The Secret Nuclear Bunker Built For the British Government 

No one talks about the X-Y band, a telephone line buried deep underground that went around the country, including Police Stations, it was a one way telephone line to send out orders to the regions. No reply could be made, you just listened. It was tested around 11pm every Sunday.

The government wouldn't get nowhere near it today. Would still be stuck on the M25 when the missiles hit.

In 1976 at 18 years old i had to go to Kelvedon Hatch to fix a Pye base station in a small building at the bottom of that mast. I could tell there was something unusual and special about that place, but had no idea there was a nuclear bunker underneath. It felt like a cross between a telephone exchange and an RAF base. Something about the style and the infrastructure. It was obviously more than just a comms site.

I have been to the bunker a few times and it’s absolutely fascinating. Mike’s voice can be heard on the audio wands that give you a commentary of what you see as you move through the layers. Definitely stepping back in time when you see some of the technology that was installed back in the day. The diesel tanks held enough fuel to power the place for 3 months. Great video !!

“Threads” absolutely terrified the s***e out of me. It seems so odd now to look back and realise how accepting we were of the Doomsday Clock and the prospect of nuclear war erupting. I always said if the sirens sounded I’d just go out into the street and wait for it, because there’d be no point in living afterwards!

I'm an engineer by profession, when I was an apprentice who worked on the building of Chilmark Bunker, an amazing place and massive learning curve, we had at the time sign the official secret act, with time that no longer applies 😀

When I visited in 2019 the recorded tour said that there would be a 'ring of steel' around the bunker as the nuclear threat was being deployed, half to keep people out who could be seekng shelter, and half to keep those already inside in, in case they had second thoughts and wanted to face the annihalation with loved one's trapped on the outside. I recommend a visit.

The story about the local pointing the way to the secret bunker reminds me of my friend when he was in the TA having to deliver to our local 'secret' bunker. He too got lost and had to ask for the MOD 'storage facility' and the local said "Oh, it's easy to find the fallout bunker mate, you just follow the good roads and avoid the potholed ones and you get straight there". I remember exploring in the woods behind the place as a child in the late 1960s or early 1970s and being chased off by armed guards.

Sarah Agha does a wonderful job on this story, which really needs to be told for the next generation. I am glad she mentioned R. Briggs' book 'When The Wind Blows'.. This made a v great impression upon me, back in the day. Well done. Nice one Sarah and team. 🌟👍

They did not build it as a refuge for central government. It was an RAF installation, part of the ROTOR network. When it became redundant it was then put to use a UKWMO Control until eventually became a regional govt bunker. The refuge for central govt was at Corsham in Wiltshire.

This place is well worth a visit. Absolutely shocked when I walked into that house and what was behind the facade. The place is vast. Very chilling.

Mr Parish is a very engaging and formative gentleman. Top man.

I've visited The secret nuclear bunker in Ongar Essex every year for years, not only is it a functional bunker, there's also an outdoor rope climb and archery for adults and kids and an operational hot and cold food canteen. On the bunker's grounds also resides a paintball range and go kart track too. Parts of the bunker's massive rooms can be hired out for private events. Mike's a great cheerful character, always happy to explain how things work in around the bunker to inquisitive minds, that's if you can catch him standing still long enough to ask him. If you haven't visited the Bunker, I'd highly recommend it, it's a good day out for the whole family.

The people who start the war stay safe while the people suffer

It's an interesting museum to visit, I haven't been for many years now. I used to go about 3 times a year for events held there and met Mike on many occasions, he was always a friendly bloke who knew he was custodian of a special location.

I volunteered and ran tours down at my local RSG (9 - Drakelow) - it was formerly a WW2 shadow factory too so attached to a couple of miles of tunnels in addition to the government office stuff. it's turned into wine storage now which is a shame but a few volunteers are using a small portion of it to create a mini Kelvedon style museum.

The Queen was supposed to be moved to the Royal yacht Britainia. It had a filtered, positive pressure system in most of the ship. It was also equipped with state of the art communications. The communications system was updated several times.

