) is straight up science fiction. Real life bunkers would have been boring and depressing places full of broken lives. Even the best stocked likely didn't expect to hold out more than a few years before its inhabitants faced a life on the surface again.
For nearly 40 years, NSA stood unofficially as No Such Agency, as the US wouldn't even admit to the existence of the puzzle palace. While having a superhighway with an off ramp that was clearly marked NSA and a large glass and steel faraday shielded building at the end of the off ramp's parking lot. Kind of a mixed message there. Site R had similar, both sites remain fully active.
When I was in the Swedish airforce in the late nineties we visited several interesting bunkers and such. In the northern part of Stockholm there is a complete underground hospital that can handle several thousand of patients. It even has it's own train station and special train that can use the narrow subway tracks. Just north of Uppsala there is a bunker with radar and is able to take several of biggest nukes ever made.
Good story mate. Have you seen the vasa and been to kuderderland at all? I went when I was 11, dad worked there as a joiner. Absolutely stunning place at the time. 😉👍🏻
I grew up there and the signs are absolutely authentic. They had to put a fire escape in to allow tourist to visit so it wouldn't keep out a stiff breeze anymore
I visited a couple of weeks ago £12.50 per person, pay on exit via an honesty box believe it or not. Well worth it- fascinating place. It's actually surprisingly quite small all things considered. The only thing in terms of its current readyness is they had to dig a new exit out of the top of the bunker near the cafeteria to (somewhat ironically) comply with modern fire regulations so that will have compromised it's blast resistance quite badly however it'll still be a very good Fallout shelter I guess.
It's useless as it is, until someone back fills the fire exit tunnel with concrete and tungsten. It took a week to cut it through with thermic lances when they bought back the site. The thin metal doors on the fire exit tunnel wouldn't survive any kind of blast or shock wave. They are not sealed against contaminated air or fallout, and they couldn't resist the inevitable armies of locals trying to claw their way in for food and shelter. The Beckhams would need to be locked in there, long before a Nuke was launched. Fully stocked with food and water, and the exit tunnel already refilled. Otherwise during a 10 minute warning, you can guarantee there will be 2000 desperate locals trying to make exactly the same journey to the bunker as you.
In WW2 the Germans built a massive bunker northwest west of Esbjerg, Denmark near Blavand called Tirpitz museum. It was going to take the gun meant for the Tirpitz and pieces of the barrel are still on the site. After the war the Dainsh military tried to destroy it, but couldn't. It was turned into a museum sometime between 2007 and 2018 and evidence of the attempts to destroy it are displayed on the tour. Even after the use of explosives, the bunker is still structurally sound.
I remember going to a similar museum in Denmark the tevnfort Cold War Museum, where they used a German battleship gun to protect the minefield that would be placed between Denmark and Zweden in case of war with the Warsaw pact. Later it was one of the key HAWK air defense missile positions. Very impressive bunker structure worth a visit.
There's a super heavy reinforced concrete sub pen somewhere on the French coast too that they tried to destroy after the war but couldn't. I forget where it is. There are also a number of massive flak towers in Berlin with the same issue that were MASSIVE anti-air battery emplacements. They can't easily destroy them. Some have been turned into apartments I think. There's one in Hamburg that was made into a hotel too if I recall correctly.
In terms of countries, other than Switzerland, that are still nuclear ready, i think you might look at Finland. They created a massive network that I believe is still in place and working.
So if the Govt only has a bunker to protect just the few top officials and that's it, but the entire rest of the country is left to fend for itself, who would even bother to listen to them afterward?
Consider the alternative. A few hundred blokes from down the local pubs are selected at random to be saved. What would they do for the country in this scenario? Nothing. It's all about saving the valuable assets. Billy who works in the newsagents isn't any use to the nation. The leaders and suitably trained personnel are vital to restoring the nation. Get it now?
@@dark2023-1lovesoni @1lovesoni after they have restored the basics of society, an election can happen to replace them. Without those people being saved, no election could happen because no recover would happen.
@@dark2023-1lovesoniThey would be the currently elected officials of the time. There would need to be some semblance of authority and governance. I would think they would be more qualified than Jimmy the Muppet at the pub.
... Do you know Jesus Christ can set you free from sins and save you from hell today Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today Romans 6.23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus
In the event of a major population destroying attack - those who survive having experienced the violence and loss of loved ones are unlikely to welcome the bunker survivors ie the obscenely wealthy back above ground.
Can you imagine the PM or the royal family lording over you again after you've lost everyone you love and your entire livelihood has gone to the dogs? In addition to being secure in the knowledge the powers that be did absolutely nothing to safeguard anyone beyond a text message in advance? That bunker better last a lifetime lol
The people selected for these bunkers are those that can provide skills and abilities in the months after the blast to begin to restore the country. That's how it works in America, UK, etc. Their abilities during normal times aren't relevant. It's specifically about what they can provide the country at that most critical time. Billy from the local off-licence might be a lovely guy, but he's useless to the nation immediately after a nuclear attack. He won't get a place. Royals are an interesting one. Historically they provided a sense of focus, stoicism and hope in dire times. I would argue that they should be considered for a bunker spot, but I can see why you might disagree, especially before it actually becomes reality.
@@procatprocat9647 im pretty sure the people in these bunkers have as much chance as some guy living in a cabin.. but the guy living in the cabin gets to have solitude and eventually they will all die... your off grid.. the grid civilization and humans have been developing for thousands of years...
@@LukeTEvans I think you misunderstand the use case for these bunkers. A nuclear attack would last a few hours, and then be over. Nuclear weapons aren't as catastrophic as you seem to think they are. Most people would survive in a population. The problems surround systems, networks, supplies, communication, etc. Modern society would cease working. The job of the people in the bunker is to begin to restore these services, so that normal life can be rebuilt. That's why they need to be carefully selected for their specific skills. Hope that helps.
Please make an episode on the Deifenbunker. It's Canada's equivalent, very similar, but has its differences and a great thing to see for anyone that is ever in Ottawa. Thanks for another great episode.
It's a place i used to visit regularly (3-4 times per year) so I know it well. Basically put its a 3 story late 1950 office building buried underground, which you might think would not be interesting; however the design is cleverly done for its purpose. The water tank acts as additional radiation protection above the top floor, which is where the accommodation and canteen are located, middle floor is office space and medical with the bottom floor is services and security. The heavily built concrete reinforcement also acts as a Gaussian cage and if you go to the museum you can see how thick the walls are when you go out via the top exit. Ok why did i visit so regularly, well someone i know does a LARP game which uses the facilities (think of it a like the a mix between the Stargate and Fallout TV franchises) and we used to stay there from Friday evening until Sunday lunchtime. I played one of the facilities medical staff who did stuff on base and the players did plot and story arcs both inside the bunker and outside in the woods where combat could happen using "Airsoft" replica weapons (to be clear this combat did not happen in the bunker). So we got to know the people running the place quite well, enough to say hi and hows things. After the museum closes in the evening, its quite atmospheric and sound echoes in the stairwell making it seem spooky.
