PROTECT AND SURVIVE [Main Title]

Log in to create clips, download free screeners and save clips/films in Collections. Click here to find out more.

  • Title: PROTECT AND SURVIVE [Main Title]
  • Film Number: COI 1088
  • Other titles:
  • Summary: Twenty short public information filmlets designed to be broadcast on during times of imminent nuclear threat. [Numbers in square brackets refer to the time codes on the Beta SP video copy.]
  • Description: I. [00:00:00] "Nuclear Explosions Explained". Two main dangers during an airborne nuclear attack - the forces of heat and blast (which can destroy buildings up to 5 miles away) and fall-out (deadly radioactive dust which can travel hundreds of miles). II. [00:01:31] "The Warnings." Attack warning - rising and falling siren sound. Fall-out warning - 3 maroons [explosions], 3 gongs or 3 whistles. All clear - steady siren sound. (All are illustrated graphically as well as sonically.) III. [00:04:39] "What To Do When The Warnings Sound." Attack - take cover (indoors if possible). Fall-out - stay indoors, in the most sheltered part. All clear - leave cover, but listen for further warnings. IV. [00:07:23] "Stay At Home." Fall-out is the biggest danger, will cover whole UK, so stay at home (you may not be helped by local authorities if you move elsewhere). V. [00:09:09] "Choosing A Fall-Out Room." Detailed information as to the safest room (generally one away from outside walls, or in the basement). Do not use flats over 4 stories high. Special problems of bungalows and one storey dwellings. VI. [00:11:23] "Refuges." Build a protected refuge in your fall-out room out of old doors, tables etc protected with boxes and bags filled with earth, sand etc. Cupboards under stairs are ideal. Seek council advice if you live in a caravan, prefabricated house etc. VII. [00:15:23] "Materials To Use For Your Fall-Out Room And Refuge." Bricks, concrete blocks, bags or boxes filled with earth or sand; wood, heavy furniture etc. Take stock of what is needed. Uses: strengthening floors, thickening walls, blocking doors and windows. VIII. [00:17:24] "Make Your Fall-Out Room And Refuge NOW." There is a risk of war so build your refuge now (recapitulation of earlier information). More details in "Protect and Survive" booklet available now. IX. [00:22:13] "What To Put In Your Fall-Out Room." (You may be there for 14 days or more) Food, drinking water, radio and spare batteries, tin and bottle openers, cutlery and crockery, warm clothing; also bedding, portable stove, saucepans, candles, matches, table and chairs, toilet articles, first aid kit, boxes of sand, towels, tissues, notebook and pencils "for messages", brushes, shovel, gloves, toys, books and magazines "to pass the time" and finally "don't forget your booklet 'Protect and Survive'". X. [00:25:23] "Action After Warnings." If at home: attack warning - turn everything off, close windows and curtains, go to fall-out room (with children); fall-out warnings - go to inner refuge and stay there. If out of doors: attack warning - take cover at once, preferably in building or else under bridge etc. or lie in ditch covering face with clothing; fall-out warning - seek nearest and best cover as soon as possible but shake off dust before entering buildings; all clear - you can go out but listen for other warnings, or tune in to the radio for further advice. XI. [00:29:42] "Water And Food." Need 14 days worth. Water - 3.5 gallons per person but keep more for washing etc, store drinking water in fallout room in sealed containers and rest in bathtub etc; also tins of fruit juice handy. Food - tinned, well wrapped, stuff you can eat cold; remember sweets, baby foods etc; store in cool dry place; eat perishables first; ration everything. XII. [00:32:33] "Sanitation - Preparatory Steps." Emergency toilet - bucket with bin liner in; try and rig up seat and don't forget disinfectant and toilet rolls. Keep two dustbins outside fall-out room (one for toilet waste, one for food waste). Seal toilet bags tightly before binning. XIII. [00:34:09] "Fire Precautions." Whiten windows with reflective paint, remove flammable materials from attics and upstairs rooms, keep fire extinguisher and garden hose handy, keep buckets of sand and water on all floors; do it now. XIV. [00:36:18] "The Importance Of Your Radio." Only contact with outside world - should be battery operated with lots of spare batteries. XV. [00:37:45] "Life Under Fall-Out Conditions." Stay in refuge for first 2 days, but the longer the better. Don't leave house until radio tells you, then only for short times (to take out waste etc); people under 30 at particular risk. Keep separate boots and gloves for outside. (Recap of points from earlier filmlets.) XVI. [00:40:43] "What To Do After An Attack." Check for fires, check outside of house (all family should work). Fill up drinking water containers, turn off mains water (if any), listen for fall-out warnings and take cover in your inner refuge.. XVII. [00:43:19] "Sanitation Care." Hygiene - cover toilet containers, use disinfectant, clean your hands, watch your children's hygiene, empty toilet bucket, empty dustbins when safe, keep food waste separately, give toilet waste priority (if only one dustbin), restrict food handling, keep utensils clean. XVIII. [00:46:05] "Water Consumption." Recap of much previous information; hints on water use in cooking. "Water is life - save it." XIX. [00:47:39] "Food Consumption." Keep in fall-out room, beware waste, eat as little as possible, wrap loose foods. Ration food carefully. XX. [00:49:25] "Casualties." Listen to radio for messages about emergency services after all clear. If someone dies: move body to another room, label it, wrap it up with blankets etc, attach another label to the outer covering. Listen to radio re burial arrangements. If body has been indoors for 5 days and its safe to go out, bury it in trench in garden and mark spot. [End ca 00:50:40]
  • Alternative Title:
  • Colour: Colour
  • Digitised: Yes
  • Object_Number: COI 1088
  • Sound: Sound
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © Crown copyright. IWM (COI 1088)
  • Featured Period: 1976-1989
  • Production Date: 1980
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Home Office (Production sponsor) Central Office of Information (Production sponsor) Allen, (John Keith) Patrick1927-03-172006-07-28 (Production cast)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations:
  • Keywords: propaganda, British - practical: nuclear protection (object name) society, British - precautionary: nuclear protection (object name) Animation (concept) Propaganda (concept)
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: Colour Sound format: Sound Soundtrack language: English Title language: English Subtitle language: None
  • Technical Details: Format: 16mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 1905 ft; Running time: 53 mins
  • HD Media:Yes
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    COI 1088

  • Related IWM Collections Objects:
Register