Today’s nuclear attack warning system no longer requires a nationwide network of underground bunkers operated by the Royal Observer Corps (ROC) and Police Scotland-operated air raid sirens... instead those with mobile phones will receive a text message advising of an imminent strike.

This was the chilling revelation by one of Scotland’s, former Royal Observer Corps officers Frank Alexander when he spoke to members of the Hunterston Rotary.

Ex-Observer Lieutenant Alexander explained that, following the end of what was known as the Cold War (with Russia-USSR), the British Government ‘stood down’ the majority of the Royal Observer Corps in September 1991 believing the nuclear threat no longer existed. This involved all the underground monitoring posts and associated Group and Sector Controls which were ‘de-commissioned’! Skelmorlie underground monitoring post known as Skelmorlie Secret Bunker is one of only two ex ROC post locations in Scotland fully restored and available for free admission public viewing between April and September each year.

Now, with developments in Ukraine and the Russian President’s threat to use nuclear weapons, monitoring of missile attacks is co-ordinated through RAF Fylingdales on the North Yorkshire moors. The station, it’s motto – Vigilamus (translated to “we are watching”) is a world renowned radar base and part of a ballistic missile early warning system - it can give a 4-6 minute warning - that shares intelligence information with the United States.

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The stunned group of Rotary members listened spellbound as Mr Alexander revealed: “Now, should a nuclear threat be deemed ‘imminent’, we’ll all receive a text message on our mobile phones. The British government has already arranged that all mobile service operators would immediately text every compatible mobile phone registered in the UK from mobile phone masts warning of an attack and the need to take cover.”

“Our ROC motto was ‘Forewarned is Forearmed’ and for the period of the Cold War it was our responsibility, with the UK coming under attack by nuclear weapons, to identify the locations known as Ground Zero and report on the effects of a nuclear attack such as damage and radioactive fallout, as part of our UK civil defence arrangements.

“Today all of this manned monitoring system is redundant, however following Chernobyl there is a system operated by the Government called Radioactive Incident Monitoring Network (RIMNET) whereby radiation levels at selected sites throughout the UK are monitored remotely and operated by the Met Office.”

Mr Alexander from Largs is curator of the Skelmorlie ROC post museum/heritage site situated at the Meigle on the old Largs Road and which now has a replica monitoring post on the surface for those visitors with concerns about climbing down a 15 foot steel ladder.

Conducted tours of the Skelmorlie Bunker start again next April although it can open outwith that period for organised groups and associations by prior arrangement by contacting Frank Alexander on 07413-504115.