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Protect and Survive
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===Basic advice=== The following advice was common to all components of the campaign, but is presented here according to the ordering contained in the pamphlet. ====Nuclear weapon effects==== {{see also|Effects of nuclear explosions}} It was explained that everything within a certain radius of a nuclear explosion would be destroyed, and that the heat and blast effects would be extremely destructive for the first five miles and could still cause severe damage beyond this. The formation of and risk from radioactive fallout was also explained.<ref name=jstor>{{cite journal |last1=Lee-Frampton |first1=Nick |title=Protect and survive |journal=New Zealand International Review |date=March-April 1985 |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=25-27 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/45233492|jstor=45233492}}</ref><ref name=Young2019ps>{{cite book|last=Young|first=Taras|year=2019|title=[[Nuclear War in the UK]]|publisher=Four Corners Books|isbn=978-1-909829-16-9|page=29}}</ref> ====Household shelters==== The advice on preparing a shelter at home caused much of ''Protect and Survive'''s later infamy.<ref name=Young2019 /><ref name=gerarddegrootthebomb>{{cite book |last1=DeGroot |first1=Gerard J. |title=The Bomb: A History of Hell on Earth |date=2005 |publisher=[[Random House|Pimlico]] |isbn=0712677488 |pages=319-β320}}</ref> The campaign aimed to convince people of the importance of staying at home instead of self-evacuating elsewhere on the basis that one's local authority would offer the best help.<ref name=grauniad260704>{{cite web |last1=Barkham |first1=Patrick |title=Whitewash your windows, then await further instructions |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/jul/26/terrorism.society |website=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=17 May 2025 |date=26 July 2004}}</ref><ref name=Young2019ps /> It then sought to explain how best to prepare one's home for use as a post-attack shelter intended for fourteen days' use.<ref name=grauniad160317>{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Mark |title=Protect and Survive: Armageddon advice guide to be republished |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/mar/16/protect-survive-nuclear-war-republished-pamphlet |website=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=17 May 2025 |date=16 March 2017}}</ref> Ideally, a cellar or basement would be used as the fallout room; if not, householders were to use a ground-floor room, hall, or passage which was as far away from the roof and outside walls (or at least had the smallest amount of outside wall) as possible.<ref name=jstor /> To reduce the risk from radiation, windows and other openings were to be blocked up and the floor and outside walls made thicker; bricks, concrete and other building blocks, timber, boxes of earth or sand, books, and furniture were recommended as examples of the thick and dense materials to be used.<ref name=gerarddegrootthebomb /><ref name=jstor /> Once the basic fallout room had been prepared, it was to be followed by an inner refuge for additional protection during the first forty-eight hours following an attack. Recommendations included:<ref name=Young2019ps /> *Making a [[lean-to]] from strong boarding or from doors taken from upper rooms, with a length of wood fixed to the floor to stop them from slipping, which was then reinforced with bags or boxes containing earth, sand, books, or even clothing, and the two open ends partly walled in with similar boxes or with heavy furniture<ref name=gerarddegrootthebomb /><ref name=worldend>{{cite book |last1=Gere |first1=Charlie |author1-link=Charlie Gere |title=World's End |year= 2022 |publisher=[[Goldsmiths, University of London|Goldsmiths Press]] |isbn=9781913380007 |pages=163β166|url=https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/33236/1/World's%20End%209781913380007_book.pdf}}</ref> *Using a sufficiently large table or tables,<ref name=deegarrison>{{cite book |last1=Garrison |first1=Dee |title=Bracing for Armageddon: Why Civil Defense Never Worked |year=2006 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=0195183193 |page=171}}</ref> to be surrounded and covered with heavy furniture filled with sand, earth, books, or clothing *Using the [[Staircase#Utilization|stair cupboard]],<ref name=grauniad160317 /> reinforced with bags of sand or earth on the stairs and along the wall of the cupboard (as well as any adjacent outside wall) Fallout room provisions were to be sufficient to last the prescribed fourteen days.<ref name=deegarrison /><ref name=gerarddegrootthebomb /> It was recommended to stock three and a half gallons of drinking water per person,<ref name=grauniad160317 /> and to then double this amount to have sufficient provision for washing. The water was to be bottled for immediate use in the fallout room,<ref name=Young2019ps /> with additional supplies to be contained in the bath, basins, and other containers,<ref name=grauniad160317 /> and all of this sealed or covered against fallout.