Kelvedon hatch was not the planned location for the relocation of central government. Central government was to be relocated to the Turnstile bunker near Corsham. Kelvedon hatch was a regional government bunker, not central government.
Not entirely true. If you want proof, the Central Line went out to Ongar up until the Bunker closed. Once the Bunker closed, the Epping-Ongar extension of the Central Line was closed too.
@@m1geo Kelvedon was never a Central Government facility. Neither was it a wartime facility for the Prime Minister. From 1968 onwards, Central Government (codenamed PYTHON) Groups, would have dispersed to 5 separate locations in the UK, 4 land-based and 1 shipborne (BRITANNIA or RFA ENGADINE). From 1968, the former CGWHQ at Corsham became a decoy site. If it survived a possible post-Strike, it was to act as an accretion site for the surviving PYTHON Groups.
finally someone actually calling Parrish out on his ahistorical bullshit, I have been saying this for years, the owner is a deluded fantasist, in terms of importance KH doesn't even make the top 5, it's Turnstile/Burlington, then the four central London war rooms THEN Kelveldon, the guy who owns it has been churning out the "Thatcher's bunker" line for nearly two decades and he could get away with it when the war plans weren't public domain but not anymore, it's nice to see people finally starting to pick holes in his web of utter bullshit.
I lived near there and very nearly bought a house in Kelvedon Hatch. Years later I moved to the South Hams in Devon and there's an R6 bunker near me up on bolt head which isn't accessible. I also visited the hack green R6 bunker some years ago which was a fascinating place.
My grandmother lived locally to this and when the family first opened it up, must have been early 90's, we immediately visited. Fascinating place, I was working in Telecoms and I'm sure there were landlines into the bunker, I recall there was a basic aged UK wide map of telco installs in the 'comms room/broadcast room' and being told it had largely been given up by Government and was being put to use supporting a new thing called the 'internet'. Whether true or not no idea. My grandmother, bless her, told me that the locals all had an idea something odd was there but it was not openly discussed.
Yeah, there's loads of historic style road signs round where I live all pointing to the secret bunker. The irony being that they all kind of stop about a mile or so from the turning for the place. Visiting was fascinating and terrifying, especially as a young member of gen x. Definitely worth a go if you are in the area
Unfortunately, Switzerland had stopped to maintenance its biggest bunker for civilians. The "Sonnenberg Tunnel" a combination of highway tunnel and underground shelter below the city of Lucerne. The Highway Tunnels had NBC safe doors. Unfortunately also in Andermatt a whole hospital inside the mountain (would have been useful during covid)is just taking dust. Also on in the opposed mountain in Andermatt with its own train station in a tunnel was an industrial bakery of the military who was able to produce bread for months for whole central Switzerland in the late years of WW2 and the cold war.
Do code name Birlington in Wiltshire next. 25 sq miles of underground base with its own pub, electric vehicles and telephone exchange. Built to house 6000 officials. Access through the 2 mile long Box railway tunnel with blast doors in the disused quarry. Closed in 1994. The first government & monarch protection facility built immediately after WW2.
Spring & Tunnel quarries. Burlington is an interesting one, and is actually where the government would've ended up as per the scenario mentioned in this video. Kelvedon was a regional HQ, and would've housed local government. The number of people Burlington could support seems to inflate itself as time passes though, and the number of people it could support was calculated by the capacity of the underground "lake" which could sustain up to 4000 people for a period of 3 months with rationing.
If you're in the UK and want your own bunker, research the underground variety of US Storm Shelters as a starting point. Many are designed with food and water storage in mind (granted more as a precaution against the door getting buried under wreckage than serious long term survival, but its a start and many older homes in the US have storm shelters that were converted to rudimentary fallout shelters).
One of the most impressive things you will get to see at this facility wasn’t installed until it became a visitor attraction - the bunker exit from the canteen/cafe area. To build this they had to drill a human sized hole in that 10ft thick outer wall with embedded tungsten rods, and you can see this as you leave. I was fortunate to visit when the owner was manning the cafe on a quiet day, and he explained the issues they had making that exit, and how for fire safety they wouldn’t be allowed to open as an attraction with only the single entrance via the bungalow. An amazing and intriguing attraction, well worth a visit if you are in the area.
Interesting video, especially as it is close to my home town and I have visited twice. A little disappointing you didn't feature the bunker more though. SOOO much more you could have covered instead of digressing into radar systems and what Switzerland has going on.
As someone who lives nearby. And uses the area a lot. It’s mostly outside activities there now. Although the bunker is open etc. they say secret. Everyone knew. All the locals. You can’t shift all that earth and no body knew 🤷
1:35 - Mid roll ads 3:05 - Chapter 1 - A real life fallout vault 8:05 - Chapter 2 - Military early warning systems 11:35 - Chapter 3 - The beckhams are welcome
I used to work in labs set up in a regional bunker on the Reading University campus known as the “citadel “. I still occasionally have nightmares about it although it was almost 40 years ago! This bunker looks luxurious in comparison.
Beneath Whitehall and Westminster there are many passages and rooms linking all the Ministries and Parliament, many built when they were built and expanded during both World Wars. It is rumoured even one to Buckingham Palace and St. James Palace and it having its own bunker.
In the later nineteen-seventies, I traveled with a group of tourists through the southern part of Norway. Our tour guide pointed out a specific kind of sign that was to be found in multiple places, in each and every town. It indicated where the nearest bunker was. The reason? Amongst the neighbours of Norway, there was the Soviet Union. And as Norway is basically a mountain range with seas on either side, their solution was to dig as many holes into the rockface as possible.
Mike had some bloke in to work on the diesel generators, he took one apart and didn't know how to put it back together again so that left one, a bit later he found someone else to fix them, he took the other one apart to see how to fix the first one, can you guess where this is going, you got it now has two in bits not working and some parts went missing from various repair services and that as some say is Kaput.
A substantial airburst would not have immolated the occupants, though I have often wondered about the problem of substantial rubble, or simply soil, being blown atop whatever exits were built. Hold that thought. Even at 38m deep, a multimegaton GROUND burst within a reasonable CEP (okay, I know: it was the Soviets--even nailing the CEP circle would probably have been as much luck as skill, especially if other warheads were detonating in the minutes or sseconds before, sending out shock waves that would no doubt interfere with the targeting of this warhead) would make short work of the bunker, to say nothing of the PM. In addition such a burst would be no bueno for everyone downwind for hundreds of miles, as it would produce a truly horrific amount of fallout that an airburst would not have. If the Soviets knew where it was, the occupants might as well have been on the surface, slathering on SPF 1,000,000,000 sunscreen.
