This is my first post on here, so here goes! 
Apologies in advance about the picture quality…They were taken on my phone (Forgot the camera! )
The Guiseley Post was built in July 1958 as part of the ROC’s re-structured role to provide the UK with Nuclear Warfare analysis as well as a meteorological fallout service. It was decommissioned in September 1991 following the fall of the Soviet Union, and shortly after this posts closure came the inevitable disbandment of the UKWMO. This post was part of a ‘cluster’ of other posts that were under the regional control of No. 20 Group ROC (YORK). Accompanying the bunker is a brick-built aircraft spotting post, still in a structurally good condition.
The external part of the post was in reasonably good repair. The shaft head around the hatch had obviously been repainted in more recent times and the slightly damaged BPI mount along with the ventilation filter shaft were still intact. The view from up there was also brilliant! Though it was obvious that we weren’t the first ones up to visit this site for a while… Yet we pressed on.
Alas! “Where there’s a will” and all that.
Down the shaft we went! Must have been a good 15-20ft from the hatch to the sump at the bottom. On reaching the bottom we found that the hand-pump that connected to the sump was missing and probably had been for some time…
The Toilet… Haha, No nasty surprises thank God!
The actual loo accompanied with a standard MOD issue Jerry Can, along with a couple of oil cans, including a pot of paint, similar to the colour of the external entrance area.
The main operating room; we were a bit apprehensive about opening the door to be honest! I think we were expecting to see either a dead body or something equally daft, or find the shelter trashed up/burnt out. In fact, we were shocked to see that it was more-or-less in good nick! Not quite how it would have been left in ’91 I expect, but still complete with many of its original items. Bunk beds still assembled with mattresses, the main working table, stools neatly placed under the table, the makeshift splint.
Sadly, on looking around we noticed a few of the items that were logged on a previous visit weren’t there anymore . The famous blue boxed teletalk was missing, a few documents included and the chunky storage case for the portable warning siren probably had its contents removed long ago. The actual BPI gauge was not there, though I expect this was removed on the posts shutdown in ’91?
Here are some of the existing relics around the place.
A lot of the telecom equipment still exists. This unit accommodates the “Push to Talk” Button that presumably would have been an open line to the other posts and the regional command centre in York. “YORK 30” was the label attached to this device.
Standard ROC Housekeeping kit I presume?!
GLITTO!!!
The splint.
We found the Ground Battery Isolator/Selector still on the wall. This shelter we think had two batteries, both of which are no longer present. On the other side of the room by the bunk beds, there was an operating manual for these batteries! The wiring is still in place with the switchbox.
The mini-cooker!
“Brew anyone?” A kettle complete with Sainsbury’s own (now vintage 1991) medium roast.
This document is a list of the other posts belonging to No. 20 Group, all arranged in their clusters. (Sorry about the quality guys! )
This was interesting! It was dated 1982, and was a printout of an exercise (I can’t remember what the ex’s name was) but it had the whole ‘Tocsin Bang’ code terminology on it, signed by “Joe Bloggs” but of course! Again, sorry about the quality!
Don’t know for sure what this was used for, so I’m not going to hazard a guess at it. But as you can see this bit of ceiling that’s beginning to decay is the only sign of structural dis-repair in the entire structure.
“Fresh radioactive air, anyone?”
For me this was just a treasure of a find. I have to apologise on this, as I went a bit overkill on my camera-phone’s flash, but to the right you can clearly see the soviet star with hammer and sickle, to the left are other black silhouettes. This mangled bit of paper is an aircraft recognition sheet provided to the ROC to spot Soviet Aircraft! It’s a shame the paper was so mangled, but the NATO reporting names like “Bear”, “Flogger” and “Bounder” are still legible naming the many different silhouettes.
The obligatory warning sign shot before entering back up the shaft. Nothing like a bit of good old British Common Sense!
Overall this visit was brilliant, finding a bunker in such good condition on first go, having seen some of the states of other posts on here must be a rarity! I guess it’s hard to imagine having to work in one of these knowing that you couldn’t go out without being exposed to the radioactive fallout, had a nuclear strike hit the UK. Provisions were made in these shelters for three volunteer observers to survive for around 21 days. It was said somewhere (I forget who told me) that the Soviets had not one, not two, but THREE nuclear warheads aimed for Leeds at one point. Had the cold war gone live, I doubt that even this little shelter would have survived a triple thermonuclear attack around its local area, even though the centre of Leeds is a good few miles away. A Blitz spirit was certainly required! Nevertheless, brilliant find and fantastic learning in the process!
