Recently whilst looking at the Subbrit website I came across the ROC Post Survey pages, in particular the Southwick site. On Sunday 28th September I visited the site of the post to take photographs and to see how it differed from the photo on Subbrit.
According to the survey, the site opened in November 1962 and closed in October 1968. Subbrit also state;
OPEN Although the hatch is open the shaft is plugged with concrete one rung down the ladder. Externally the post is in poor condition, the top of the ventilation shaft and all the louvres are missing.
Which is true. The hatch opens but the shaft is still plugged with concrete. There is also evidence of drinking in the compound, which is no longer secure. There are also a number of either rabbit burrows or badger setts appearing in the site.
In 1957 the United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation (UKWMO) was set up under Home Office control. It was intended that UKWMO would provide civil and military authorities in Britain with information during a nuclear attack. The ROC would provide the first data on the positions and extent of the attack. This data would be used by UKWMO, in conjunction with weather information from the Meteorological Office, to produce a forecast of radioactive fallout. As this fallout occurred its strength and position would be mapped using data from posts, enabling further fallout forecasts to be given.
Here are some photos I took of the site (just a handful mind – I took over 40!).
Here’s another video, courtesy of Youtube