Wow so this was a weird one for me! I grew up in a town called Nantwich which has a secret bunker nearby, lots of road signs. I always thought they were distributed across the country but it turns out I was next to one of two in the country still on maps and few still going*
I'm astounded that the royal family are at the top of the list for space in a bunker in the event of an attack. The available spaces would be better suited for high ranking military personnel, continuation of government, telecoms people, engineers etc. Senior royals in a bunker is just a waste of valuable space and resources.
I visited an almost identical structure/museum in Scotland near St Andrews. Parts of it were not open to visitors and some of the doors with windows were covered so you couldn't see inside the room. Then the lightbulb moment, I'd seen parts of the desks and equipment were 'live' with lights on. On the way out I asked the woman at the exit if it was still functioning as a shelter. She just looked straight at me, her mouth twitched, but she said nothing.
Ive been to Hack Green in Nantwitch and Scotland's secret bunker near St Andrews. I would love to take a look at this one to add to the list. Looks fantastic !!!!
I know the bunker intimately, as in we used to go there regularly sleeping in the bunker over a weekend, and spending the time to go out and play to play airsoft milsim games, inspired by Stargate SG1 run by Dean Wayland. Had a lot of fun exploring the woods and fighting against the nanite zombies in the game.
Simon, absolutely fascinating. Not just the KH footage, but the radar and technological background data of broader UK efforts for early warning as well. Charming knowing that, in terms of continuity of government, as a fat, unskilled retiree, I'm doomed in modern times. Still, loved the insights.
Eizo Nomura survived an Atomic Bomb, roughly 15 kiloton. Im not sure one would survive a fusion bomb - theyre measured in megatons, hundreds or thousands times more powerful. I fear one of these bunkers would make a furnace if not completely shattered / evaporated in a direct hit.
I have seen that sign and visited the bunker multiple times. It's pretty nice. If there ever were a nuclear attack and enough warning this is where I will be desperately rushing to.
The thumbnail reminds me of those old top gear gags where Jeremy says they’re at a super secret testing facility then proceeds the name its exact location
There are still numerous underground facilities such as old chalk mines and underground train systems that could be repurposed as civilian shelters at relatively short notice. So there is no need to maintain a huge network of unused shelters for the civilian population as far as the UK government is concerned.
My Grandfather was based at Kelvedon Hatch when it was part of the RAF early warning ROTOR system, covering the south east of the UK, which was what it was originally opened as. It tracked incoming aircraft and scrambling of RAF assets and Army Royal Artillery units. He was in the signals section, as a Wireless Op. North Weald was his home base, and they would be shuttled over for their duties. If the balloon had gone up, the bunker would be sealed off, with whoever was on duty manning it for the duration. It was in the 1960s, that Kelvedon Hatch became a HQ for the government in a time of crisis. He told me that they would often test the security by having 'fake' airmen getting on the crew bus, and starting to ask questions. Whoever fell for this and began to blab, soon disappeared. The bungalow was the entry point, and fake. It was the guard room manned by RAF MPs. Bunkers were also built for the Royal Observer Corps, there is one in York that is operated as a museum. Former BBC DJ, currently on Radio X, Chris Moyles was briefed that if the millennium bug attack feared "Y2K" had occurred, would have been whisked to a bunker to continue to broadcast to the nation during his time at the BBC.
I feel their definition of 'essential' and mine are different, what is the point of having a government and Royals if everyone is dead? I do enjoy visiting these old bunkers though, Hack Green is fantastic.
New York State, USA has a "nuclear-hardened bunker" which now houses the state Emergency Operations Center and is designated the seat of state government in the event of a widespread attack. It's a fascinating place, and part of a huge complex both above and below ground which is very much hidden in plain sight. It is still a secure facility with a T-shape tunnel entrance (because radiation only moves in straight lines) and giant bunker hatches. BTW, "nuclear-hardened" isn't all that difficult. Because nuclear and hydrogen devices are detonated at altitude, the blast doesn't penetrate that far into the ground. The initial temperature of the blast and intensity of pressure causes the damage, with resulting fires being a secondary cause of damage, mortality, and morbidity.
Been to Kelvedon. It was entirely empty, and very very creepy to explore. I could almost believe that the world outside had ended, and I was trapped inside, waiting to die.
If there was a devastating nuclear attack who do the people in the bunker think theyll be commanding? Maybe the odd other group in a bunker somewhere if they can still contact them
Even the British government knew there was no way a modern state could survive a global thermonuclear war. Especially considering the Soviets were targetting as much as 100 megatons at the UK at one point (you could destroy the social and economic structure of the UK with less than 10 megatons). The bunkers were specifically meant to preserve military and political control over UK's forces around the world just long enough to ensure NATO counterstrikes on the enemy were completed. That way MAD would be achieved and the nation's death would be avenged. After that the bunker's purpose was over, along with the defacto existence of the state that created it. I'm sure the bunker occupants would have plans to regain authority over as much territory as possible, but by then there'd be many armed scavenging groups around the UK, all with their eye on being top dog. Not many would be interested in taking orders from the former rulers of a failed state that lost a nuclear war.
Underground tunnels and systems are so interesting, I have always wondered what's under our feet and what the history of those are. I'd love to be able to no-clip and have a look.
Finland. They have over 50,000 bomb shelters offering shelter for over 87% of the population. 83% of those are equipped to provide against nuclear attacks.
Been there a couple of times. Fascinating place. Feels like a 600 person concrete coffin. Many years ago my aunt got a job cleaning there. Only lasted a few weeks - creeped her out so much she quit 😅 In fairness it is pretty eerie down there. Well worth a visit if you haven't been - full of information and atmosphere. All rather bleak.
Most of the US defense bunkers, such as the infamous Cheyenne Mountain Complex were shuttered for their original usage and now are communications node centers, their former occupants now in standard office buildings within sight of the old bunkers. The reason is simple enough, ancient ICBM's weren't accurate at all, as in 20 miles off was considered a hit, but the bunker would be protective. But, a direct hit would have destroyed even Cheyenne Mountain and well, ICBM's are a *lot* more accurate now, within centimeters type of accuracy for some, for the rest, within a few hundred feet, so the bunkers are useless beyond being convenient to place communications equipment under temperature controlled conditions. As for personal bunkers, I live in an area literally ringed with military logistics and communications bases, so I'm essentially on ground zero. Nuclear war plans involve my heading toward the light.