<ref name=Young2019ps /> The fallout room was to be stocked with foods which could be "eaten cold, which keep fresh, and which are tinned or well wrapped", and which were to be kept in a closed cabinet or cupboard; it was recommended to maintain a variety of foods including sugar, jams, and other sweet foods, cereals, biscuits, meats, vegetables, and fruits and fruit juices. Children would need tinned or powdered milk and babies "their normal food as far as is possible."<ref name=Young2019ps /> These provisions were to be accompanied by tin and bottle openers,<ref name=deegarrison /> cutlery, and crockery.<ref name=Young2019ps /> In the "Food Consumption" film, it was stated that only minimal eating was needed since householders would normally be resting under shelter;<ref name=worldend /> those reading the pamphlet were merely told to eat sparingly.<ref name=Young2019ps /> Whether people would have been able to acquire fourteen days' worth of provisions if the ''Protect and Survive'' advice had been issued for real was disputed at official level,<ref>{{cite book |author1=[[Home Office]] |title=ES 1/1979 |year= 1979 |chapter=Food and Agriculture Controls in War |quote=[N]o arrangements could ensure that every surviving household would have, say, 14 days supply of food after attack.}} Cited in {{cite book |last1=Clarke |first1=Bob |title=Britain's Cold War |date=2012 |publisher=History Press |isbn=9780752488257}}</ref> let alone unofficially. A battery-powered radio would have been essential for receiving outside messages, and it was recommended to take a spare radio in addition to batteries; aerials were not to be extended until an attack was concluded. The basic "survival kit" was rounded off with stocks of warm clothing<ref name=Young2019ps /> and a copy of the ''Protect and Survive'' pamphlet. In terms of additional provisions, the following items were all described as useful:<ref name=Young2019ps /> *Bedding and sleeping bags *Saucepans and portable stoves with fuel *Torches with spare bulbs and batteries, candles, and matches *A table with chairs *Toilet articles, soap, toilet rolls, buckets, and plastic bags (see also the following paragraph on sanitation) *Changes of basic clothing *A first aid kit and medicines<ref name=cnnprotectandsurvive>{{cite web |last1=Vonberg |first1=Judith |title=Draw the curtains, bury the dead: Cold War advice for nuclear attack |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/16/europe/cold-war-nuclear-guide |website=[[CNN]] |access-date=17 May 2025}}</ref> *Sand, cloths, or tissues for wiping down plates and utensils *A notebook and pencils for writing messages *Brushes, shovels, cleaning materials, rubber or plastic gloves, and a dustpan and brush *Toys and magazines *A mechanical clock and a calendar Special toilet arrangements needed to be made in order to conserve water. Toilet articles had already been mentioned in the provisions list (see above), and were mentioned again in relation to sanitation; the buckets or other containers were to be covered and fitted with bag liners, and if possible a chair should be improvised as a toilet seat.<ref name=cnnprotectandsurvive /><ref name=grauniad260704 /> A disinfectant solution was also to be kept. A dustbin for toilet waste was to be kept just outside the fallout room; all other waste was to be either put in a separate dustbin if available or put in plastic bags or paper until it could be taken outside the house. Though the heat flash was claimed to be incapable of igniting the bricks and stone of a then-typical British house, internal contents could be ignited if windows were left unprotected. It was therefore advised to remove easily ignited articles from the attic and upper rooms (with fires being judged to be most likely in those areas), net curtains or thin materials from windows (but not heavy curtains and blinds since these would provide protection against flying glass), old newspapers and magazines, and boxes, firewood, and easily ignited materials from the outside of the house. Windows, including glass panes, were to be coated with light-coloured paint so that they would reflect away the heat flash even if the subsequent blast wave was to shatter them.<ref name=gerarddegrootthebomb /><ref name=deegarrison /> Buckets of water were to be kept on each floor, and a fire extinguisher was ideal. Doors, or at least those that had not been used for making the lean-to variety of inner refuge, were to be closed to help prevent the spread of fire. The fire hazard from damaged gas, oil, and elecriticity supplies, and the resulting need to know where and how to turn these off, was stressed. The suitability of different types of housing stock was assessed. Those living in a block of flats were to avoid the top two floors and make alternative shelter arrangements (five storeys or more) or to shelter in the basement or the ground floor (up to four storeys). Single-storey homes such as bungalows were described as ill-suited for shelter purposes; if a shelter had to be made in such a building, householders were to select a place that was furthest away from the roof and outside walls as described earlier.<ref name=Young2019ps /> Those living in caravans or similar accommodation were to be advised on what to do by local authorities.