Civil Defence Sign

Gravesend Civil Defence Bunker

Gravesend's Cold War bunker is located within Woodlands park and was originally known as Civil Defence Region 6. Latest news, guided tours now booking for the Discover Gravesham Festival 2010.

Gravesend's secret Cold War bunker was an underground command post, built in 1954, from which Gravesend's rescue and emergency services were to be co-ordinated in the event of a nuclear attack. Its 13 rooms contained power and ventilation plant, communications areas for the command staff and dormitories.

The Bunker now
Refurbished and re-equipped to look as it was in the 1950s, the bunker gives the visitor the chance to experience its atmosphere and glimpse into Cold War England. Exhibits include a domestic fallout room, communications room and a replica radiation monitoring post. Visitors also have the opportunity to view a government film advising the population on how to protect against a nuclear attack.

Chemical Suit (NBC)

New
The bunker is the proud new home to a WE177 air dropped nuclear bomb, once part of Britain's nuclear arsenal against the threat posed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The WE177 'family' were variable yield nuclear weapons and all could operate in various ways, from parachute retarded or free-fall, air burst, ground burst or a burst in water.

This type of bomb was introduced into service in the Royal Air Force in the 1960s, and succeeded earlier types of air-dropped nuclear weapons. Until the introduction of the Royal Navy's submarines armed with long-range strategic missiles in the later 1960s, the RAF was the sole provider of Britain's nuclear deterrent. The WE177 was in use in parallel to the submarines and remained in service until the 1990s. Now the sole deterrent is provided by the Royal Navy. The bomb (or rather the casing in which the nuclear weapon would have been placed) is 133 inches long and weighs 900 lbs.

WE177 Nuclear Bomb

Guide Tours for 2010

To book a place on a tour please call TOWNCENTRIC on 01474 33 76 00
Open hours Monday - Saturday 9am - 5pm.
TOWNCENTRIC can be found within St Georges Shopping Centre, Gravesend.

Events

Saturday 2 & Sunday 3 October - Performances start at 6.30pm and 8.30pm and last approx 60 mins

Perpetual Light: Requiem for an Unscorched Earth is an evocative and emotionally charged Requiem for chamber choir to be performed in decommissioned nuclear sites. While remembering those who lost their lives in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Requiem is ultimately a joyous testament to humans' extraordinary will to survive. 

Box Office 01474 33 77 74 (£2 transaction fee on all card payments)

To book on-line please follow this link : Woodville Halls