BBC News - County Armagh bunker reveals secrets from the Cold War A County Armagh man is bringing to life memories of the Cold War. Alistair McCann has acquired and painstakingly restored what was one of almost 60 secret bunkers in Northern Ireland, manned by volunteers from the Royal Observer Corps (ROC) all through the Cold War. They formed part of a network of "monitoring" posts across the UK. The ROC's job was to "monitor" and "report" on any nuclear explosions and radioactive fallout if the war of words between the US and Russia had ever escalated. He now plans to open the bunker as a unique museum, partly to pay tribute to the courage of the men and women who worked in it. To step back in time, you have step inside an entry hatch and climb down a narrow shaft 12 ft under an anonymous field three miles outside Portadown. "The first couple of times you do it, you can feel a bit claustrophobic because it is quite a small confined space but the more you do it the more you get used to it," he said. 'Alternating shifts' Once inside, you enter a two room living quarters and operational area. "In the main monitoring room itself, the main features are obviously bunkbeds. During war time, there would have been three observers down here at a time, on 24 hours, basically alternating shifts. "Every 24 hours they would be replaced by another three and whoever was down here, if a bomb went off, they would be there for the period that the nuclear exchange lasted for." The volunteers were completely cut off from the "outside" world. "It's scary to think, that three men, even women as well, who were in the ROC would have been down in this post for three weeks while their families were up above ground," he said. "They wouldn't have known what happened to them and for many this would become their tomb because if a nuclear explosion had gone off quite close to us, you probably would survive the initial explosion but your chance of survival in the weeks and months after that would have been very, very slim." Do their duty As well as viewing the living conditions, visitors are also able to "see" and "handle" authentic equipment that would have been used during a nuclear war. A grim set of operating instructions urged the volunteers to ignore the walking wounded if they had to go above ground and to always simply do their duty. Mr McCann said it was important not to forget the past. "We've things in this country that really should be opened to the public, that's one of the reasons why I did it here, because you could live four or five hundred yards away from here and never have a clue what it was. "I just think people should know a bit about the different history of this country. "There is a lot we do know about but there is also a lot of it underground that people still don't know. "Hopefully this will give people a bit of a taste of about what could have happened." http://www.nibunker.co.uk/
Well, its certainly in better shape than the rotten one on a hilltop at Ballyregan above Newtownards! Is there a list of the 60 local ROC posts? The only other one I know of is the one at the Dub playing fields in Malone, the one the local branch of CND broke into after a Civil Defence exercise in the early 1980s and photographed all the maps of expected target areas in NI etc.before they could be taken down
Phylo see the link at the bottom of the quote ... they might at least know of some other locations, if not all. 58 of these posts were built in Northern Ireland and of these only one has been restored to its full operational state. It is situated in the picturesque setting of the County Armagh countryside, about 3 miles outside Portadown. It is open to the public by pre-arranged appointment and also on a number of special open days.
I have used a link to the R.O.C. via Subbrit website. There are plenty of them about but most are locked. Think one is being restored in Ballynahinch area and I clambered into an open one near Articlave last summer.
There are plenty of them about but most are locked. It's actually possible to buy the keys on the internet! They're not that complicated, you could actually MAKE them if you were anyway good with a welding kit and a hacksaw/file! They're just a long rod like you use to Lift ANY manhole....with two lugs in different positions at the bottom of the rod to turn catches below the hatch IIRC....then you use the crossbar at the top to lift it back like a normal manhole cover. There were ONLY ever three types/key patterns, depending on what part of the country you were in!
Hi Guys I am the guy that has restored the post in Portadown, glad to see that there is some interest from here in Northern Ireland. I have also restored Ballynahinch post but it is not open to the public, I have family history with this post and only restored it for that reason. On the subject of the location of the other posts, just ask, I have their location pretty much to memory! The keys to the posts you where talking about did indeed open the post hatch, it did not open the 2 large padlocks though! Of the 58 posts built there is only around 44 left, of these around 10 are still locked on the original padlocks, the rest are open to anyone who wants to venture down. Portadown will be having an open day on the 24th of July, you are all more than welcome to come down. Cheers. Alistair.
Thanks for the welcome, I have visited the site a few times in the past but thought it was about time I joined officially. I started the restoration in April, the weather was kind to me for that month so it didn't take long to restore the above ground portion, probably did most of it in 2 weekends. Below ground was a mess so it needed gutting out and repainting before be started sourcing the beds and other smaller bits. All-in it probably took me the guts of 3 months, most of that time I worked on it by myself, I had a few helpers who gave me a hand every now and then. Its been a real labor of love, it turned out far better than I thought it would. Craigavon Council as of yesterday added the post to its website and official events list so I am chuffed to bits with that. The open day next Saturday will hopefully be a busy day, I have received a good few emails from people so it should be good. I think the BBC are going to come down on the open day and do another piece similar to the one they did on the news last week. If any of you want to pop by your more than welcome, just drop me an email or simply turn up anytime next Saturday between 1100 & 1700.
Well done. So much is lost by way of casual neglect - this is a good example of a timely rescue and an act of preservation.
By the looks of the grass this was taken last week? I struggled with a lawnmower today for about an hour to cut it! I will be camping in the bunker on the 10th October to raise money for charity and also running a special event radio station from below ground, anyone that's in the area is more than welcome to come and say hello. Al.
By the looks of the grass this was taken last week? Yes. Snapped the picture by pure chance when I stumbled accross it driving up that concrete lane to see a man about man who knows a man that has BMW engine somewhere for sale . I live about two mile from the site and never knew of its existance. Knew an old genetleman who always claimed he worked on the construction of bunkers during the Cuban crisis era in Northern Ireland - one's under Gough Barracks etc. Will need to call up and visit the site on the 10th October and say hello. Its very well presented from my first impression. With regards to the Ballynahinch site is that up at Ballylone, as my mum - (a crossgar road lassie) recalls as a child something being built by the military ? Always feel that the Cold War era in Northern Ireland has been a hush hush subject due to the troubles from 1968 to 1994 but bunkers such as these are beginning to raise people awareness about this moment in our history. Its important to inform people these days Aaran
'Built among the hedges for Armageddon' video in link Cold War: 'Built among the hedges for Armageddon' The impact of two world wars on the landscape is well-documented and, in many cases, is marked by monuments and remembrance plaques. But one archaeologist is highlighting the lesser-known affect of the Cold War on Northern Ireland’s infrastructure. The Cold War refers to the period after World War Two when growing tensions between the Soviet Union and the US led to an arms race and the threat of renewed conflict. With both sides owning huge nuclear arsenals, the world faced the real possibility of nuclear conflict. In Northern Ireland, these events may have appeared distant, with the Troubles dominating local news during this period. But Dr James O’Neill has been unearthing the archaeological imprints of the Cold War on the landscape. Dr O’Neill worked in archaeology at Queen’s University and specialises in 20th century defence heritage. He has been commissioned by the Northern Ireland government to record what remains of airfields, radar stations and nuclear bunkers from the Cold War era. BBC News NI joined Dr O’Neill as he surveyed old radar stations at the site of a race track in County Down. Video journalist: Niall McCracken
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Hadn't noticed this. Say again: sod being in a Post! At least our nice sizeable bunker in Winchester had some space, & food stored. Even though I always suspected it'd have been a poisonous leaking deadzone/sheet of glass within days of 'the balloon going up'...
