Role of the U.K.W.M.O.

The body known as The United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation (U.K.W.M.O.) was set up in 1957 to warn the general public, government and the military of any impending nuclear attack on the U.K. Its other role was to warn of fallout from nuclear weapons affecting the U.K. Even if the UK wasn't the intended target, fallout from detonations in Europe may affect our territory. The Royal Observer Corp (ROC), who had served the country well in World War 2, became the eyes and ears of the UKWMO. Starting in 1957, a program of building underground monitoring posts was started and completed by the early nineteen sixties. Protected ROC Group and UKWMO Sector HQ were acquired by reusing redundant sites or were newly built.

During the life of the UKWMO, the UK Civil Defence went through a number of phases. In 1968 the government reduced the spending on Civil Defence and disbanded the Civil Defence Corps, Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) and the Industrial Civil Defence Service (ICDS). The size of the ROC staff was halved and posts closed. Civil Defence continued on a care and maintenance basis only. A reorganisation in 1972 shaped Civil Defence into the structure described on this site. The Thatcher Government of the eighties increased its spending on armaments and Civil Defence. This led to modernisation of the Home Defence and Emergency Communications networks, but no sooner was this completed, political changes in the Soviet Union signalled the end of the Cold War.

The closure of the UKWMO was announced in the U.K. Parliament on 12 November 1992. All the warning systems described on this website were dismantled and the bunkers sold off. Only the AFS Green Goddesses were retained in mothballs and used during various Fire Brigade strikes until being sold off in 2004.

A possible attack would be notified to UKWMO officers stationed at RAF High Wycombe or Preston Sector HQ who would issue a national attack warning to the public via the HANDEL network and radio broadcasts. If the ROC monitoring posts detect a detonation before a national warning was issued, procedures were in place to ensure a retrospective attack warning was given. Should the attack fail to materialise or not involve nuclear weapons, a national all clear would be notified via HANDEL.

Fallout warnings would be issued locally by the UKWMO and be relayed to the public via the carrier network and radio broadcasts. This information would be shared over a national data network with the Regional Government Headquarters, Local Authority Emergency Centres and Military Nuclear Reporting Cells to enable these to control the post strike recovery operation.

After the attack, when radiation levels in a particular area had dropped to a safe level or if an area wasn't affected by fallout, an all clear would be sounded by sirens and radio broadcast stating which areas were now considered safe for people to emerge from their shelters.

The function of the UKWMO and ROC in the green boxes and the communication links shown as thin blue lines are explained in detail across a number of Chapters on this website. Either access those Chapters using the top of page menu bar or via quick links further down this page.

The HANDEL system disseminates the attack warning to police stations who extend the warning via the carrier system shown as a thick red line. Both the original WB400 and second generation WB1400 systems are explained in detail along with the second generation of HANDEL in a number of Chapters.

The part played by the yellow boxes representing the military are touched on where they impact on the UKWMO but otherwise are beyond the scope of this website.

The foundations of the Royal Observer Corp (ROC) were laid between the first and second world wars. At the start of WW2, the Observer Corp as they were known then, were mobilised and observation posts were continuously manned from 3 September 1939 until 12 May 1945. In recognition of their role in the Battle of Britain, in April 1941 the Observer Corps was granted the title 'Royal' by King George 6th. The ROC was stood-down after the end of WWII for a while before being reactivated in 1947. In 1955 its role was expanded to include the additional task of detecting, measuring and reporting the radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons.

When the United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation (U.K.W.M.O.) was set up in 1957 to warn both the military and civilian population of any impending nuclear air attack, the job of the Royal Observer Corps was to report the positions of the bomb strikes and monitor resulting fallout areas.

To enable this new role 1560 underground observation posts were constructed feeding information to 31 Observer groups. In 1968 the Labour Government spending cuts saw the staff halved and reduced to 873 underground posts. A further rearrangement of group boundaries occurred in 1973 which reduced the organisation to twenty five groups. This left each ROC Group with thirty to forty observation posts within its control.

Post instruments enabled them to detect a nuclear weapon's detonation and bearing from the post. After an attack had started, each ROC post would make frequent radioactivity observations and forward them to group headquarters. At group the raw data from posts would be processed to generate bomb detonation locations then estimated yield (bomb size) were calculated. Taking into account factors like bomb size and wind direction, the UKWMO would make fallout predictions. Live radiation readings from ROC posts were used confirm the path of fallout and amend the prediction if necessary.

The UKWMO was arranged in five sectors containing five ROC groups, the sector headquarters was collocated with one of the groups in that sector. Groups forwarded their observations to sector who would collate this to create a national picture. Sectors had links to our European neighbours civil protection authorities to exchange information about fallout that may affect other countries. The organisational structure set in 1973 remained fairly static until its closure.

Following a Home Defence review, government spending on the UKWMO increased during the 1980s, resulting in many improvements to equipment and especially communications. By the time this new equipment and public warning system had rolled out by the late 1980s, massive changes were occurring in the Soviet Union. The threat of nuclear war was receding.

On the 10 July 1991, the current Home Secretary Mr Kenneth Baker, announced to Parliament that the services of the United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation were no longer required. Its field force, the Royal Observer Corps would be 'Stood-Down' on 30 September 1991.

Throughout the Cold War the UKWMO staff and the ROC were separate organisations. The U.K.W.M.O. was run by the 'Home Office' in England and the 'Scottish Department of Home and Health' in Scotland through part time civil servants. The ROC continued to be part of the RAF and administered by the Ministry of Defence. Command of all sections resided with the non-uniformed UKWMO staff. The attack warning and subsequent fallout warnings were assessed by the scientific members of the UKWMO. ROC members played no part in any assessment or decision making within controls.

Former members meet socially via the Royal Observer Corp Association, (ROCA). Many of the monitoring posts have been left derelict but a small number survive thanks to the dedication of a few individuals who have lovingly restored them. Many of the Group controls have found other uses and some have been demolished for housing. In Bedford, for example, Observer Close MK40 4EU is all that remains of the former ROC Group Headquarters. English Heritage has restored the York Group control to the state it was in at stand down and opened it as a museum.