Air raid sirens
Rob
was every single one taken down?
I`d also be interested to hear any memories (especially
from the early 1980`s) that you have of the sirens- tests
for example.
Rob
* Sent from AltaVista http://www.altavista.com Where you can also find related Web Pages, Images, Audios, Videos, News, and Shopping. Smart is Beautiful
M.J.Powell
dan1980...@yahoo.com.invalid> writes
>Are there any air raid sirens left standing in the UK or
>was every single one taken down?
>I`d also be interested to hear any memories (especially
>from the early 1980`s) that you have of the sirens- tests
>for example.
At some factory in Northwich, Cheshire they sound a siren every morning
at 9:00 for about 30 seconds. It's a steady note and reminds me of the
wartime siren 'All Clear'.
Mike
--
M.J.Powell
monkeyra
and i heard one in truro a few year ago
monkeyra
Rob <robertlordan...@yahoo.com.invalid> wrote in message
news:01a77a96...@usw-ex0109-070.remarq.com...
> Are there any air raid sirens left standing in the UK or
> was every single one taken down?
> I`d also be interested to hear any memories (especially
> from the early 1980`s) that you have of the sirens- tests
> for example.
>
David Farrant
Rob wrote:
> Are there any air raid sirens left standing in the UK or
> was every single one taken down?
> I`d also be interested to hear any memories (especially
> from the early 1980`s) that you have of the sirens- tests
> for example.
>
> Rob
>
> * Sent from AltaVista http://www.altavista.com Where you can also find related Web Pages, Images, Audios, Videos, News, and Shopping. Smart is Beautiful
I cannot say if any of the ones left were for air raid warning, but there are a number left used by industrial sites for various warnings. There is a
scrapyard near Newmarket that sounds one now and then, I assume for fire alarm purposes. I have heard others used in similar locations over the years. Up
until a few years ago there was an original left in place next to the Golden Hind pub in Cambridge. I must confess I have not been past there lately!
David Farrant
Nick Catford
> Rob wrote:
>
> > Are there any air raid sirens left standing in the UK or
> > was every single one taken down?
> > I`d also be interested to hear any memories (especially
> > from the early 1980`s) that you have of the sirens- tests
> > for example.
> >
Nick
Roger Basford
dan1980...@yahoo.com.invalid> writes
>was every single one taken down?
>I`d also be interested to hear any memories (especially
>from the early 1980`s) that you have of the sirens- tests
>for example.
>
>
* Sent from AltaVista http://www.altavista.com Where you can also find related
>Web Pages, Images, Audios, Videos, News, and Shopping. Smart is Beautiful
When I worked in Great Yarmouth in the early 80's my employer moved into
an old factory in Admiralty Road and converted it into offices. In the
entrance lobby there was a cupboard with two switches, one marked (IIRC)
Alert and the other Raiders Past. These controlled a siren on the roof
which I believe is still there and is used for flood warnings.
Roger Basford
Chris Morgan
> In article <01a77a96...@usw-ex0109-070.remarq.com>, Rob <robertlor
> dan1980...@yahoo.com.invalid> writes
> >Are there any air raid sirens left standing in the UK or
> >was every single one taken down?
> >I`d also be interested to hear any memories (especially
> >from the early 1980`s) that you have of the sirens- tests
> >for example.
> >
> >Rob
Sat in my school hall doing my GCSE Chemistry in 1992. All of us present
were slightly shook up by the nearest siren sounding the 'Attack' warning
for about five minutes! Some local 'youths' had thought it funny to
somehow set the thing running. Teachers didn't take a blind bit of notice
of it though!
Chris
*******************************************************************************
Chris Morgan Optics Group, CCR, University of Bristol
0117 928 9152
Graeme Fowler
> Very early 80's...used to hear occasional test of air raid siren on
> top of the police station in Clacton. I was fascinated by the whole
> thing.
I know this doesn't answer the original poster's question, but I too
have a clear recollection of a bloody big siren being sounded in Irlam
(betn. Manchester & Warrington) on a regular basis - maybe every first
Monday of the month at (I think!) 11am. It went on for about two minutes
ISTR.
