Top Security For Secret Nuclear Bunker

Equipment and instrumentation from a Cold War nuclear bunker which aimed to detect a deadly attack and warn the public has been security marked with SelectaDNA to protect it for posterity.

The Royal Observer Corps Association monitoring post known as the ‘Skelmorlie Secret Bunker’ is 15 feet underground in a remote field near Largs in Ayrshire and is now a visitor attraction together with a small on-site museum.

Chief Observer (and now the museum’s curator) Frank Alexander took over the lease of the building in 2004 when it was just a shell. He fitted it out with authentic equipment in a bid to recreate the mood of an era when the nuclear threat was at its greatest. His interest was sparked by his work in radiation protection in the 1980s at Hunterston B Power Station.

A constant blip — ‘the sound of peace’ — emanates from a device on the wall. The noise would change to attack warning if a bomb was activated. The main pieces of kit are the ground zero indicator, designed to identify where a nuclear explosion had taken place, and a bomb power indicator — which would have measured the pressure caused by the blast. The final instrument, a radiation detector, could be pushed through a special hole in the bunker into a tube outside to gauge levels of radioactive fall out.

The historic equipment and instrumentation has been marked with SelectaDNA, a forensic solution which contains a unique DNA code that is now registered as belonging to the bunker. The product is almost invisible when applied and will not damage the property in any way.  Criminals view items marked with SelectaDNA as too high risk and are further put off from stealing them as they have little or no resale value. Deterrent warning signs were also erected to indicate that the bunker is now DNA protected.

Frank said: “The post at Skelmorlie was built in 1965 to monitor and report on the effects of a nuclear attack in the UK. It was one of a number of posts throughout the UK and acted as a reporting and monitoring system as part of the Civil Defence System set up by the British Government.”

A team of dedicated volunteers would wait for the message they hoped would never come.

The claustrophobic underground dug-out has a ventilation shaft and could accommodate a team of 10, with three people on duty at any one time.

Conditions were basic, with no mains electricity or water supply, and ration packs — including standard issue tins of tea and condensed milk — would have lasted for two weeks, along with water stored in a tank.

A bunk bed provided sleeping quarters for two members of off duty staff and there was also a chemical toilet.

At the height of the Cold War in the 1980s there were fears that Britain would be dragged into a nuclear conflict with American against Russia. Recalling those times, Frank said there was a real threat to the west of Scotland. He said: “There was an American presence in the UK with the American submarine base at the Holy Loch and the Royal Navy Base at Faslane.

"These were military targets in the area that obviously had an impact on the civilian population in the area. The fact that the bunker was never used was superb — we trained for a war scenario that we hoped would never happen.”

Frank says he’s had an excellent response from visitors who are fascinated by what they have seen.

He said: “I think people have an interest in history, particularly the fact that the Royal Observer Corps, although it wasn’t a secret organisation, didn’t go out its way to publicise the Cold War.

“Members had to sign the Official Secrets Act — it was serving as a civil defence army within the UK.”

The post at Skelmorlie was the first in Scotland to be restored and is only one of two in Scotland to be open to the public.

Website: http://skelmorliesecretbunker.co.uk/