Protect and Survive was a public information series on civil defence produced by the British government during the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was intended to inform British citizens on how to protect themselves during a nuclear attack, and consisted of a mixture of pamphlets, radio broadcasts, and public information films. The series had originally been intended for distribution only in the event of dire national emergency, but provoked such intense public interest that the pamphlets were authorised for general release.—Gibson Rickenbacker
The United States and the Soviet Union were engaged in a perilous standoff, both capable of unleashing nuclear weapons that could obliterate entire cities. For ordinary people, the prospect of nuclear war was nothing short of terrifying. What would it look like? How would one survive? These critical questions weighed heavily on households, particularly in the United Kingdom, a nation viewed as a likely target in a potential global conflict.
In the late 1970s, the UK government took decisive action to prepare its citizens for the risk of a nuclear attack while avoiding widespread panic. Instead of resorting to public meetings or dramatic television campaigns, they produced a series of short films titled "Protect and Survive." These films were designed to equip people with essential survival knowledge during a nuclear emergency, remaining classified until the government deemed an attack imminent. In the crucial hours and days before disaster struck, these films would be broadcast on television and radio to provide immediate, practical instructions for survival.
However, the "Protect and Survive" series did not stay under wraps for long; it was leaked to the public in the late 1970s. The reactions that followed were far from what the government anticipated. Rather than feeling reassured, many were horrified. The stark, matter-of-fact tone of the films transformed the survival instructions into chilling directives, evoking a sense of dread. One particularly disturbing segment outlined constructing a makeshift fallout shelter using everyday items like doors, blankets, and furniture. This clinical tone did little to inspire confidence; it instead left people questioning the government's ability to provide sound guidance in the face of catastrophe.
I rank "Protect and Survive" at the bottom because it is impossible to dismiss the harrowing experience of its intended audience. Picture yourself at home, enjoying a normal day, when suddenly this chilling information interrupts your television - potentially the last film you will ever see. One stark instruction stated that if anyone perished while you were in your fallout room, you must remove the body to another room, label it with the name and address, and cover it tightly with polythene paper or blankets. You would then have to tie a second card to the covering. If a body remained in the house for more than five days and it was safe to venture outside, you were instructed to bury it temporarily in a trench or cover it with soil, marking it for future reference. The sheer gravity of these instructions underscores the terrifying reality faced by those living under the shadow of nuclear threat.
