Wartime Broadcasting Service
Encyclopedia
The Wartime Broadcasting Service was a service of the BBC
that was intended to broadcast in the United Kingdom either after a nuclear attack or if conventional bombing destroyed regular BBC facilities in a conventional war (or during the conventional phase).
plans to disperse BBC staff to facilities such as Wood Norton
to guarantee due functioning of the corporation if cities such as London, Belfast
, Glasgow and Edinburgh
were attacked by the Luftwaffe
.
In the post-war era, plans were revised so that the Wartime Broadcasting Service would cope with a nuclear strike by installing 54 low powered transmitters and keeping (what remained of) the main transmitter network in reserve, in case Soviet
bombers used them to home in on targets. Although vague, plans from the mid 1950s were to provide both a national and regional radio service 24 hours a day (mirroring peacetime BBC operations at the time) with the objective of “to provide instruction, information and encouragement as far as practical by means of guidance, news and diversion to relieve stress and strain”. The word "diversion" may have implied entertainment, which was to be provided by records and pre-recorded programmes. BBC executives drafted a schedule made up of music, drama, comedy, and religious programmes to be broadcast over a period of 100 days after a nuclear attack on the United Kingdom.
From the early 1960s onward, the threat was more likely to be from ICBMs rather than bombers (except in the early conventional phase) and the main transmitter network was brought back into use with the cable carrying the signal to the Droitwich transmitter diverted through Wood Norton (the hub of the WTBS). By the end of the decade, existing transmitters were fitted with emergency diesel generator
s and fallout protection.
From the 1980s until the end of the cold war, the BBC planned to broadcast for only a few hours a day and for a few minutes each hour, the intention being to save batteries in people's radios. There would be no entertainment content for this reason and partially so that official messages could get through. With the end of the Cold War, the BBC deactivated the studios and emergency transmitter networks in 1993 as surplus to requirements. Many of these studios have become exhibits in bunkers, like the Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker
, which have now been converted into museums.
With the end of the cold war
, the Northern Ireland Peace Process
and the threat of Islamist terrorism, the Wartime Broadcasting Service was rendered obsolete by changes in the political landscape. All warnings and information on a terrorist attack would now come from regular news channels in the form of an extended newsflash, interrupting and suspending programmes only for a few hours. A good example would be the coverage of the 2005 London bombings and 9/11, where the event was its own warning. However, under the Broadcasting Act 1980
, the government still has the legal right to take over editorial control of both the BBC and what was called the Independent Broadcasting Authority
in time of a national emergency.
and ITV
would suspend normal programming, broadcast the frequencies for the Wartime Broadcasting Service and go off-air an hour later (television would only be used to broadcast Protect and Survive
public information film
s and would not be available after an attack due to their susceptibility to electromagnetic pulse
). At this point, one single national programme would be broadcast on BBC Radio 4
from Wood Norton. This would consist of official government announcements and information interspersed with filler material, such as music, news and warnings. The four minute warning
itself would be injected from a special studio at Broadcasting House
and be broadcast nationally on all television and radio stations when a coded signal from RAF High Wycombe
was given. This studio would also be used by government ministers to broadcast messages and announcements until the government left London late in the crisis phase (or during the precautionary period).
After an attack, there would also be a regional service tailored to local needs located in regional seats of government. Regional controllers would use these smaller BBC studios to give out local messages to communities and would be manned by BBC staff. If conventional air attacks destroyed peacetime broadcasting facilities, the Wartime Broadcasting Service would also be activated.
Regular drills and training exercises were held to give an air of realism, but many BBC staff saw them as pointless or declined to serve during a national emergency because they couldn't take their families with them. One anonymous insider said:
. It would be broadcast every two hours on all radio frequencies set aside for the BBC for the first twelve hours after the attack. The script was released by the BBC under the Freedom of Information Act on 3 October 2008.
Jim Black, a BBC executive, compiled a schedule consisting of classic BBC drama, comedy and religious programmes to maintain morale. These included Round The Horne
, I'm Sorry, I Haven't A Clue, Hancock's Half Hour
and the Rogers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music
. Drama programmes included The Afternoon Play and Thirty Minute Theatre. From the 1980s until 1993, the entertainment content was dropped and only official announcements would be broadcast.
, chief continuity announcer for BBC Radio 4
(the designated national broadcaster in a national emergency):
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
that was intended to broadcast in the United Kingdom either after a nuclear attack or if conventional bombing destroyed regular BBC facilities in a conventional war (or during the conventional phase).
Origins and history
The origins of the service lie in pre-World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
plans to disperse BBC staff to facilities such as Wood Norton
Wood Norton, Worcestershire
Wood Norton Hall is a Grade II listed Victorian stately home near Evesham, Worcestershire, England. It was the last home in England of Prince Philippe, Duke of Orléans, who claimed the throne of France...
to guarantee due functioning of the corporation if cities such as London, Belfast
Belfast Blitz
The Belfast Blitz was an event that occurred on the night of Easter Tuesday, 15 April 1941 during World War II. Two hundred bombers of the German Air Force attacked the city of Belfast in Northern Ireland. Nearly one thousand people died as a result of the bombing and 1,500 were injured. In terms...