Kelvedon Hatch: *Designed to survive most conventional nuclear warhead strikes* Russian SS-18 Missile with 20-megaton warhead configuration designed for bunker busting: "Greetings comrade!"
They all have the same distinctive set of three air vents. Once you recognise the pattern, you can find the other ones on Google Earth. There are other R4s; I will not say where in case it's secret; however, if I can spot them on Google, presumably a Russian can.
I'm pretty sure the Russians know exactly where they were the second they started building them, just like we'll know exactly where all of theirs are too.
Go to ground.news/megaprojects to read the news the way it's meant to be. Subscribe through my link for 40% off unlimited access this month.
Great video. Please consider doing the York bunker. This one is located in a housing estate and you can go and the best/worst thing about it was that the occupants jobs were to record where the bombs had landed to organise relief efforts. Once their job was complete they then flung open the doors into the world and walked out. Very scary
....
Do you know Jesus Christ can set you free from sins and save you from hell today
Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven
There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today
Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell
Come to Jesus Christ today
Jesus Christ is only way to heaven
Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void
Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today
Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today
Romans 6.23
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
John 3:16-21
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Mark 1.15
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Hebrews 11:6
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Jesus
Typical of the UK, build a nuclear bunker they said, so UK built "a hatch" 🤦♂️
I designed the traffic sign in the thumbnail. It was part of highway works for a new Sainsbury's store in Brentwood. I was saying at the time it can't be that secret if we were providing signs to it, the Russian would find it with ease :-D
I've always wondered... how do you do the whole sign design thing? Is it some kind of fancy crappy software the government paid for like 30 years ago and held together with tape but still kind of does the job so isn't replaced? Or Illustrator (which isn't much better lol) and a style guideline booklet?
....
Do you know Jesus Christ can set you free from sins and save you from hell today
Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven
There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today
Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell
Come to Jesus Christ today
Jesus Christ is only way to heaven
Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void
Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today
Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today
Romans 6.23
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
John 3:16-21
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Mark 1.15
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Hebrews 11:6
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Jesus
@@TalesOfWar Yeah that’s a good call
@@TalesOfWarMe too. It's easy to think of 5 ways they "probably" did it, but it'd be interesting to hear about the real process. Truth is often stranger than "probably", especially when multiple departments chime in 😂
@@TalesOfWar I'm sure it differs by region, but I think there's legal guidelines as far as the shape, color, size, height, etc. of a sign based on it's intended use and location, so I'm sure the design process is more than anything just ensuring you're properly adhering to the guidelines while cleearly conveying the necessary information and not creating an eyesore.
Nice video! Kelvedon Hatch is my favorite nuclear bunker. When I visited it, I told the taxi driver to take me to the “Secret nuclear bunker”. He was confused, so I showed him the location on Google Maps, and he said, “I guess it isn’t very secret!”. I’ve been to the U.S. equivalent at The Greenbrier in West Virginia, which is bigger, yet lacks any of the equipment and furnishings from that era (the government took it all). The Titan Missile Museum in Tucson, AZ is interesting too.
We went to the one in Scotland, when my dad was in nato, he we visited there, when it was actually going to be used and they did training sessions there. He told someone he would rather be with his family .
He was probably confused by your incorrect spelling of "favourite." You missed the 'u" from your spelling.
The equipment from the Greenbriar isn't there because they moved it to the new bigger, and more luxurious secret government bunker !
I don't know which one, but if you actually believe that they just stopped building them and turned them into cold war museums you need to get out more ! I don't know about other governments, but I'd wager a good amount that the US government has way more than one or two.
For those interested in this kind of thing, look for the old BBC drama called "Threads". It's set in Sheffield after a nuclear attack and follows some survivors. They use the actual members of staff from the local council who would have been conducting said operation with their actual procedures. Be warned, it's not pretty. It doesn't have a happy ending. It's essentially a "you survived but probably wish you didn't" kind of story. It's fantastic, but like I say, extremely depressing.
Or there's the older one "The War Game" which the BBC filmed in the early 60s (IIRC) but then decided it was too scary so didn't broadcast it until threads came out.
I watched that growing up. It helped me form my opinion on warfare and scared a whole generation. It should be re-made and made compulsory viewing.
I’ve watched “Threads” and it is truly chilling in its portrayal of how interconnected the events of the world can be. Seemingly innocuous and trivial events can lead to horrifying results. Definitely worth watching! I believe it is available, for free, on UA-cam.
They have, deliberately, stifled any and all production of films of that nature in the last few decades. If the population hasn't seen films such as this they won't be as up in arms over their governments starting wars with other nuclear near peer nations.
Threads recently appeared on BBC iPlayer to celebrate 40 years since it was released. A truly horrific film! 💀
The signpost from Top Gear News
"Why don't they just put the deer sign on the deer"
@@FluidicNutUnion"Spray possible". It was middle of June! It should have said "Spray impossible"!
"What are you supposed to do with the rocks falling sign? Speed up? Slow down?"
@sheevone4359 "perhaps stop the rocks from falling down if it's a continuous problem"
Here in NZ a whole lot of rich North Americans and Europeans have been buying up land over the past couple of decades for bolt holes. What they seem to forget is in the case of doomsday, they wouldn't have time to get on their jet to come here. As a local though, I'll appreciate the work they've done, and will certainly sample their wine cellars.
They will know in advance, with plenty of time to get there. This much is obvious. They aren't that ignorant, they know that NZ is on the opposite side of the world from where a nuclear war will most likely happen, it's a beautiful country, with a great climate, and they have already bought and paid for the government there ! So, it's the perfect place to wait out the nuclear fallout, at least that's what they have obviously concluded !
Jet? Most of them have boats and some of them even have submarines... so yeah, I hope you can enjoy as much of that wine cellar before the stormtroppers rock up and rock you off their land.
@glennjames7107
There wouldn't be any warning
The Cuban crisis Showed this
@@grahamfisher5436 Not necessarily correct, markets indicated what was going on long before it reached mainstream... take from that what you will. But the price of gold is astronomical at the moment, what do you make of that? Obviously there are many factors and peace could break out over night which adds another spanner but I'm a firm believer that the markets will often indicate something before the news does.
@@eieieiodownthepremierleagu5335markets react for all sorts of reasons. There’s no way to tell what’s causing it at the time. Only tends to be in hindsight for the reasons markets are crashing.
Visited this and the main thing I got from it was "What a depressing life".
The new Fallout series satirises the bunkers well, but I would take them over what I saw at Kelvedon any day.
I was just thinking "at least they didn't have Vault-tec build their bunker"...
I have visited there and on leaving felt I would have rather died in a nuclear blast than “surviving” in this bunker. It was a depressing experience if interesting.
It's just an office sleepover facility, conceptually nobody cared if the politicians could do anything more than stay alive and work to find a way to re-organize functions. It wasn't to happily stay down there for decades and enjoy the facilities.