Apologies in advance about the picture quality…They were taken on my phone (Forgot the camera! )The Guiseley Post was built in July 1958 as part of the ROC’s re-structured role to provide the UK with Nuclear Warfare analysis as well as a meteorological fallout service. It was decommissioned in September 1991 following the fall of the Soviet Union, and shortly after this posts closure came the inevitable disbandment of the UKWMO. This post was part of a ‘cluster’ of other posts that were under the regional control of No. 20 Group ROC (YORK). Accompanying the bunker is a brick-built aircraft spotting post, still in a structurally good condition.
The external part of the post was in reasonably good repair. The shaft head around the hatch had obviously been repainted in more recent times and the slightly damaged BPI mount along with the ventilation filter shaft were still intact. The view from up there was also brilliant! Though it was obvious that we weren’t the first ones up to visit this site for a while… Yet we pressed on.
Alas! “Where there’s a will” and all that.
Down the shaft we went! Must have been a good 15-20ft from the hatch to the sump at the bottom. On reaching the bottom we found that the hand-pump that connected to the sump was missing and probably had been for some time…
The Toilet… Haha, No nasty surprises thank God!
The actual loo accompanied with a standard MOD issue Jerry Can, along with a couple of oil cans, including a pot of paint, similar to the colour of the external entrance area.
The main operating room; we were a bit apprehensive about opening the door to be honest! I think we were expecting to see either a dead body or something equally daft, or find the shelter trashed up/burnt out. In fact, we were shocked to see that it was more-or-less in good nick! Not quite how it would have been left in ’91 I expect, but still complete with many of its original items. Bunk beds still assembled with mattresses, the main working table, stools neatly placed under the table, the makeshift splint.
Sadly, on looking around we noticed a few of the items that were logged on a previous visit weren’t there anymore . The famous blue boxed teletalk was missing, a few documents included and the chunky storage case for the portable warning siren probably had its contents removed long ago. The actual BPI gauge was not there, though I expect this was removed on the posts shutdown in ’91?
Here are some of the existing relics around the place.
A lot of the telecom equipment still exists. This unit accommodates the “Push to Talk” Button that presumably would have been an open line to the other posts and the regional command centre in York. “YORK 30” was the label attached to this device.
Standard ROC Housekeeping kit I presume?!
GLITTO!!!
The splint.
We found the Ground Battery Isolator/Selector still on the wall. This shelter we think had two batteries, both of which are no longer present. On the other side of the room by the bunk beds, there was an operating manual for these batteries! The wiring is still in place with the switchbox.
The mini-cooker!
“Brew anyone?” A kettle complete with Sainsbury’s own (now vintage 1991) medium roast.
This document is a list of the other posts belonging to No. 20 Group, all arranged in their clusters. (Sorry about the quality guys!
)
This was interesting! It was dated 1982, and was a printout of an exercise (I can’t remember what the ex’s name was) but it had the whole ‘Tocsin Bang’ code terminology on it, signed by “Joe Bloggs” but of course!
Again, sorry about the quality!
Don’t know for sure what this was used for, so I’m not going to hazard a guess at it. But as you can see this bit of ceiling that’s beginning to decay is the only sign of structural dis-repair in the entire structure.
“Fresh radioactive air, anyone?”
For me this was just a treasure of a find. I have to apologise on this, as I went a bit overkill on my camera-phone’s flash, but to the right you can clearly see the soviet star with hammer and sickle, to the left are other black silhouettes. This mangled bit of paper is an aircraft recognition sheet provided to the ROC to spot Soviet Aircraft! It’s a shame the paper was so mangled, but the NATO reporting names like “Bear”, “Flogger” and “Bounder” are still legible naming the many different silhouettes.
The obligatory warning sign shot before entering back up the shaft. Nothing like a bit of good old British Common Sense!
Overall this visit was brilliant, finding a bunker in such good condition on first go, having seen some of the states of other posts on here must be a rarity! I guess it’s hard to imagine having to work in one of these knowing that you couldn’t go out without being exposed to the radioactive fallout, had a nuclear strike hit the UK. Provisions were made in these shelters for three volunteer observers to survive for around 21 days. It was said somewhere (I forget who told me) that the Soviets had not one, not two, but THREE nuclear warheads aimed for Leeds at one point. Had the cold war gone live, I doubt that even this little shelter would have survived a triple thermonuclear attack around its local area, even though the centre of Leeds is a good few miles away. A Blitz spirit was certainly required! Nevertheless, brilliant find and fantastic learning in the process!
cry:
