Editing Protect and Survive (section)

==Origins==
''Protect and Survive'' had its origins in civil defence leaflets dating back to 1938, titled ''The Protection of Your Home Against Air Raids''.<ref name="nigelcook">{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/TheProtectionOfYourHomeAgainstAirRaids |title=The Protection of Your Home Against Air Raids |first=Nigel B.|last= Cook |publisher=Internet Archive |access-date=1 June 2013}}</ref> These advised the homeowner on what to do in the event of air attack. This evolved as the nature of warfare and [[geopolitics]] changed, with the [[pamphlet]]s updated first into ''The Hydrogen Bomb'' in 1957, and later into ''Advising the Householder on Protection against Nuclear Attack'' in 1963.<ref>{{cite book|last=Young|first=Taras|year=2019|title=[[Nuclear War in the UK]]|publisher=Four Corners Books|isbn=978-1-909829-16-9|pages=14–17}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mgr.org/libro.pdf |title=Advising the Householder on Protection Against Nuclear Attack |website=www.mgr.org |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140514204059/http://www.mgr.org/libro.pdf |archive-date=14 May 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> This document, of which 500,000 copies were made, garnered considerable public and government criticism when it was first released for its lack of explanations or conveyance of the reasoning behind the advice that was given.  The Estimates Committee were similarly bemused by the advice, calling for its withdrawal.  Civil defence personnel were summoned to [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] meetings in which they responded to all the points of criticism that were raised.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1963/dec/02/civil-defence-handbook-no-10 |title=Civil Defence (Handbook No. 10) (Hansard, 2 December 1963) |date=14 May 2014 |access-date=16 August 2016 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140514202739/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1963/dec/02/civil-defence-handbook-no-10 |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |archive-date=14 May 2014 }}</ref> The 1963 pamphlet was then accompanied by a series of public information films produced in 1964, called ''[[Civil Defence Information Bulletin]]s''. These films were intended to be broadcast in a [[state of emergency]]. Pamphlets similar to those prepared in 1963 briefly appeared in [[Peter Watkins]]' controversial 1965 BBC [[docudrama]] ''[[The War Game]]'', in a scene where they were distributed to people's homes. The 1964 bulletins were not depicted in the film.

The fallout radiation advice in ''Protect and Survive'' was based on 1960s fallout shelter experiments<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=7805718 |journal=The British Journal for the History of Science |publisher=Cambridge Journals Online |title=Architects of Armageddon: the Home Office Scientific Advisers' Branch and civil defence in Britain, 1945–68 |year=2010 |doi=10.1017/S0007087409990392 |access-date=1 June 2013|last1=Smith |first1=Melissa |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=149–180 |s2cid=145729137 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> summarised by Daniel T. Jones of the Home Office Scientific Advisory Branch<ref>{{cite web| date= 1 August 2006 | url=http://glasstone.blogspot.com/2006/08/nuclear-weapons-1st-edition-1956-by.html| title= U.K. Home Office Scientific Advisory Branch 'Protect and Survive' civil defence research| publisher= blogspot.com| access-date=1 June 2013}}</ref> in his report, ''The Protection Against Fallout Radiation Afforded by Core Shelters in a Typical British House'' which was published in ''Protective Structures for Civilian Populations'', Proceedings of the Symposium held at Washington, D.C., 19–23 April 1965, by the Subcommittee on Protective Structures, Advisory Committee on Civil Defense, US National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council.<ref name="nigelcook"/><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=82IrAAAAYAAJ |title=Protective Structures for Civilian Populations|year=1965|access-date= 1 June 2013}}</ref> The fallout radiation was represented by measurements of the penetration of cobalt-60 gamma radiation, which has a high mean energy of 1.25 MeV (two gamma rays, 1.17 and 1.33 MeV). This is considerably more penetrating than the mean 0.7 MeV of fallout gamma rays.<ref name= "nigelcook"/> Therefore, the actual protection given against real nuclear weapon fallout would be far greater than that afforded in the peacetime cobalt-60 shielding measurements.

===Wartime Broadcasting Service===
{{main|Wartime Broadcasting Service}}
During the early 1970s, the BBC and the Home Office produced a radio script advising the public of what to do in the event of nuclear attack. This was eventually published in October 2008 on the BBC's website,<ref name="tbuBBCwake">{{cite web|title= BBC transcript to be used in wake of nuclear attack |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/03_10_08nuclearattack.pdf |publisher =BBC News |access-date=30 June 2011 }}</ref> with the full correspondence made available to the public via The National Archives.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/releases/2008/october/wartime.htm?homepage=news |title=The National Archives |publisher=The National Archives |access-date=30 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110102170725/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/releases/2008/october/wartime.htm?homepage=news |archive-date=2 January 2011 }}</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7648042.stm BBC nuclear bomb script released]. Comedian [[Harry Shearer]] reads it in the style of [[Walter Cronkite]]</ref> The script used very similar language and style to the later ''Protect and Survive'' series. In particular, it emphasised the need for citizens to remain in their homes,<ref name="tbuBBCwake"/> and not to try to evacuate elsewhere.

During the exchange of correspondence between the BBC and various government departments, several letters seem to suggest that a booklet for public consumption was already being discussed. In a letter<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/details-result.asp?Edoc_Id=7960825 |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20081023221637/http%3A//www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/details%2Dresult.asp?Edoc_Id%3D7960825 |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 October 2008 |title=DocumentsOnline &#124; Image Details |publisher=The National Archives |access-date=30 June 2011}}</ref> from the Central Office of Information, dated 12 March 1974, a request for information from The Home Office about a proposed booklet read as follows:<ref name= "ho322">[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATLN=6&CATID=8324802&SearchInit=4&CATREF=HO+322/775 HO 322/775] at The National Archives</ref>

{{blockquote|Meanwhile I should be grateful if you could let me have a copy of your revised advice to the householder. I will assume that this will form the text of the Official Announcement and that what Probert is discussing with your Information Division is the production of a booklet on public advice.}}

This was replied to on 15 March 1974 by the Home Office, clearly stating that such a booklet was being produced, and that they were also targeting the same information at television:<ref name= "ho322"/>

{{blockquote|It seems likely a basic booklet will be produced... we expect rather more attention to be paid to the dissemination of this advice through other media, in particular television.}}