I only remember it as it used to provide a welcome distraction from a
double English lesson ;)
Once 'The Day After' and 'Threads' had been on telly, which of course we
all stayed up to watch, it took on an entirely different meaning...
Graeme
--
Graeme Fowler
Network Officer, Infrastructure & Networks Group
Loughborough University Computing Services
Andy Dingley
>there was a cupboard with two switches, one marked (IIRC)
>Alert and the other Raiders Past.
Mounted on a large cast box, labelled "Self Timing Auto-Wailer" ?
I wish I still had one of those - I remember scrapping a truckload of
them when I was a kid. Our shameful family history includes moving
scrap metal from the Railway Signals Co. works in Fazakerly for years.
Yes, it's the same Fazakerly that was the ROC factory. Along with
railway signalling gear and various bits of mahogany telephony that
went to the scrapper were all sorts of obscure sirens and outdoor
hooters - never saw a Sten gun though.
Vernon
also they used to test sirens on most military establishments once a
week.
On Fri, 14 Apr 2000 10:48:43 +0100, Graeme Fowler <gra...@lboro.ac.uk>
wrote:
Martin Sylvester
Vernon <big_...@hotSmail.com> wrote in message
news:sdbefs472hchrf25l...@4ax.com...
> Used to hear air raid sirens on a regular basis when we had TACEVALs,
> also they used to test sirens on most military establishments once a
> week.
I used to hear weekly tests when I lived in Immingham during part of the
1990s. IIRC the refinery tested ('attack warning' sound followed by 'all
clear') at 0800 on Thursdays: I fought the temptation to "forget" to warn
guests about the test! 8-)
Martin.
--
I do not intend to imply that any views expressed above represent the policy
of any organisation, nor do I warrant any information to be accurate.
URL: http://www.sylvesternet.freeserve.co.uk/martin/ for: Daria books/video;
Parish of St Peter & St Paul, Swadlincote, Derbyshire, UK; Catholic books.
T Howard Toon
a copy I might borrow?
Many thanks.
Regards
Howard
M.J.Powell
<din...@codesmiths.com> writes
'Mahogany telephony? Oh! You hooligans!
Mike
--
M.J.Powell
Russell W. Barnes
Andy Dingley wrote in message
<1i1efskuq5gueuv39...@4ax.com>...
>Roger Basford <Ro...@g3vkm.demon.co.uk> a écrit :
>
>>there was a cupboard with two switches, one marked (IIRC)
>>Alert and the other Raiders Past.
There was one of these - an "Allen West" motor controller at British Steel,
Workington, as was, Chapel Bank works. It said "Red Alert" and "Raiders
Passed". I don't know if it is still there, but the siren was on the roof;
I maintained it in 1979.
I believe there is still a siren at Appleby, in Cumbria, and that it is used
for flood warning. The last one I actually saw was ten years ago between
Bridport and West Bay, mounted on a tall metal pole.
Russell W. B.
Martin Briscoe
from Chris Morgan <ee...@een.bris.ac.uk> contains these words:
> Sat in my school hall doing my GCSE Chemistry in 1992. All of us present
> were slightly shook up by the nearest siren sounding the 'Attack' warning
> for about five minutes! Some local 'youths' had thought it funny to
> somehow set the thing running. Teachers didn't take a blind bit of notice
> of it though!
A friend who used to work for BT told me that there were two fuses at
each siren. One for the siren and the other for a small heater to
keep frost off. Usually the fuse for the actual siren was left out
so that they could not be set off by accident. He was testing some
circuits but unfortunately someone had left the wrong fuse in.
He could not hear the sirens going off from deep inside the telephone
exchange .... it also takes a long time for them to run down once switched off!
I think it was quite common to leave the fuses out, I was told by
another BT engineer in a completely different part of the country
that they only put the fuses in for the annual(??) test.
MB
Darren Riley
warn of an imminent IRA mortar attack !
They sounded an 'all clear' after Chrimbo and it put the s**** up me.
Very spooky.
Rob wrote:
>
> Are there any air raid sirens left standing in the UK or
> was every single one taken down?