, Glasgow and Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
were attacked by the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
.
In the post-war era, plans were revised so that the Wartime Broadcasting Service would cope with a nuclear strike by installing 54 low powered transmitters and keeping (what remained of) the main transmitter network in reserve, in case Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
bombers used them to home in on targets. Although vague, plans from the mid 1950s were to provide both a national and regional radio service 24 hours a day (mirroring peacetime BBC operations at the time) with the objective of “to provide instruction, information and encouragement as far as practical by means of guidance, news and diversion to relieve stress and strain”. The word "diversion" may have implied entertainment, which was to be provided by records and pre-recorded programmes. BBC executives drafted a schedule made up of music, drama, comedy, and religious programmes to be broadcast over a period of 100 days after a nuclear attack on the United Kingdom.
From the early 1960s onward, the threat was more likely to be from ICBMs rather than bombers (except in the early conventional phase) and the main transmitter network was brought back into use with the cable carrying the signal to the Droitwich transmitter diverted through Wood Norton (the hub of the WTBS). By the end of the decade, existing transmitters were fitted with emergency diesel generator
Diesel generator
A diesel generator is the combination of a diesel engine with an electrical generator to generate electrical energy....
s and fallout protection.
From the 1980s until the end of the cold war, the BBC planned to broadcast for only a few hours a day and for a few minutes each hour, the intention being to save batteries in people's radios. There would be no entertainment content for this reason and partially so that official messages could get through. With the end of the Cold War, the BBC deactivated the studios and emergency transmitter networks in 1993 as surplus to requirements. Many of these studios have become exhibits in bunkers, like the Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker
Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker
The Secret Nuclear Bunker at Kelvedon Hatch, in the Borough of Brentwood in the English county of Essex, is a large underground bunker maintained during the cold war as a potential regional government headquarters...
, which have now been converted into museums.
With the end of the cold war
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, the Northern Ireland Peace Process
Northern Ireland peace process
The peace process, when discussing the history of Northern Ireland, is often considered to cover the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican Army ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of the Troubles, the Belfast Agreement, and subsequent political developments.-Towards a...
and the threat of Islamist terrorism, the Wartime Broadcasting Service was rendered obsolete by changes in the political landscape. All warnings and information on a terrorist attack would now come from regular news channels in the form of an extended newsflash, interrupting and suspending programmes only for a few hours. A good example would be the coverage of the 2005 London bombings and 9/11, where the event was its own warning. However, under the Broadcasting Act 1980
Broadcasting Act 1980
The Broadcasting Act 1980 was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. It was repealed by the Broadcasting Act 1981, though the provisions of the Act remained in force....
, the government still has the legal right to take over editorial control of both the BBC and what was called the Independent Broadcasting Authority
Independent Broadcasting Authority
The Independent Broadcasting Authority was the regulatory body in the United Kingdom for commercial television - and commercial/independent radio broadcasts...
in time of a national emergency.
Operation
The decision to activate the service would be taken at Cabinet level late in the crisis phase. On being given the order, the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
would suspend normal programming, broadcast the frequencies for the Wartime Broadcasting Service and go off-air an hour later (television would only be used to broadcast Protect and Survive
Protect and Survive
Protect and Survive was a public information series on civil defence produced by the British government during the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was intended to inform British citizens on how to protect themselves during a nuclear attack, and consisted of a mixture of pamphlets, radio broadcasts,...
public information film
Public information film
Public Information Films are a series of government commissioned short films, shown during television advertising breaks in the UK. The US equivalent is the Public Service Announcement .-Subjects:...
s and would not be available after an attack due to their susceptibility to electromagnetic pulse
Electromagnetic pulse
An electromagnetic pulse is a burst of electromagnetic radiation. The abrupt pulse of electromagnetic radiation usually results from certain types of high energy explosions, especially a nuclear explosion, or from a suddenly fluctuating magnetic field...
). At this point, one single national programme would be broadcast on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
from Wood Norton. This would consist of official government announcements and information interspersed with filler material, such as music, news and warnings. The four minute warning
Four minute warning
The four minute warning was a public alert system conceived by the British Government during the Cold War and operated between 1953 and 1992 when the system was dismantled after the cold war ended...
itself would be injected from a special studio at Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House is the headquarters and registered office of the BBC in Portland Place and Langham Place, London.The building includes the BBC Radio Theatre from where music and speech programmes are recorded in front of a studio audience...
and be broadcast nationally on all television and radio stations when a coded signal from RAF High Wycombe
RAF High Wycombe
RAF High Wycombe is a Royal Air Force station, situated in the village of Walters Ash, near High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England. Its purpose is to serve the needs of the RAF Air Command, situated on the site. It is also the headquarters of the European Air Group...
was given. This studio would also be used by government ministers to broadcast messages and announcements until the government left London late in the crisis phase (or during the precautionary period).
