Civil Defence in 1964



This frankly scary series of 7 films (this is No.2) were produced by the Home Office in 1964 for transmission to the British public, should a nuclear confrontation look likely. There was also an accompanying pamphlet, Civil Defence Handbook Number 10, the precursor to Protect & Survive, advising householders what to do in the event of an attack (because something must always be done). Its pitiful to watch these demonstrations of people trying to protect themselves from H-bombs with old boxes and turf rolls.

The state-run Civil Defence Movement began to buckle in the face of the new hydrogen weapons tested in the 1950, when it was realised that existing (and possibly any) measures were woefully inadequate. Government funding was gradually reduced as weapons developments made mass civil defence obsolete.

I've just come across this book which examines Civil Defence in more detail.
After The Bomb: Civil Defence and Nuclear War in Cold War Britain, 1945-68 by Matthew Grant.