<ref name=bellinirb>{{cite book |last1=Bellini |first1=James |title=Rule Britannia: A Progress Report for Domesday |year=1986 |orig-year=1981 |publisher=Cape |isbn=0224018981 |page=198}}</ref> ====Warnings and actions on warning==== The various warning signals were explained (and, in the films, were accompanied by recordings of how they would sound). An [[Four-minute warning|attack warning]] would involve sirens sounding a rising and falling note as well as warnings delivered via radio. A fallout warning would involve three loud bangs (from [[Maroon (rocket)|maroon rockets]]) or whistles in quick succession. When the immediate danger had passed, sirens would sound the all-clear with a steady note. On hearing the attack warning, people who were already at home (or could reach it within "a couple of minutes") were to send any children to the fallout room first, turn off gas, electricity, and oil supplies as described earlier, close stoves and damp down other fires, shut their windows and draw the curtains, and finally go to the fallout room. Those who could not reach their homes were to take cover in nearby buildings if they were not already indoors, or to take any other kind of cover if they could not reach a building in time, including lying flat in a ditch and covering up their hands and head.<ref name=grauniad160317 /> It was claimed that once an attack had ended there would be a short period before fallout started to descend; during this time, mains water was to be used for firefighting and for topping up water reserves, and then turned off. If the water supply was externally interrupted, water heaters and boilers (including hearth fires with back boilers) were to be extinguished and taps turned off. Fuel supplies were to be turned off if this had not been already done. Toilets were to be left unflushed and were to have their chains removed and their handles taped up in order to preserve the water in their cisterns.<ref name=grauniad160317 /> Any structural damage was to be countered by using curtains or sheets to cover up holes and broken windows. The survival kit was to be kept at hand if it was not already in the fallout room. Neighbours could be helped if the fallout warning had yet to be sounded. On hearing the fallout warning, those who were outdoors were to take indoors cover as soon as possible and wipe off as much dust from themselves as they could before entering, while those at home were to go to the fallout room if they had not done so already and stay inside the inner refuge for the next forty-eight hours. After this time had elapsed, the radiation risk would have lessened, but it was stressed that exposure could still be lethal and that people should remain at home until told via radio that it was safe to leave. Once the fallout risk was acceptably low, the house could initially be left for a few minutes to complete essential tasks (to be done by those aged over thirty if possible). To avoid bringing radioactive dust into the house, footwear was to be wiped down between excursions, and ideally separate outdoor footwear would be kept. If there were casualties from an attack, the household would have had to provide initial medical help. The radio was to be monitored for information on such medical services and facilities as might be available and on which cases were to be treated as urgent.<ref name=cnnprotectandsurvive /> Infamously,<ref>{{cite web |title=Doomsday, Target London 13, A Set of Photomontage Posters on Civil Defence in London |url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/15015 |website=[[Imperial War Museum]] |access-date=17 May 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ruiz |first1=Pollyanna |editor1-last=Ross |editor1-first=Karen |editor2-last=Price |editor2-first=Stuart |title=Popular Media and Communication: Essays on Publics, Practices and Processes |year=2008 |publisher=[[Cambridge Scholars Publishing]] |isbn=9781443810340 |page=178 |chapter=Walking the Net: Smooth Space and Alternative Media Forms}}</ref><ref name=gerarddegrootthebomb /> it was advised that the body of anyone who died in the fallout room was to be placed in another room and covered as securely as possible with an attached identification (in the relevant film, separate identifications were to be attached to both the body and its covering<ref name=worldend />). If no instructions were issued within five days on what to do next, the body was to be buried in a temporary grave as soon as it was safe to leave the house.<ref name=bellinirb /><ref name=cnnprotectandsurvive /><ref name=grauniad260704 /> Once the all clear had been sounded, there would no longer be any immediate danger and so normal activities could be resumed (though, as disarmament campaigners pointed out,<ref>{{cite web |title='On hearing the all-clear you may resume normal activities' |url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/15038 |website=[[Imperial War Museum]] |access-date=17 May 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Back to Normal! Target London 12, A Set of Photomontage Posters on Civil Defence in London |url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/15014 |website=[[Imperial War Museum]] |access-date=17 May 2025}}</ref> whether there would be any normal activities to be resumed was another question).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Clarke |first1=Bob |title=Britain's Cold War |year=2012 |publisher=History Press |isbn=9780752488257}}</ref>
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