After an attack, there would also be a regional service tailored to local needs located in regional seats of government. Regional controllers would use these smaller BBC studios to give out local messages to communities and would be manned by BBC staff. If conventional air attacks destroyed peacetime broadcasting facilities, the Wartime Broadcasting Service would also be activated.
Regular drills and training exercises were held to give an air of realism, but many BBC staff saw them as pointless or declined to serve during a national emergency because they couldn't take their families with them. One anonymous insider said:
"I can't blame them for deciding there were better ways to go than to sit in a bunker with a group of local radio engineers."
Programmes for broadcast
Initially, a post attack statement (see below) would be broadcast confirming a nuclear strike had hit the United Kingdom and warning of the dangers of falloutNuclear fallout
Fallout is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and shock wave have passed. It commonly refers to the radioactive dust and ash created when a nuclear weapon explodes...
. It would be broadcast every two hours on all radio frequencies set aside for the BBC for the first twelve hours after the attack. The script was released by the BBC under the Freedom of Information Act on 3 October 2008.
Jim Black, a BBC executive, compiled a schedule consisting of classic BBC drama, comedy and religious programmes to maintain morale. These included Round The Horne
Round the Horne
Round the Horne was a BBC Radio comedy programme, transmitted in four series of weekly episodes from 1965 until 1968. The series was created by Barry Took and Marty Feldman - with others contributing to later series after Feldman returned to performing — and starred Kenneth Horne, with Kenneth...
, I'm Sorry, I Haven't A Clue, Hancock's Half Hour
Hancock's Half Hour
Hancock's Half Hour was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy, series of the 1950s and 60s written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock, with Sid James; the radio version also co-starred, at various times, Moira Lister, Andrée Melly, Hattie Jacques, Bill Kerr...
and the Rogers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
. Drama programmes included The Afternoon Play and Thirty Minute Theatre. From the 1980s until 1993, the entertainment content was dropped and only official announcements would be broadcast.
Official post attack statement
The following is the script of an official statement that would be broadcast on the Wartime Broadcasting Service in the hours after an attack. It was recorded by Peter DonaldsonPeter Donaldson
Peter Ian Donaldson is a main newsreader on BBC Radio 4.He was born in Cairo, Egypt and moved to Cyprus in 1952 at the time of the overthrow of King Farouk. He was a frequent listener to the BBC World Service and the BFBS....
, chief continuity announcer for BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
(the designated national broadcaster in a national emergency):
See also
- Four minute warningFour minute warningThe four minute warning was a public alert system conceived by the British Government during the Cold War and operated between 1953 and 1992 when the system was dismantled after the cold war ended...
- Protect and SurviveProtect and SurviveProtect and Survive was a public information series on civil defence produced by the British government during the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was intended to inform British citizens on how to protect themselves during a nuclear attack, and consisted of a mixture of pamphlets, radio broadcasts,...
- Transition To WarTransition To WarTransition to war is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization military term referring to a period of international tension during which government and society move to an open war footing...
- Emergency Broadcast SystemEmergency Broadcast SystemThe Emergency Broadcast System was an emergency warning system in the United States, used from 1963 to 1997, when it was replaced by the Emergency Alert System.-Purpose:...
- BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
(The designated national broadcaster in a national emergency) - Central Government War HeadquartersCentral Government War HeadquartersThe Central Government War Headquarters is a complex built underground as the United Kingdom's Emergency Government War Headquarters - the hub of the country's alternative seat of power outside London during a nuclear war or conflict with the Soviet Union...
- HawthornHawthorn, WiltshireHawthorn is the location of a number of defence related underground facilities in the vicinity of Corsham, Wiltshire. Specifically the Hawthorn site was the location of an above-ground bunker used for the planning of satellite communications support to the United Kingdom's armed forces worldwide. ...
- Civil Contingencies SecretariatCivil Contingencies SecretariatThe Civil Contingencies Secretariat, created in July 2001, is the department of the British Cabinet Office responsible for emergency planning in the UK. The role of the secretariat is to ensure the United Kingdom’s resilience against disruptive challenge, and to do this by working with others to...
- RAF Rudloe ManorRAF Rudloe ManorRAF Rudloe Manor, formerly RAF Box, was a Royal Air Force station located north-east of Bath, United Kingdom between the towns of Box and Corsham, in Wiltshire...
- Corsham Computer CentreCorsham Computer CentreCorsham Computer Centre is an underground British Ministry of Defence installation in Corsham, Wiltshire, built in the 1980s. According to the MoD, the centre "processes data in support of the Royal Navy"...
- Continuity of governmentContinuity of governmentContinuity of government is the principle of establishing defined procedures that allow a government to continue its essential operations in case of nuclear war or other catastrophic event....
- Hack Green Secret Nuclear BunkerHack Green Secret Nuclear BunkerThe Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker is a former government-owned nuclear bunker located at Hack Green, Cheshire, England.- History :The first military use of the area was in World War II, when a Starfish site was established at Hack Green...
- WGU-20Wgu-20WGU-20, also known as "the last radio station," was operated by the United States Defense Civil Preparedness Agency in the mid-to-late 1970s.-Public Emergency Radio:...