> I`d also be interested to hear any memories (especially
> from the early 1980`s) that you have of the sirens- tests
> for example.
>
> Rob
>
> * Sent from AltaVista http://www.altavista.com Where you can also find related Web Pages, Images, Audios, Videos, News, and Shopping. Smart is Beautiful
--
All the best
Darren
Surrey, UK
<http://home.clara.net/barrowfan/index.htm>
absm...@my-deja.com
I'd also like to see pictures of some of the U.K.'s sirens, if anyone
has any. I collect these for my http://www.airraidsirens.com
website.
-Adam
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
absm...@my-deja.com
I'd love to see some pictures of the U.K. sirens, if there are indeed
any left about. I collect any and all siren info for my
http://www.AirRaidSirens.com website.
absm...@my-deja.com
g8jnz
removed from all Met police stations sfars I know. It was removed from my
old nick in about 1993 cos it's "peace in our time"!
Once a year a chap with the usual brown dustcoat used to come in to my
control room and say "Just going to run up the siren" and go to the cupboard
where an anonymous-looking fusebox thing was ensconsed. My control room was
reasonably soundproof, one couldn't hear traffic in the main street
outside - but you could hear that siren winding up throughout the whole
nick... Then we'd sit back and wait for the telephone lines to light up on
our switchboard with querilous enquiries of "The air raid siren is
sounding... is there anything we should know about?" I have to add that we
also received the same anxious enquiries from the woodentops over the radio
too...
When they finally removed ours I asked if I could have the thing but they
said no, it's 3-phase anyway... Dunno what the hell I'd have done with it
but how many people can boast having a real WW2 vintage air-raid siren!
Don't forget that, to go with yer siren, there was also the "Warning
Broadcast Receiver" in the controller's console. Ours went off one night,
frightening the (female) controller witless cos I'd told her it was the WW3
warning some month previously. "What are we supposed to do?" she asked me.
There should have been a voice announcement after the warning beeps but
there wasn't so she rushed out and told the Duty Officer, an Inspector, who
shrugged his shoulders and said "We'll know in about 12 minutes, won't we!"
de Bob M
Dan Glover
<g8...@netcomuk.co.uk> wrote:
>> I'm sure I noticed one on the roof of Bromley Police Station last week.
>I doubt it, the platform is probably still there but the sirens have been
>removed from all Met police stations sfars I know. It was removed from my
>old nick in about 1993 cos it's "peace in our time"!
There's still a siren on a pole in Lewisham, just near St Stephens Green
but I can't give a more precise location as my A-Z doesn't tie in with
the new-ish road layout.
I think the plan was for some sirens to be retained in London where they
were also used for flood warning purposes, or maybe this one has just
been forgotten...it's near the Ravensbourne so is possibly in a flood
risk area.
Other places in south east London where I can remember seeing sirens in
the past are at Crayford by the bridge and Mayplace Road j/w Erith Road
in Bexleyheath. If my understanding is correct the first one will
still be there but not the second. Not in a position to look for a few
days though.
Given the various changes of responsibility over the years I wonder who
has/will have responsibility in London for activating such sirens as
have been retained for flood warnings?
Dan
--
Dan Glover (d...@dangl.demon.co.uk)
Today's Excuse:
Daemons did it
Roger Basford
>
>Don't forget that, to go with yer siren, there was also the "Warning
>Broadcast Receiver" in the controller's console. Ours went off one night,
>frightening the (female) controller witless cos I'd told her it was the WW3
>warning some month previously. "What are we supposed to do?" she asked me.
>There should have been a voice announcement after the warning beeps but
>there wasn't so she rushed out and told the Duty Officer, an Inspector, who
>shrugged his shoulders and said "We'll know in about 12 minutes, won't we!"
>
Reminds me of a similar story, when I worked as a very young radio tech
at the old DWS radio site at Creslow in Bucks in the 60's we had a
number of "Plans" which were basically a set of transmitter frequencies
to be run for one of the receiver sites in Oxfordshire. These were
required "on demand" at various times and I never did find out who was
using them! One plan however, never seemed to be called for so I asked
my Boss what this one was for, to be told that "If they call for that
one we've got 4 minutes!"