Once you've learned a bit of Fallout lore, you'd know life in a Vault-Tec vault should be avoided at all costs! Being at ground zero when the bombs fell would in many circumstances be preferable!
But the reality is that most of what Fallout's vaults could do (sustain a breeding population for centuries) is straight up science fiction. Real life bunkers would have been boring and depressing places full of broken lives. Even the best stocked likely didn't expect to hold out more than a few years before its inhabitants faced a life on the surface again.
Colin Furze Ltd is the UK's largest domestic underground facility builder, not sure if he can reach Switzerlands coverage this year.
should've known. furze is a madman and i'm ok with that lol.
Depends if he can't find the way up and just keeps digging, likely with rockets
Colin popped up through my front lawn the other day.
He'd made a wrong turn and carried on anyway.
He's like a hyper active chipmunk on speed.
That's right near where I live, the roadsigns slways give me a chuckle whenever I see them.
It did me when I designed them 🤣
For nearly 40 years, NSA stood unofficially as No Such Agency, as the US wouldn't even admit to the existence of the puzzle palace. While having a superhighway with an off ramp that was clearly marked NSA and a large glass and steel faraday shielded building at the end of the off ramp's parking lot.
Kind of a mixed message there.
Site R had similar, both sites remain fully active.
I'm in Harlow but I've never been there.
When I was in the Swedish airforce in the late nineties we visited several interesting bunkers and such. In the northern part of Stockholm there is a complete underground hospital that can handle several thousand of patients. It even has it's own train station and special train that can use the narrow subway tracks. Just north of Uppsala there is a bunker with radar and is able to take several of biggest nukes ever made.
Good story mate. Have you seen the vasa and been to kuderderland at all? I went when I was 11, dad worked there as a joiner. Absolutely stunning place at the time. 😉👍🏻
I grew up there and the signs are absolutely authentic. They had to put a fire escape in to allow tourist to visit so it wouldn't keep out a stiff breeze anymore
I visited a couple of weeks ago £12.50 per person, pay on exit via an honesty box believe it or not. Well worth it- fascinating place. It's actually surprisingly quite small all things considered. The only thing in terms of its current readyness is they had to dig a new exit out of the top of the bunker near the cafeteria to (somewhat ironically) comply with modern fire regulations so that will have compromised it's blast resistance quite badly however it'll still be a very good Fallout shelter I guess.
I live a couple of miles away but never been there.
It's useless as it is, until someone back fills the fire exit tunnel with concrete and tungsten. It took a week to cut it through with thermic lances when they bought back the site.
The thin metal doors on the fire exit tunnel wouldn't survive any kind of blast or shock wave. They are not sealed against contaminated air or fallout, and they couldn't resist the inevitable armies of locals trying to claw their way in for food and shelter.
The Beckhams would need to be locked in there, long before a Nuke was launched. Fully stocked with food and water, and the exit tunnel already refilled. Otherwise during a 10 minute warning, you can guarantee there will be 2000 desperate locals trying to make exactly the same journey to the bunker as you.
In WW2 the Germans built a massive bunker northwest west of Esbjerg, Denmark near Blavand called Tirpitz museum. It was going to take the gun meant for the Tirpitz and pieces of the barrel are still on the site. After the war the Dainsh military tried to destroy it, but couldn't. It was turned into a museum sometime between 2007 and 2018 and evidence of the attempts to destroy it are displayed on the tour. Even after the use of explosives, the bunker is still structurally sound.
I remember going to a similar museum in Denmark the tevnfort Cold War Museum, where they used a German battleship gun to protect the minefield that would be placed between Denmark and Zweden in case of war with the Warsaw pact. Later it was one of the key HAWK air defense missile positions. Very impressive bunker structure worth a visit.
There's a super heavy reinforced concrete sub pen somewhere on the French coast too that they tried to destroy after the war but couldn't. I forget where it is. There are also a number of massive flak towers in Berlin with the same issue that were MASSIVE anti-air battery emplacements. They can't easily destroy them. Some have been turned into apartments I think. There's one in Hamburg that was made into a hotel too if I recall correctly.
In terms of countries, other than Switzerland, that are still nuclear ready, i think you might look at Finland. They created a massive network that I believe is still in place and working.
So if the Govt only has a bunker to protect just the few top officials and that's it, but the entire rest of the country is left to fend for itself, who would even bother to listen to them afterward?
Consider the alternative.
A few hundred blokes from down the local pubs are selected at random to be saved.
What would they do for the country in this scenario? Nothing.
It's all about saving the valuable assets. Billy who works in the newsagents isn't any use to the nation.
The leaders and suitably trained personnel are vital to restoring the nation.
Get it now?
Listen to them now
How’s your PO and blood supply
@@procatprocat9647 I think the question is why would the populace accept the same leaders back later. What legitimate authority would they even have?
@@dark2023-1lovesoni @1lovesoni after they have restored the basics of society, an election can happen to replace them.
Without those people being saved, no election could happen because no recover would happen.
@@dark2023-1lovesoniThey would be the currently elected officials of the time. There would need to be some semblance of authority and governance. I would think they would be more qualified than Jimmy the Muppet at the pub.
2:59 a real life fallout vault
8:03 military early warning systems
11:32 the Beckham's are welcome
...
Do you know Jesus Christ can set you free from sins and save you from hell today
Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven
There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today
Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell
Come to Jesus Christ today
Jesus Christ is only way to heaven
Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void
Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today
Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today
Romans 6.23
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
John 3:16-21
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Mark 1.15
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Hebrews 11:6
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Jesus
In the event of a major population destroying attack - those who survive having experienced the violence and loss of loved ones are unlikely to welcome the bunker survivors ie the obscenely wealthy back above ground.
Can you imagine the PM or the royal family lording over you again after you've lost everyone you love and your entire livelihood has gone to the dogs? In addition to being secure in the knowledge the powers that be did absolutely nothing to safeguard anyone beyond a text message in advance? That bunker better last a lifetime lol
The people selected for these bunkers are those that can provide skills and abilities in the months after the blast to begin to restore the country.
That's how it works in America, UK, etc.
Their abilities during normal times aren't relevant. It's specifically about what they can provide the country at that most critical time.
Billy from the local off-licence might be a lovely guy, but he's useless to the nation immediately after a nuclear attack. He won't get a place.
Royals are an interesting one. Historically they provided a sense of focus, stoicism and hope in dire times. I would argue that they should be considered for a bunker spot, but I can see why you might disagree, especially before it actually becomes reality.
i would think it would become something of a fantasy realm.. dwarves.. elves.. orcs..
