Cold War Sites to Visit
The WTBS was just a small part of the UK Cold War Civil and Military Defence of the UK. To find out more about this significant, but often overlooked part of history, use these links to visit museums and related locations.
The Cold War Network
From the CWN website: The Cold War Network facilitates collaboration and knowledge exchange among individuals and organisations with an interest in the Cold War era and who own, manage or curate a Cold War site or collection or are involved in related research.
They offer an interactive map of UK museums and visitor attractions which are within former Cold War sites, or which have Cold War related collections.
Click on the map, or the button below, to take you there:
Coldwar.org.uk
Nuclear War in the UK – Communicating the Unthinkable, is a, well-informed, blog detailing how Britain, in the Cold War period, dealt with the threat of nuclear attack. A book, see left, accompanies the website and is recommended.
RAF Museum - Cosford
The RAF Museum at RAF Cosford has an excellent Cold War exhibition hall.
As the musum website states:
The story of the Cold War is much larger than one of aviation alone; this exhibition also highlights the social history of the era, as well as technological achievements which evolved from the competition between East and West, through to the eventual dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
It's free to visit as well!
English Heritage - York ROC Bunker
The York UKWMO ROC Sector Control bunker is the organisation's most modern site: Much different from the usual castles and manor houses!
It would have monitored nuclear explosions and fallout across the Yorkshire region if the Cold War had turned hot.
You can book a guided visit to the bunker via the English Heritage website.
NOTE: As part of UKWMO (UK Warning & Monitoring Organisation) and staffed by the Royal Observer Corps, these bunkers were never fitted with BBC WTBS studios.
It's still worth a visit though!