Wonderful documentary. Good to see Julie too from Atomic Hobo! Although, I can't get past the current steward of Kelvindon Hatch bearing a resemblance to Desmond Llewellyn.. Being shown around by Q from the Bond movies!

A very interesting view of the idea that a nuclear war is survivable & the use of bunkers to govern what was thought would be left of the UK afterwards. I was a tiny cog in this, as I was a member of the Royal Oberserver Corps. In my post - one of the many small reporting bunkers - we weren't under any illusions of surviving. The "protective" kit we had was... a duffel coat. A Naval duffel coat, to be precise. One of them in my post was dated 1944. We had no NBC suits or respirators. In my post, we generally reckoned we wouldn't even survive 24 hours IF our bunker wasn't destroyed when the bombs detonated.

I remember when this first opened as a museum the owners were optimistically advertising pre-booked places in the bunker in the event of war. It occurred to me at the time it would be very naive of anyone to purchase a space there because if things suddenly went south the gov't would seize that and every other available and half suitable bunker back in an instant, buy back clause or not.

Fantastic documenrary. Very well done. I was with the RAF in 1983 when we came down to the bone, a holocaust was averted by Stanislav Petrov. The USSR had a Computer prob that showed that the west had launched ICBMs, the Kremlin was almost about to launch when he stepped in and stopped it

It's always nice to know the people that caused nuclear war will be just fine

I live only seven or Eight miles from the bunker at Kelvedon Hatch, and I've never been there, but now I have decided to visit as it look fascinating! I'm really looking forward to it.

Thank you, this is a splendid documentary.

Visited Kelvedon a few months ago, very impressive and chilling. Speaking of which, it's bloody cold down there too, dress warm if you go!

Fascinating to see this so recent but hidden history and Sarah's another good presenter on the channel.

Fantastic programme. I agree about Threads! It's still indelibly etched in my brain. Especially the end! Can only pray it never happens.

I visited kelvedon hatch bunker earlier this year in February it was fantastic it was like walking back in time!

As someone who was trained to fight a warmed up Cold War (1970s-1980s) this film brought back some odd memories, particularly the boiled sweets. I remember 1983 was a particularly nervous year for the military and the general public seemed to be largely unaware The manikins of the reincarnated Maggie Thatcher in this museum would put me off visiting the place; I spent an afternoon with that particular woman back in the early 1980s and that was enough thanks. The official Cold War Museum at RAF Cosford (Telford, Shropshire) is a stunning place to visit, lots of social commentary as well as fascinating military hardware housed in an architectural masterpiece. Please remember that Mr Putin still has thousands of thermonuclear weapons and a disquieting number of those are pointed in our direction. The idea that the Cold War actually ended is perhaps moot, maybe it is just different and almost as worrying.

Fascinating video. Well done!

Amazing story. I had no idea about this. Thanks for showing us this documentary.

Thank you so much for this well researched account of Britains Cold War strategy.

Wonderful and frightening documentary. I love this channel!

visited this place in 2019, whilst on holiday in the UK. eerie but fascinating.

excellent film...congratulations historyhit

I’ve been to Kelvedon Hatch a number of times, it’s incredibly interesting to have a look around. Well worth a visit.

Greetings from Brazil, and thanks for this video.

Cities across the United States had similar, but markedly smaller bunkers. Two of the largest I'm aware of were in Portland Oregon, and Greenbrier West Virginia (Greenbrier was for the U.S. Congress and Presidential Cabinet). In New Orleans there was one for the City Government, located underground on West End Blvd. that I would see everyday as a child. I actually had the opportunity to visit it and get the two penny tour one year before it was abandoned in 1987. Now no one hardly knows it was there... it's covered over with condominiums. It could "house" approximately 100 people, had a radio/TV station, infirmary, armory, kitchen. It was staffed 24/7 from 1958 to 1987

Great film thank you for uploading

Fantastic episode!

Brilliant presentation and contributors. I'm a new subscriber 😊

Those "Protect and Survive" ads on telly absolutely terrified me as a child in the early 80's as there was a few moments when the threat was growing but luckily, things calmed down.

This was a fabulous documentary 👏 awesome work.