@@procatprocat9647 im pretty sure the people in these bunkers have as much chance as some guy living in a cabin.. but the guy living in the cabin gets to have solitude and eventually they will all die... your off grid.. the grid civilization and humans have been developing for thousands of years...
@@LukeTEvans I think you misunderstand the use case for these bunkers. A nuclear attack would last a few hours, and then be over. Nuclear weapons aren't as catastrophic as you seem to think they are. Most people would survive in a population.
The problems surround systems, networks, supplies, communication, etc. Modern society would cease working.
The job of the people in the bunker is to begin to restore these services, so that normal life can be rebuilt.
That's why they need to be carefully selected for their specific skills.
Hope that helps.
Please make an episode on the Deifenbunker. It's Canada's equivalent, very similar, but has its differences and a great thing to see for anyone that is ever in Ottawa.
Thanks for another great episode.
Officially "Canadian Forces Station Carp". Great place.
It's a place i used to visit regularly (3-4 times per year) so I know it well. Basically put its a 3 story late 1950 office building buried underground, which you might think would not be interesting; however the design is cleverly done for its purpose. The water tank acts as additional radiation protection above the top floor, which is where the accommodation and canteen are located, middle floor is office space and medical with the bottom floor is services and security. The heavily built concrete reinforcement also acts as a Gaussian cage and if you go to the museum you can see how thick the walls are when you go out via the top exit.
Ok why did i visit so regularly, well someone i know does a LARP game which uses the facilities (think of it a like the a mix between the Stargate and Fallout TV franchises) and we used to stay there from Friday evening until Sunday lunchtime. I played one of the facilities medical staff who did stuff on base and the players did plot and story arcs both inside the bunker and outside in the woods where combat could happen using "Airsoft" replica weapons (to be clear this combat did not happen in the bunker).
So we got to know the people running the place quite well, enough to say hi and hows things. After the museum closes in the evening, its quite atmospheric and sound echoes in the stairwell making it seem spooky.
Kelvedon hatch was not the planned location for the relocation of central government. Central government was to be relocated to the Turnstile bunker near Corsham.
Kelvedon hatch was a regional government bunker, not central government.
Was waiting for someone to give Spring & Tunnel quarries an honourable mention 🤣
@@sweatyurbexred
An
Green doors 😉
Not entirely true.
If you want proof, the Central Line went out to Ongar up until the Bunker closed. Once the Bunker closed, the Epping-Ongar extension of the Central Line was closed too.
@@m1geo Kelvedon was never a Central Government facility. Neither was it a wartime facility for the Prime Minister. From 1968 onwards, Central Government (codenamed PYTHON) Groups, would have dispersed to 5 separate locations in the UK, 4 land-based and 1 shipborne (BRITANNIA or RFA ENGADINE). From 1968, the former CGWHQ at Corsham became a decoy site. If it survived a possible post-Strike, it was to act as an accretion site for the surviving PYTHON Groups.
finally someone actually calling Parrish out on his ahistorical bullshit, I have been saying this for years, the owner is a deluded fantasist, in terms of importance KH doesn't even make the top 5, it's Turnstile/Burlington, then the four central London war rooms THEN Kelveldon, the guy who owns it has been churning out the "Thatcher's bunker" line for nearly two decades and he could get away with it when the war plans weren't public domain but not anymore, it's nice to see people finally starting to pick holes in his web of utter bullshit.
Completely unrelated, but if you have a thing for vintage computer keyboards, they have an impressive collection. 😆
I lived near there and very nearly bought a house in Kelvedon Hatch. Years later I moved to the South Hams in Devon and there's an R6 bunker near me up on bolt head which isn't accessible. I also visited the hack green R6 bunker some years ago which was a fascinating place.
If you want a nice happy war survival story watch the UK classic: Threads.
lol. Classic British sarcasm right there. It's a fantastic drama though, certainly not happy haha.
My grandmother lived locally to this and when the family first opened it up, must have been early 90's, we immediately visited. Fascinating place, I was working in Telecoms and I'm sure there were landlines into the bunker, I recall there was a basic aged UK wide map of telco installs in the 'comms room/broadcast room' and being told it had largely been given up by Government and was being put to use supporting a new thing called the 'internet'. Whether true or not no idea. My grandmother, bless her, told me that the locals all had an idea something odd was there but it was not openly discussed.
Yeah, there's loads of historic style road signs round where I live all pointing to the secret bunker. The irony being that they all kind of stop about a mile or so from the turning for the place.
Visiting was fascinating and terrifying, especially as a young member of gen x. Definitely worth a go if you are in the area
It's pretty cool to visit
Unfortunately, Switzerland had stopped to maintenance its biggest bunker for civilians. The "Sonnenberg Tunnel" a combination of highway tunnel and underground shelter below the city of Lucerne. The Highway Tunnels had NBC safe doors. Unfortunately also in Andermatt a whole hospital inside the mountain (would have been useful during covid)is just taking dust. Also on in the opposed mountain in Andermatt with its own train station in a tunnel was an industrial bakery of the military who was able to produce bread for months for whole central Switzerland in the late years of WW2 and the cold war.
given the way things are shaping up vis-a-vis Ukraine maybe the Swiss are now re-thinking ?
Do code name Birlington in Wiltshire next.
25 sq miles of underground base with its own pub, electric vehicles and telephone exchange. Built to house 6000 officials.
Access through the 2 mile long Box railway tunnel with blast doors in the disused quarry.
Closed in 1994.
The first government & monarch protection facility built immediately after WW2.
Spring & Tunnel quarries. Burlington is an interesting one, and is actually where the government would've ended up as per the scenario mentioned in this video. Kelvedon was a regional HQ, and would've housed local government.
The number of people Burlington could support seems to inflate itself as time passes though, and the number of people it could support was calculated by the capacity of the underground "lake" which could sustain up to 4000 people for a period of 3 months with rationing.
@@sweatyurbex
I know. I lived in box for 19 years.
The underground lake was not the only water supply.
I think James May was on to it... That sign is just a ruse, the bunker is in the other direction.
I found this very interesting as my grandfather was born in Kelvedon.
If you're in the UK and want your own bunker, research the underground variety of US Storm Shelters as a starting point. Many are designed with food and water storage in mind (granted more as a precaution against the door getting buried under wreckage than serious long term survival, but its a start and many older homes in the US have storm shelters that were converted to rudimentary fallout shelters).
One of the most impressive things you will get to see at this facility wasn’t installed until it became a visitor attraction - the bunker exit from the canteen/cafe area. To build this they had to drill a human sized hole in that 10ft thick outer wall with embedded tungsten rods, and you can see this as you leave.
I was fortunate to visit when the owner was manning the cafe on a quiet day, and he explained the issues they had making that exit, and how for fire safety they wouldn’t be allowed to open as an attraction with only the single entrance via the bungalow.
