The Cold War

The Cold War iis listed in Social Snapshots 1969-2000 inc

click Wars for local details of the Boer War, WW1, WW2, & The Cold War.

The Cold War lasted from 12th March 1947 to 25 December 1991

COLD WAR PRECAUTIONS for the Parish of Lacey Green, Loosley Row and Speen by Doug Tilbury

CIVIL DEFENCE VOLUNTEER. Now many years since the start of the cold war in 1947 Doug Tilbury can tell his experiences at that time.

I was the member of the Parish Council, who, in their opinion, was the most suitable person to become Civil Defence Volunteer for Lacey Green Parish.   This involved attending meetings at the underground operations headquarters based deep under the Courts at Beaconsfield, for six months training every other week.   This was not secret but strictly confidential, not allowed to discuss this with family or friends.

Mr Marshall who lived in Lacey Green was head of Civil Defence for Wycombe District Council.

Fourteen members were present at the first meeting from different Parish Councils, only eight of us completed the course.   It became depressing at the thoughts of “Strike Command” being the target for a Nuclear Strike by Russia.   President Kruchev at the time, wished to command Europe.   He needed to take command of Strike Command Headquarters.  His demands were sent to our Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher at the time, who in reply told him “!!??!?”   “No”, in other words.   But this is serious business and was taken seriously by the government, who feared panic if the public were to know.

How it would affect the people of Lacey Green is as follows:-

I was given authority to call meetings to warn people of possibilities, electricity, police, no emergency services for about six weeks, no water supplies so fill up your baths for drinking water.   I was to hijack a JBC and dig public latrines in various parts of the village, store enough food for four weeks, inform residents who lived in mobile homes to vacate, also homes built in the last fifty years as their homes would be destroyed as the ‘flash’ radiation would penetrate bricks and concrete.   Animals in the fields in a two mile radius would be killed by the ‘flash’ and eventually ‘blow’!   The undersides could be used as food as they were free from ‘fallout’ radiation.

There would be seven days’ notice if possible of a catastrophic disaster, at which I would be issued with a radio to report to HQ at Beaconsfield, (which I did in many mock weekends).   I was instructed to make up a list of people known to me who were in a medical profession.   Also homes who were fortunate to have a cellar and to use one as my operational post, I chose the Pink and Lily    I was told to  store there as many batteries as possible, as radiation would destroy them They would be needed in order to communicate and to replace electricity.

Having seen the flash, even in the darkness of my cellar, count the seconds to the bang.   Then report to HQ.   Now not allowed outside for ten minutes as radiation begins to fall.

Only contact outside by portable radio.   The safest buildings were those built with granite - as in Wales!!

Six months after our initial training ended we were given a lecture by the Chief Fire and Emergency Officer.   He sat on the table asking each one “Where do you live”.   I said Lacey Green, his reply was “Spat” to much amusement by all present!

His last words to me were “Protect young life”.

During the Cold War we volunteers went on weekend excercises. We were split into groups of three, given a heap of parts and an information sheet, and told to assemble a field kitchen and light it.   Our team won, the reason being that I assembled the throat facing into the wind for drought.   We had been given an axe and broken pallets.

The instruction was to build the field kitchen complete with “soy’ll” copper to heat water.   Use half to make a cuppa tea, the remaining half to make porridge, with kitchen already alight, now cook breakfast on hot plate – bacon, sausage, eggs, etc, the oven to bake bread.   Open oven door, put your fist in.   Too hot?  Just right to cook bread!

This could be dismantled in seconds if notice given that the enemy were advancing

We were ‘stood down’, not officially, but told to be on the alert for civil disasters!

Police Constable Smith was living in the Police House in Lacey Green during the Cold War. He reported what he had to do to raise the alarm if necessary. "My little office contained a desk, filing cabinet, telephone, typewriter, my world war three early warning system and a large box containing an air raid siren.

This was the cold war 1960’s and our nearest neighbour was Strike Command Headquarters, the Soviet Union’s number one nuclear target.

I did a test run with the siren; it took 45 minutes to drag it out into my front garden, read the instructions and assemble it.

The estimated time of arrival of a nuclear missile strike was 4 minutes; this left me 41 minutes short of warning the good folk of Lacey Green of a very loud bang.

The end of The Cold War is recorded in Social Snapshots 1969-2000 inc

Report by Doug Tilbury. When the Cold War ended in 1991 I was asked if I was interested in the field kitchens. My contact was a pleasant man who lived at Downley.  He was employed by Bucks County Council to shut down and dispose of equipment no longer needed.   He contacted me to ask if I might be interested in the field kitchens.   I agreed and met him at the WDC depot.   I asked if I could have all four and was told yes, they were going for scrap.  Rupert Butler had one, Mike Jones took one and I naturally chose the best one, now fitted to a trailer by a member of the District Historical Farm Machinery Club and used many times at our Ploughing Matches.

We baked bread on 1998 Sheaf to Loaf record challenge, and also at Richard West’s wedding in the evening (medieval banquet) using these kitchens.