Seeing the Thatcher doll gave me the creeps. Even after all these years she is a horror figure.

Very interesting film. I remember the "Protect and Survive" booklet being delivered to my home and the infomercials on TV at the time. Scary uncertain times a bit like now...😬🤪😂

That was a really interesting documentary!!

Love your work 👍

We have a similar one outside of Ottawa, Canada. It is currently a pretty neat museum called the Diefenbunker.

Fascinating documentary, and rather well timed. My mum always tells stories of the time when people were practicing in case of a nuclear attack. My nanna used to have drills with my mum and her siblings where they had to put things around, and get under the table. I quite often giggle at the idea of them practicing for any kind of bomb and expecting to survive with a kitchen table surrounded by other household items. I can never work out if my Nan would have thought the table was stronger than the house, or whether it was to protect them from debris. It must have been terrifying for them. I think it’s clear if there was a nuclear attack, we wouldn’t survive it, let’s just hope the superpowers remember those three key words “mutually assured destruction!”

I did a ghost hunt there years ago and the place is creepy. Feels like someone is watching you around the toilets

Wow absolutely fascinating thank you

They didn't bother building enough bunkers for anyone else. thanks UK govt.

Awesome, got me subbed!!

Threads was horrifying to see as a child! It seared the fear into my mind too. I was around 8 years old when some idiot that was supposed to run a silent test of the siren infrastructure actually set them all off, for the entire north of the county. It was early, before school, and I remember the sinking feeling and screaming at my parents to take us to the bunker... I knew there was one, just not where exactly, and it would have been at least 7 miles away and we didn't have a car. My mum thoughtfully tuned into the local radio station which was already issuing apologetic notices on behalf of the county council. The sound of those sirens chills me to the bone to this day.

I actually live near here, it's pretty funny to see road signs to the "secret" nuclear bunker

Enjoyed this

Threads was scary as hell. And when The Wind Blows, even the Protect and Survive was scary as a kid. I remember being told about the 4 minute warning but everyone said they didn't know what that would be. Much like in the episode of Only Fools & Horses The Russians are Coming, great episode. There is always something I find strangely cosy about these bunkers.

I was a member of the now defunct Royal Observer Corps in the late 70s. We regularly held weekends exercises on a wartime footing plotting fictitious detonations around the country and predicting fallout. Horrificaly realistic.

I used to plan as a child how I and where I would hide when a bomb was dropped. Crazy to look back on.

It's well worth a visit ...bit of a hidden gem

I think I'd rather get vaporised instantly at ground zero at least that way I would not know any different. Otherwise I've got a wheelie bin I could hide in, I could give that a whirl.

I've just found a 'nuclear war bunker' near where I live in Kent, UK. Probably can only see the vent shafts and not go in, but hey-ho. Excellent video! Amazing how many hundreds of millions was spent on the bunker system - and never used! Presumably they thought it was worth it at the time. Well, they did

There's one under Dorchester Library. I had to visit it when I was in the Fire Brigade in the 1990s. It was well dated even then.

What hardly anybody realises, is that the nuclear threat was never completely removed, only reduced. Today, it seems the threat has returned, but in a slightly different configuration.

MOLD Clywyd North Wales, nuclear bunker under the fire station. When they washed the engines water dripped through the ceiling, of the two blast doors, one was substantial but the money ran out and the second was a UPVC front door.

Been there and its pretty interesting but years before that, some 23 or so years ago, we used to park our cars in the access tunnel to smoke joints, was a tight fit with the wheels slightly up the wall of the tube and mirrors pulled in lol. This bunker was replaced and it was not that bunkers were just closed, the new one is accessed from an unmarked slip road on the M25 and is still operational as far as i know.

Nice!

farmhouses don't usually have a concrete loading bay either lol

I played paintball in the woods near the bunker back in 1991 just before then end of the cold war and the bunker was still in operation. During a break we bimbeld over and was told to go away by a military guard who was hanging around near the bungalow. We went back to the paintball site for a brew.

i went there a few years ago, brilliant trip

I think the doors against the wall shelter was more intended to make sure everyone was buried nice and neatly at home easing the risk of anarchy and disease.