An amazing and intriguing attraction, well worth a visit if you are in the area.
Interesting video, especially as it is close to my home town and I have visited twice. A little disappointing you didn't feature the bunker more though. SOOO much more you could have covered instead of digressing into radar systems and what Switzerland has going on.
As someone who lives nearby. And uses the area a lot. It’s mostly outside activities there now. Although the bunker is open etc. they say secret. Everyone knew. All the locals. You can’t shift all that earth and no body knew 🤷
There’s a special kind of hubris in thinking that with a clean slate we’d reinstall the monarchy let alone the PM.
1:35 - Mid roll ads
3:05 - Chapter 1 - A real life fallout vault
8:05 - Chapter 2 - Military early warning systems
11:35 - Chapter 3 - The beckhams are welcome
Protip: Sponsorblock addon
I used to work in labs set up in a regional bunker on the Reading University campus known as the “citadel “. I still occasionally have nightmares about it although it was almost 40 years ago! This bunker looks luxurious in comparison.
Visited that museum a few years ago, well worth a visit.
Beneath Whitehall and Westminster there are many passages and rooms linking all the Ministries and Parliament, many built when they were built and expanded during both World Wars. It is rumoured even one to Buckingham Palace and St. James Palace and it having its own bunker.
I once visited the Hack Green bunker in Cheshire. It was pretty grim and after an hour I couldn't wait to get out.
In the later nineteen-seventies, I traveled with a group of tourists through the southern part of Norway. Our tour guide pointed out a specific kind of sign that was to be found in multiple places, in each and every town. It indicated where the nearest bunker was.
The reason? Amongst the neighbours of Norway, there was the Soviet Union. And as Norway is basically a mountain range with seas on either side, their solution was to dig as many holes into the rockface as possible.
Mike had some bloke in to work on the diesel generators, he took one apart and didn't know how to put it back together again so that left one, a bit later he found someone else to fix them, he took the other one apart to see how to fix the first one, can you guess where this is going, you got it now has two in bits not working and some parts went missing from various repair services and that as some say is Kaput.
The radio tower shown in your vlog is not the one at Kelveden Hatch.
Nooo wayyyy, basically my home town
Can you do a video on the American long lines microwave system from the Cold War.
Very good topic! Very unknown as well.
Yes please !
Did you want to microwave the soviets
The idea that the populace would really care about the continuation of the monarchy in the event of a nuclear exchange, some would certainly but most?
why thats a load of bangers and mash!
A substantial airburst would not have immolated the occupants, though I have often wondered about the problem of substantial rubble, or simply soil, being blown atop whatever exits were built.
Hold that thought.
Even at 38m deep, a multimegaton GROUND burst within a reasonable CEP (okay, I know: it was the Soviets--even nailing the CEP circle would probably have been as much luck as skill, especially if other warheads were detonating in the minutes or sseconds before, sending out shock waves that would no doubt interfere with the targeting of this warhead) would make short work of the bunker, to say nothing of the PM. In addition such a burst would be no bueno for everyone downwind for hundreds of miles, as it would produce a truly horrific amount of fallout that an airburst would not have.
If the Soviets knew where it was, the occupants might as well have been on the surface, slathering on SPF 1,000,000,000 sunscreen.
13:24 how dare you not mention Finland having bunkers and fallout shelters in basically every residential and office buildings.
Been to this place and I can’t recommend a trip enough proper nice bit of history ran by nice folk
Wow so this was a weird one for me!
I grew up in a town called Nantwich which has a secret bunker nearby, lots of road signs. I always thought they were distributed across the country but it turns out I was next to one of two in the country still on maps and few still going*
Been there, worth a look and is quite fascinating, but it doesn't get enough funding so is in a pretty unfinished state in a lot of the rooms.
I'm astounded that the royal family are at the top of the list for space in a bunker in the event of an attack. The available spaces would be better suited for high ranking military personnel, continuation of government, telecoms people, engineers etc. Senior royals in a bunker is just a waste of valuable space and resources.
I visited an almost identical structure/museum in Scotland near St Andrews. Parts of it were not open to visitors and some of the doors with windows were covered so you couldn't see inside the room. Then the lightbulb moment, I'd seen parts of the desks and equipment were 'live' with lights on. On the way out I asked the woman at the exit if it was still functioning as a shelter. She just looked straight at me, her mouth twitched, but she said nothing.
Sweden still has a shelter/bunker for the public like Swish which is still in use since the Cold War. But many have been abandoned over time.
Thanks so much for creating and sharing this informative video. Great job. Keep it up.
So basically the Swiss will take over the world - talk about quietly playing the long game 😂
Ive been to Hack Green in Nantwitch and Scotland's secret bunker near St Andrews. I would love to take a look at this one to add to the list. Looks fantastic !!!!
Where in the UK do we go in the event of a nuclear attack?? None of our houses have basements, and my local MP has not replied to my queries!!
The reality is ...
The entire UK would be turned into glass an Ash..
There wouldn't be anywhere to hide..
brown signs are tourist attractions .maybe once it was secret, or they are showing you what 1 would look like
I know the bunker intimately, as in we used to go there regularly sleeping in the bunker over a weekend, and spending the time to go out and play to play airsoft milsim games, inspired by Stargate SG1 run by Dean Wayland. Had a lot of fun exploring the woods and fighting against the nanite zombies in the game.
The bunker that replaced kelvedon hatch is off the M25 with unmarked exit on the motorway.
Did you write
Struggle for survival
⛳️
Golf courses
@@grahamfisher5436 Huh? dont get that but the reason I know is my Old man was Met police and knew about the site.
@stevefox3763
Wherever there's a bunker
There's a
Golf course ⛳️👍
Simon, absolutely fascinating. Not just the KH footage, but the radar and technological background data of broader UK efforts for early warning as well. Charming knowing that, in terms of continuity of government, as a fat, unskilled retiree, I'm doomed in modern times. Still, loved the insights.
My home town, I live in Brentwood
Eizo Nomura survived an Atomic Bomb, roughly 15 kiloton. Im not sure one would survive a fusion bomb - theyre measured in megatons, hundreds or thousands times more powerful. I fear one of these bunkers would make a furnace if not completely shattered / evaporated in a direct hit.
I've visited the Kelvedon Hatch Bunker twice. It's a great tourist attraction.
I was born and lived my first 25 years in kelvedon hatch!
Cannabis Factory’s.. he’s not lying a couple of lads got caught growing weed in a nuclear bunker A for effort lads 🍁 💨 👏😂
I live right next to this was very confused seeing a Brentwood sign on my feed
Been there. It's really thought-provoking, I'd recommend
I have seen that sign and visited the bunker multiple times. It's pretty nice.