OFM off/
Roger Basford
M S Gaskell
noticed that there is still one on the roof.
Regards
Mark S Gaskell
"Rob" <robertlordan...@yahoo.com.invalid> wrote in message
news:01a77a96...@usw-ex0109-070.remarq.com...
julian
ground, is a single storey building with one main entrance and two fire
exits at the rear. Whilst trying to play one of the games mentioned above,
and the body deciding that the allotted period for the game is far too long,
I stood chatting to a local man who informed me that the building belonged
to BT and allegedly went 4 storey's below ground level.
The structure looks to be in my uneducated eye to be of classic 'bunker'
type styling, i.e. apart from the dooorways, no window openings, plain
rectangular structure with roof mounted ventilation.
Whist not wishing to encorage any nefarious activity, the two fire exits to
the rear appear to be open, with signs that local children are probably far
more aware of the buildings contents than the owners would wish.
If I lived locally, I would get someone to establish the truth ;-)
Andrew P Smith
eeserve.co.uk> writes
directions from the motorway.
--
Andrew
E Mail can be altered electronically and therefore the integrity of this
communication can not be guaranteed.
Views expressed in this E Mail are those of the author and not associations or
companies I am involved with.
Andy Dingley
>'Mahogany telephony? Oh! You hooligans!
I'd mention the block instruments and signal repeaters I had as toys
when I was a kid, then threw out, but I know Nick Leverton reads this
group and would be suitably appalled 8-)
Then there were the mercury arc rectifiers....
Richard Griffin
> "M.J.Powell" <mi...@pickmere.demon.co.uk> a écrit :
> >'Mahogany telephony? Oh! You hooligans!
> I'd mention the block instruments and signal repeaters I had as toys
> when I was a kid, then threw out, but I know Nick Leverton reads this
> group and would be suitably appalled 8-)
I read this group and am suitably appalled too!! :)
> Then there were the mercury arc rectifiers....
Do tell...
--
Richard.
Railway pages at
http://metadyne.tripod.com/
Andy Dingley
>> Then there were the mercury arc rectifiers....
>
>Do tell...
The perfect toy for small children - mercury, by the carboy-ful.
As a kid of about 8, I remember helping my Dad pop the ends off scrap
mercury arc rectifiers (which look like a multi-lobed octopus'
scrotum) and pouring the contents out into a carboy. When the carboy
was full enough, we'd crane it onto the back of the wagon and take it
down to whoever it was who bought scrap mercury (Rifkins ? Wards ?)
Then one day we dropped the carboy. Took ages to sweep the mercury up
from the floor and several years later you'd still find blobs of it
lurking in dark corners.
--
10/6 in this size
Steve Moore
I really, really want to ask how you know what an Octopus scrote looks like,
but I shall refrain :-)
__Steve__
Andy Dingley
>I really, really want to ask how you know what an Octopus scrote looks like,
I still have nightmares about lobster ovaries
(I once spent a week dissecting loads of them, to look for evidence of
PCB contamination. It's not a pleasant task to give to a vertebrate,
especially a vegetarian one.)
julian
"Andrew P Smith" <and...@spamfree.co.uk> wrote in message
news:bSZo$SAlwi...@tallguy.demon.co.uk...
Leave the M32 J1and head east on the A4174, following signs to Downend and
then Kingswood. At Kingswood town centre, turn left onto the A420 heading
east. At the bottom of the hill, you will see the pub on the RHS, with the
turning to Grimsbury Road just before it. I dont think you'll miss it.
Mark Eatherington
> The perfect toy for small children - mercury, by the carboy-ful.
my dad used to work for a company that repaired arcade and pinball
machines in the late 70'2/early 80's, so as well as getting Space
Invaders amchines to play on etc, we also had boxes full of glass
mercury tilt switches, which were great fun to play with, once you'd
smashed the glass anyway, and you had great blobs of the stuff rolling
around the inside of a cardboard box lid, and you could use them to make
switches for explosives, but thats another childhood story...
M.
Chris D.