I went there. Didn't half give me the heebeegeebees!!. It was so scary being below ground and the models of the people were so grey. There was a model of John Major when we went. Could not get out of there fast enough!

My Grandfather was based at Kelvedon Hatch underground unit during his RAF service in the 1950s, the bunker wasnt built for the government at first. After the RAF no longer required it, the role changed for the Government use. The people in the area knew that the 'bunker' was there, they saw it being built. What they did not know was what went on inside the bunker. The bunker was part of ROTOR for the south east of the UK, RAF Fighter Command, Missle Command and Anti Aircraft Command. It was manned during the height of the Cold War. I still wonder with the quality of History Hit TV, at no time was Britain reliant on American fighters intercepting the Russian 'Bears'. The Hawker Hunter, that entered service in 1954, had a maximum cieling of 50,000ft, while the Russian Bear Tu-95 had a maximum cieling of 45,000. The British aircraft industry led the way for early Jets, even the Gloster Meteor could fly at 43,000ft, and the Gloster Javelin could reach 54,000ft. The EE Lightining entering service in 1960, could reach the height of the Russian bombers, much faster than any other fighter, it was basically a rocket. Its weakness was its fuel capacity, it could reach the required height, but would need to immediatley refuel once reaching it. Are we really meant to believe the RAF, did not have an aircraft capable of intercepting the Russian TU-95 for eight years? The RAF was the ariel defence of our country, and was tasked with dropping our nuclear weapons if the ballon went up. What would of been better for public moral, telling them they had a chance of survival, or that it was pointless? The Government did not build bunkers for its self, they built radar and communication bunkers for the RAF, that once they were no longer required, were given over to civil defence use by the Government. When the bunkers were built, they were only as good as the day they were designed. The bunkers that were built, would of been manned in the build up to the collapse of international relationships by the Government. The RAF manned Kelvedon Hatch throughout its use by the RAF, with attached Royal Artillery secondments. RAF personnel were regularly tested, to see if they were not discussing sensitive information. On the coach or truck from RAF North Weald, there would often be a penetration test done, by a new man getting on board and asking questions. Anyone that gave away information, would be taken away. Having lived through the Blitz on London, his RAF service and Army service, my Grandpa was mentally reassured by the MAD status that went on throughout the Cold War.

I loved my time at Kelvedon hatch, but A) The first atomic bomb was dropped at a quarter past eight and not a quarter past nine and B) The explosion footage afterwards was from the Nagasaki bomb.

The new london bunker is at the end of a underground tunnel that they made when they built the channel tunnel they used that cover to removal all the spoil and it is massive....

Tons of jewels displayed in the video. These are just a few that I caught ;) 22:58, 35:09 Creed teletype model 444, lots of them throughout the video. 35:41 On top of the cabinet in the back. Telegraph Distortion Measuring Set made by ATE, local and remote unit for testing telex lines. 35:09, left side, Creed 6s mechanical paper tape reader, with some paper tape perforator behind, that I cannot identify 35:18 British Telecom "Cheetah" 87C/32K Telex from 1984, you can see the tape reader immeditely below the screen. 40:44 At the front, a Commodore 8250 40:44 & 41:29 At the very back, it seems a back view of a Commodore 8296 or similar (a roundy design)

I'm glad I didn't have to watch 'Threads' as a three-year old, but I remember as a kid in Greater London in the Sixties listening to the WWII sirens going off, and thinking I've got four minutes to live (this was the folklore about how long you had to prepare from incoming hydrogen bombs.) I used to count to two hundred and forty, and I was still there... It was the monthly siren test, but I never got used to them, a month is a long time when you're a kid. Bring back the sirens, people take note of them, unlike electronic drivel!

the only warning now will be the lights going out, often with loud bangs, and then widespread electrical fires.... and then whatever blast waves will hit along with ground shocks...

