Readiness for Red Alert: Engaging with the Royal Observer Corps Material Cultureâ€¯

Harper, Sarah

Readiness for Red Alert: Engaging with the Royal Observer Corps Material Cultureâ€¯

Resource type

Abstract

Creator (person)

Harper, Sarah

Abstract

The Royal Observer Corps (ROC) were a uniformed civilian organisation tasked with preparing for nuclear disaster and would have stepped up to maintain control of Britain had an attack happened during the Cold War. Although stood down in 1991, the legacy of the ROC lives on through the remaining underground monitoring posts and their associated material culture. Equipment such as the Bomb Power Indicator and Ground Zero Indicator as well as the Teletalk were vital in monitoring and communicating the effects of a nuclear attack. Similarly, the bunk beds, rations and post padlocks were key to maintaining the human needs of the Observers responding to an attack below ground. Some of this ROC material culture now appears in museum collections, such as the National Museums Scotland (NMS) who hold the almost full contents of a post. There is somewhat of a disconnect between the objects held in museum storage in comparison to those in underground monitoring posts which have been restored by ex-Observers and enthusiasts. The approach to displaying, collecting, and restoring ROC material culture differs between institutional museum practises at NMS in comparison to amateur restorers and their in-situ heritage practises. Furthermore, the ‘Cold War’ meanings and values that are ascribed to these objects also differ between museum professionals and those former Observers who know these objects intimately. Based on interviews with ex-Observers and enthusiasts, visits to underground posts and thorough object analysis, I will consider the biography of a selection of ROC objects from NMS’ collection and examine their transition from ‘active’ to museum lives. I will also highlight the relationship between these objects and the built environment they originated from and compare NMS’ and ROC post restorers approaches to heritage practises.