"julian" <ka...@westrip84.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:8dikfq$ohl$1...@newsg4.svr.pol.co.uk...
> > What's the address - I'll go have a look next weekend...also
need some
> > directions from the motorway.
> > --
> > Andrew
>
> Leave the M32 J1and head east on the A4174, following signs to
Downend and
> then Kingswood. At Kingswood town centre, turn left onto the
A420 heading
> east. At the bottom of the hill, you will see the pub on the
RHS, with the
> turning to Grimsbury Road just before it. I dont think you'll
miss it.
>
I make it 51°27.6'N 2°29.1W -- ST663736.
ejb
Mark Eatherington <"mark(DOT)eatherington"@nottingham(DOT)ac.uk> wrote in
message news:8djr7t$a9q$1...@oyez.ccc.nottingham.ac.uk...
, we also had boxes full of glass
could use them to make
> switches for explosives, but thats another childhood story...
>
> M.
or dissolve in conc nitric and add alcohol,that's another story too.
ejb
Steve Walker
ejb <er...@burke29.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:8dkvtb$3le$1...@news5.svr.pol.co.uk...
reading this brought back happy (but decidedly off-topic) memories of a
childhood obsession with mercury. We used to pinch it from school, bust
instruments etc to top up the stash. We'd play for hours, pouring it from
hand to hand etc. We also pinched lead from all over the place, and melted
it on my mum's stove and cast ingots.
(Not that it ever did me any....... erm ............ where am
I?........)
Steve
John Doe
workers, they could be heard 5miles+ away from the factory sites
J
"M.J.Powell" <mi...@pickmere.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:SERWbDAA...@pickmere.demon.co.uk...
> In article <01a77a96...@usw-ex0109-070.remarq.com>, Rob <robertlor
> dan1980...@yahoo.com.invalid> writes
> >Are there any air raid sirens left standing in the UK or
> >was every single one taken down?
> >I`d also be interested to hear any memories (especially
> >from the early 1980`s) that you have of the sirens- tests
> >for example.
>
> at 9:00 for about 30 seconds. It's a steady note and reminds me of the
> wartime siren 'All Clear'.
>
> Mike
> --
> M.J.Powell
Bob Powell
>30 years ago ICI (in Northwich) used sirens as an alarm clock for shift
>workers, they could be heard 5miles+ away from the factory sites
>> at 9:00 for about 30 seconds. It's a steady note and reminds me of the
>> wartime siren 'All Clear'.
>>
>> Mike
>> --
>> M.J.Powell
>
>
refineries. They are tested every Monday at noon. Used to warn workers
of incident and to evacuate some areas. Also to alert the local
population.
--
Bob Powell
Chris D.
<<
Behind the Tennis Court (?) Public House, adjacent to Kingswood
Rugby Club's ground, is a single storey building with one main
entrance and two fire exits at the rear. Whilst trying to play
one of the games mentioned above, and the body deciding that the
allotted period for the game is far too long, I stood chatting
to a local man who informed me that the building belonged to BT
and allegedly went 4 storey's below ground level.
The structure looks to be in my uneducated eye to be of classic
'bunker' type styling, i.e. apart from the dooorways, no window
openings, plain rectangular structure with roof mounted
ventilation.
Whist not wishing to encorage any nefarious activity, the two
fire exits to the rear appear to be open, with signs that local
children are probably far more aware of the buildings contents
than the owners would wish.
If I lived locally, I would get someone to establish the truth
;-)
>>
I finally managed to snatch a quick look this afternoon.
The site is at approx. 51°27.6'N 2°29.1W -- ST663736.
The building is about 100m x 15m wide x perhaps 5m tall, with an
extra chunk (about the width of a staircase...) at right angles
halfway down the western side, plus a slightly lower admin block
tacked on the southwestern side -- with the only windows of the
structure, firmly boarded up.
Adjacent to the rooftop ventilation outlets at the southern end
are three tall pipe vents and a grubby manhole (giving access to
an underground diesel tank?).
The two fire exits on the eastern side are still secure -- just
one of the metal grills dislodged and partially burnt ex-BT
engineering rubbish nearby. The main double doors to the
building are firmly padlocked.