Pity the BBC Wartime Broadcasting Service (WTBS) studio at 44' looks more like a store room for old broadcast kit than the actual studio setup. The rack of kit behind the presenter is a genuine BBC Deferred Facilities (DF) RSG studio rack. But no way would all that kit be in the studio. The essence of the WTBS DF kit was simplicity as, in the event, keeping it going was the key. "Chewing gum and string" was the term mentioned to me by those chosen to be part of the WTBS.

Now that the exact GPS coordinates of this facility is no secret the only question is if the structure can withstand the Khinsall missile which dives at 7 times the speed of sound.

Funny Churchill added himself to the conversation about dropping the bomb. Like him seducing FDR. What a character. Would have been great to me both.

I’ve been here, it’s honestly such a strange experience, I don’t quite know why tbh

27:22 " hanging on " nice message from the producer/director

Wow, I remember 'Threads'

There's loads of abandoned underground bunkers in the UK, I suggest you find out where your nearest is, because it's getting spicey

Everyone should read “on the beach” by Neville Shute

A very thought provoking , well thought out and presented episode. Even with its sombre subject. There are many other aspects that were not covered especially the military side I would like to see in a future episode. I think what hit me the most was I lived during some of those times (Born in the 70s) and it was a real thing that was in the back of you mind, My mother told me of her fear during the Cuban missile crisis, both her and my Farther served in the RAF. My mother served in many bunkers and a Radar specialist. My dad was told they would have to protect the air base from Civilians by shooting them at the fence line in the event of a Nuclear war. Scary stuff.

I had just been watching this, when suddenly a strange loud sound came over my phone,23rd April 2023, now I know what to do do 😂🤣I’ve just had my emergency test alert message in case of immediate danger 🤣😂

There is still an air raid siren on top of the fire station where I live outside Glasgow as I live only about 30 miles from the nuclear submarine base at faslane on the Clyde I don’t think the governments new text warning will help me in anyway 😂

Happy to die swiftly in complete ignorance personally. The thought of dying slowly in a bunker and knowing it, would be dreadful...literally.

The title gives the impression there is only one of them. WTF?

Powerful

The section on Tim Berners-Lee is a bit confused, I’m afraid. The internet was based on DARPANET, an American initiative for survivable communications during the Cold War. The World Wide Web, which TBL is credited with creating, is the hyperlink method where you can click on links to go to sites and documents.

15:24 RAF Holmpton is in East Yorkshire not North Yorkshire 😉. Its just outside Withernsea

Must be nice to have an abandoned but still maintained nuclear refuge facility in your backyard. At least their family wouldn't have to wonder where they were going to go.

Was it really secret? I thought everyone knew about these places. Every District Council has one of these somewhere. In Reading it was built under the old Berkshire County Council building (when the County Council still existed) I believe it is still there though the building is now owned by a company. In Exeter it is on the outskirts by the side of the A38, you can still see the Air intakes sticking out of the ground.

Scary times.

The best place to be in an all out nuclear war is right under the tip of the nearest ICBM.

I was watching this video before going to sleep in April, the next morning I was woken by the siren sound of the government emergency alerts system test.. 🤯

this has got to be one of the most amazing and brilliant, history lessons on history hit that i have watched so far, even if the whole idea of nuclear war is frightening, which it should be, and so the only way that you can watch this video is hiding beneath your bed covers, and the only way that anyone could possibly survive a nuclear war would be to not launch that missile in the first place, because once someone presses that button, and then off course the other side also pushed there button in revenge, there is no coming back from that moment, and if you still want to drop an atomic or hydrogen bomb on someone, just ask the survivors in japan how well that turned out for them, because the lucky ones may well be the ones that die straight away from the blast, and any survivors may well end up with all sorts of new health problems to deal with, like slowly dying from cancer, or whatever, and even if you can apparently survive in this bunker, goodness knows what it`s going to be like for the poor souls outside of it, and i love the fact that an apparent secret nuclear bunker has a sign post to it, and i don`t know what i was transfixed by more, all the scary things being said, or the fact that we was being told by the lovely and beautiful goddess that is sarah agha, who if i was not being distracted by her lovely long hair, and beautiful eyes, then it was the sound of her silky voice, i think that she could perhaps educate me about anything, please for the love of god tell me that i can also watch other videos that she has made.