Air Raid Sirens WWII

[Tony B]

In Jersey during the 1960's there was one on the top of La Moye school at St Brelade. I only remember it sounding once, though others were mounted on German bunkers at various points round the Island. There were also bunkers used as Civil Defence monitoring/reporting sites. Three in all I belive.

[Davey089]

I remember the one in between the garage blocks on our estate when were kids mid 60's , and they used to test it , apparentley incase of a nuclear attack !! , that was on top of a telegraph pole and it WAS loud we were only 2 houses away from it , there was one on the old fire station , one on the old tannery next to the old POW camp and one up near the army barracks (Ripon N Yorkshire) and they have all gone , apart from the old telegraph pole on my old estate.

Edited December 19, 2011 by Davey089

[Willyslancs]

was one on the roof of TVR at one time , might still be there for all i know ..........

[MHillyard]

There are still at least one on a telegraph pole at Point Clear near St Osyth, i think they are still used for flood warnings

[gritineye]

A chap I know managed to land the contract for removing redundant sirens from around the south east a few years ago, just needed a Hyab truck, and a fitter and a sparky. Was quite lucrative, poles went on ebay, sirens and cable scrapped for perks.

 

Apparently they all had a heater coil round them to avoid freezing, these where permanently on and there was no meter, just connected straight to the power lines.

 

One was fixed to a pole next to a small 50s style industrial estate, and when his chaps disconnected the assorted wires some very excited people started shouting "Oi you've cut off the power to the whole estate!"

 

Seems some crafty landlord had spliced into the same connection since the 50s, bet he had his own meters in the industrial units though........

 

 

Lo and behold, here is one complete with the afore mentioned heating elements, perfect for warming your workshop and drowning out the sound of East Enders/Corrie from indoors.....:goodidea: :-D

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Castle-castings-air-raid-siren-/280805559930?pt=UK_Collectables_Militaria_LE&hash=item416150ce7a

[tack9/12l]

well 2 things really 1 in hohne germany they certanly still have them or did 3 years ago when i was still posted there as on a sunday morning they would test it (and the wifes patince as well:mad:) that was in bergan town no2 was the air raid siren was still in the gaurdroom at robertson barracks (was raf swanton morley) on a panic button on the floor under the main desk i remember numerous gaurd commanders not knowing it was there and shouting at us troopers to "turn that bloody thing off you funny f$&£ers:D) as he was standing on it also it took a little time to wind up and down good times

[Splatt]

The UK’s early warning system was maintained (and expanded upon) until 1992. I am a retired police officer and during the mid 1980s, as a Sergeant in the Emergencies Planning Section, had responsibility for the system within the Strathclyde area of Scotland.This included mapping the coverage provided by the sirens and adding/replacing them as required; training police officers and civilian volunteers in various aspects of civil defence (for example, use of hand held sirens, maroons and dosimeters); and arranging tests of the equipment.

 

I also oversaw the WB1400 Warning Broadcast System* within my force area. This involved audio receiving units which were located in allemergency services buildings, central and local government and in many cases volunteers’ homes so that verbal warnings and instructions could be issued before and after an attack (if there was anyone still alive after the latter).The whole country was divided into Sectors.

 

Overall responsibility for the system lay with the United KingdomWarning and Monitoring Organisation. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_Warning_and_Monitoring_Organisation.UKWMO worked closely with the Royal Observer Corps whose staff manned area and local control centres and bunkers during exercises.

 

The broadcast system was tested every three months. Drills and exercises were also carried out. I remember spending weekends shut behind heavy steel doors in (at the time) secret bunkers.

 

With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the system was considered obsolete and in most areas removed. As some posters have highlighted, some sirens were retained for civilian uses such a flood warning.

 

The Royal Observer Corps was disbanded shortly afterwards.See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Observer_Corps

 

One of the bunkers I spent a weekend in is now a tourist attraction! See http://www.secretbunker.co.uk/ I have visited it since and itis much the same as I remember it.

 

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-minute_warning also makes interesting reading.