The area surrounding the building would have been illuminated
with many floodlights mounted at roof level but I could see no
evidence of PIRs or externally mounted alarms. The perimeter
has insubstantial chain-link fencing (with one large hole to the
south) with no concrete reinforcements.
The entire site is *littered* with BT manhole covers of varying
styles and ages, some recessed in culverts. Adjacent to a batch
of three of them, to the northwest of the compound approximately
30m from the building, are what looked to me to be two short
ventilation pipes (standing maybe 1m above ground).
A temporary sign near the main door suggests the site was closed
in March 2000 -- Various drums of heavy-gauge, multi-wire cable
still lie discarded awaiting an enterprising scrap dealer ...
Despite there being no sign of any hardening of the surface
structure, I suspect that the building does extend below ground
and therefore warrants further investigation.
Anybody got a contact within BT engineering in the Westcountry?
Rgds,
Chris D.
Andrew P Smith
<ceedeeb...@anti-social.com> writes
>
>Rgds,
>Chris D.
An excellent description - saves me the visit. I have a very good
contact at BT but not in the West Country - I'll ring him and ask if he
knows who to call but sounds like it may have been an underground
telephone exchange of some type. (purpose and who it served open to
speculation - is it anywhere near the BBC on Whiteladies Road??)
Chris D.
>
> An excellent description - saves me the visit. I have a very
good
> contact at BT but not in the West Country - I'll ring him and
ask if he
> knows who to call but sounds like it may have been an
underground
> telephone exchange of some type. (purpose and who it served
open to
> speculation - is it anywhere near the BBC on Whiteladies
Road??)
> --
No. The site is about 5 miles east of the city centre,
bordering what was *once* Bristol's 'green belt'. (On the
horizon, you can almost make out the Lansdown AAOR.)
I'd agree it's probably an underground telephone exchange. I'm
surprised at it's size (especially if it has five levels, which
I doubt!) and location. Apart from a large industrial estate
several miles to the north, the area is substantially
residential.
I've started speculating to myself about possible post-WWII
business/govt. occupation of land in nearby Warmley & Cadbury
Heath (1m SE) both of which have small c.1970 industrial
estates. I've no knowledge of the history of the area, so will
have to consult a local library sometime.
(On a different tack, I wondered about the geology of the area
and noticed that the OS map describes one of these districts as
The Batch -- coal was extensively mined in areas closer to the
city centre up to the pre-Victorian era -- but I don't recall
any evidence around Warmley.)
Thanks for your feedback,
Chris D.
(I also yesterday drove past the microwave relay station at West
Harptree that seems to have accumulated probably over a dozen
dishes since a visit years back -- I'm amazed the tower wasn't
blown over in last month's snow and gales!)
Dave Liquorice
> but sounds like it may have been an underground telephone exchange of some
> type.
That side of the city has nothing obvious, but it's niot a side I knew very
well. Purdown has the main BT links tower but that is a some distance away.
Warmley rings very small bells relating to a military connection but donno
what.
> (purpose and who it served open to speculation - is it anywhere near the
> BBC on Whiteladies Road??)
No, the nearest exchange is a traditional 60s built concrete structure. Now
mostly empty with the advent of digital equipment. I suspect however that
not all the circuits from BH to the "rest of the world" go via this building
but direct to the main exchange in the city or to Purdown.
<trivia> This building used to hold an early electronic exchange and was one
used to trial itemised billing. I lived not far away and had itemised bills
about two years before they came generally available. The BBC also got
itemised bills and this provoked a couple of internal memos along the lines
of: "Who ever is calling a number in xxxx every lunchtime for an hour, stop
it". For BBC Bristols management this is remarkedly enlighted as they must
have the number and the extension from which it was called but landing like
a ton of bricks on one poor unfortunate doesn't put the willies up the rest
of the staff who haven't been spotted...
--
Cheers new...@nexus.demon.co.uk
Dave. Remove "spam" for valid email.
andrew_...@my-deja.com
070.remarq.com>,
Rob
<robertlordan...@yahoo.com.invalid>
wrote:
> Are there any air raid sirens left standing in
the UK or
> was every single one taken down?