If there ever were a nuclear attack and enough warning this is where I will be desperately rushing to.
The thumbnail reminds me of those old top gear gags where Jeremy says they’re at a super secret testing facility then proceeds the name its exact location
There are still numerous underground facilities such as old chalk mines and underground train systems that could be repurposed as civilian shelters at relatively short notice. So there is no need to maintain a huge network of unused shelters for the civilian population as far as the UK government is concerned.
that will freak out future people when they find these huge underground tombs.
This is just down the road from me, well worth a visit.
My Grandfather was based at Kelvedon Hatch when it was part of the RAF early warning ROTOR system, covering the south east of the UK, which was what it was originally opened as. It tracked incoming aircraft and scrambling of RAF assets and Army Royal Artillery units. He was in the signals section, as a Wireless Op. North Weald was his home base, and they would be shuttled over for their duties. If the balloon had gone up, the bunker would be sealed off, with whoever was on duty manning it for the duration. It was in the 1960s, that Kelvedon Hatch became a HQ for the government in a time of crisis. He told me that they would often test the security by having 'fake' airmen getting on the crew bus, and starting to ask questions. Whoever fell for this and began to blab, soon disappeared. The bungalow was the entry point, and fake. It was the guard room manned by RAF MPs. Bunkers were also built for the Royal Observer Corps, there is one in York that is operated as a museum. Former BBC DJ, currently on Radio X, Chris Moyles was briefed that if the millennium bug attack feared "Y2K" had occurred, would have been whisked to a bunker to continue to broadcast to the nation during his time at the BBC.
I feel their definition of 'essential' and mine are different, what is the point of having a government and Royals if everyone is dead? I do enjoy visiting these old bunkers though, Hack Green is fantastic.
Hello from brentwood Essex 😁
Hello from Harlow, Essex
It's so secret that big Simon is giving us a video on it. 👍
New York State, USA has a "nuclear-hardened bunker" which now houses the state Emergency Operations Center and is designated the seat of state government in the event of a widespread attack. It's a fascinating place, and part of a huge complex both above and below ground which is very much hidden in plain sight. It is still a secure facility with a T-shape tunnel entrance (because radiation only moves in straight lines) and giant bunker hatches.
BTW, "nuclear-hardened" isn't all that difficult. Because nuclear and hydrogen devices are detonated at altitude, the blast doesn't penetrate that far into the ground. The initial temperature of the blast and intensity of pressure causes the damage, with resulting fires being a secondary cause of damage, mortality, and morbidity.
Been to Kelvedon. It was entirely empty, and very very creepy to explore. I could almost believe that the world outside had ended, and I was trapped inside, waiting to die.
If there was a devastating nuclear attack who do the people in the bunker think theyll be commanding? Maybe the odd other group in a bunker somewhere if they can still contact them
Even the British government knew there was no way a modern state could survive a global thermonuclear war. Especially considering the Soviets were targetting as much as 100 megatons at the UK at one point (you could destroy the social and economic structure of the UK with less than 10 megatons).
The bunkers were specifically meant to preserve military and political control over UK's forces around the world just long enough to ensure NATO counterstrikes on the enemy were completed. That way MAD would be achieved and the nation's death would be avenged.
After that the bunker's purpose was over, along with the defacto existence of the state that created it.
I'm sure the bunker occupants would have plans to regain authority over as much territory as possible, but by then there'd be many armed scavenging groups around the UK, all with their eye on being top dog. Not many would be interested in taking orders from the former rulers of a failed state that lost a nuclear war.
We have one in Fife too. Secret tourist attraction now. Think it is open between April - October.
Sorry "Prime Minister" and "Essential Personnel" in the same sentence?? You've got to be pulling my pisser!!
I live 1 mile from Hack Green. Thats my apocalypse plan lol
There are about 200 fallout shelters in Australia. Fun fact: Less than 1,000 people know where any of them are!
Underground tunnels and systems are so interesting, I have always wondered what's under our feet and what the history of those are. I'd love to be able to no-clip and have a look.
In Fallout 4 there is a hidden military bunker under a broken shack in the "Glowing Sea" region of the map. Possibly inspired by Kelvedon.
Interestingly the underground cafe in the bunker has intermittent wifi problems with its contactless payment machine.
‘County of Essex’, I expected better from you Simon
Finland. They have over 50,000 bomb shelters offering shelter for over 87% of the population. 83% of those are equipped to provide against nuclear attacks.
Been there a couple of times. Fascinating place. Feels like a 600 person concrete coffin. Many years ago my aunt got a job cleaning there. Only lasted a few weeks - creeped her out so much she quit 😅 In fairness it is pretty eerie down there. Well worth a visit if you haven't been - full of information and atmosphere. All rather bleak.
the British would hide a top secret bomb bunker entrance in a bungalow....so British.
Most of the US defense bunkers, such as the infamous Cheyenne Mountain Complex were shuttered for their original usage and now are communications node centers, their former occupants now in standard office buildings within sight of the old bunkers. The reason is simple enough, ancient ICBM's weren't accurate at all, as in 20 miles off was considered a hit, but the bunker would be protective. But, a direct hit would have destroyed even Cheyenne Mountain and well, ICBM's are a *lot* more accurate now, within centimeters type of accuracy for some, for the rest, within a few hundred feet, so the bunkers are useless beyond being convenient to place communications equipment under temperature controlled conditions.
As for personal bunkers, I live in an area literally ringed with military logistics and communications bases, so I'm essentially on ground zero. Nuclear war plans involve my heading toward the light.
Rumour has it, Cheyenne Mountain is used for a top secret deep-space radar telemetry program...
The 2016 full-motion video game "The Bunker", which uses live-action footage, was fully filmed inside the bunker.
Kelvedon Hatch: *Designed to survive most conventional nuclear warhead strikes*
Russian SS-18 Missile with 20-megaton warhead configuration designed for bunker busting: "Greetings comrade!"
Tungsten rods - haha, that cannot be correct for sooo many reasons!
There’s another one at Mistley in Essex, near Manningtree 👍
I enjoyed that, thanks.
0:55 in “the county of Essex” and NOT ‘Essex county’, Whistler, old stick. It’s not the Dukes of fuckin’ Hazzard.😉✌️
They're all in Westminster and the UK's still collapsing entirely, Well done, blue & red wings of the UniParty!
They all have the same distinctive set of three air vents. Once you recognise the pattern, you can find the other ones on Google Earth. There are other R4s; I will not say where in case it's secret; however, if I can spot them on Google, presumably a Russian can.
I'm pretty sure the Russians know exactly where they were the second they started building them, just like we'll know exactly where all of theirs are too.
In America, you can buy a former missle silo to live in.