> I`d also be interested to hear any memories
(especially
> from the early 1980`s) that you have of the
sirens- tests
> for example.
>
>
> * Sent from AltaVista http://www.altavista.com
Where you can also find related Web Pages,
Images, Audios, Videos, News, and Shopping.
Smart is Beautiful
>
In article <01a77a96.53a82d99@usw-ex0109-
070.remarq.com>,
Rob
<robertlordan...@yahoo.com.invalid>
wrote:
> Are there any air raid sirens left standing in
the UK or
> was every single one taken down?
> I`d also be interested to hear any memories
(especially
> from the early 1980`s) that you have of the
sirens- tests
> for example.
>
> Rob
>
There is one on a railway bridge next to Waterloo
station. If you walk from Waterloo to Waterloo
East and look to your left you can see it, and if
you catch a train from Waterloo East to Charing
Cross look to your right. You're within a few
feet of it.
This is the genuine only air raid siren I know of
that's left (before they were taken away, I used
to 'spot' them).
There are however a number of sirens around
Broadmoor Hospital that are sounded when a
patient escapes. They are tested every Monday
morning at 10:00. They differ from an air raid
warning in that the siren switches between two
distinct tones rather than smoothly changing
pitch. I believe this is achieved with via mutes
on each stator that open and close in turn.
andrew_...@my-deja.com
Rob <robertlordan...@yahoo.com.invalid> wrote:
> Are there any air raid sirens left standing in the UK or
> was every single one taken down?
> I`d also be interested to hear any memories (especially
> from the early 1980`s) that you have of the sirens- tests
> for example.
>
> Rob
>
> * Sent from AltaVista http://www.altavista.com Where you can also
find related Web Pages, Images, Audios, Videos, News, and Shopping.
Smart is Beautiful
>
There is one on a railway bridge next to Waterloo station. If you walk
from Waterloo to Waterloo East and look to your left you can see it,
and if you catch a train from Waterloo East to Charing Cross look to
your right. You're within a few feet of it.
This is the only genuine air raid siren I know of that's left (before
they were taken away, I used to 'spot' them).
There are however a number of sirens around Broadmoor Hospital that are
sounded when a patient escapes. They are tested every Monday morning
at 10:00. They differ from an air raid
warning in that the siren switches between two
distinct tones rather than smoothly changing pitch. I believe this is
achieved with a mutes on each stator that open and close in turn.
Andy Dingley
>This is the genuine only air raid siren I know of
>that's left (before they were taken away, I used
>to 'spot' them).
If anyone wants a hand-cranked one, one of our local (Bristol) alers
has one for sale
Andy Dingley
>If anyone wants a hand-cranked one, one of our local (Bristol) alers
>has one for sale
Although they probably are selling them in the pubs around here, that
sentence makes more sense if "surplus dealers" hadn't been truncated.
It's AWOL in Southmead, if you're wondering.
Chris D.
"Andy Dingley" <din...@codesmiths.com> wrote:
> It's AWOL in Southmead, if you're wondering.
Southmead has *always* been AWOL!
Steve Moore
Remember the late-70s Members song, "Sound of the suburbs"? It contained
the lines...
"Every lousy Monday morning
Heathrow jets go crashing over my home.
Ten o'clock, Broadmoor siren
driving me mad, won't leave me alone"
__Steve__
Steve Moore
Andy Dingley
>Remember the late-70s Members song, "Sound of the suburbs"?
Seems like only yesterday when I last heard it....
andrew_...@my-deja.com
I suppose the meaning of those lyrics are lost on most people. The
10:00 tests have obviously been a regular thing for quite some time.
Roy Smith
"Steve Walker" <steve-...@beeb.net> wrote in message
news:8dl56l$2tng$1...@news.beeb.net...
and melt the lead into ingots. They all had to be the same shape-most
important.
I built a brick furnace in the back garden for the purpose.
I also tried to dig tunnels....without success.
I lived across the road from the Manor House London Underground sub-station
in Woodberry Grove. And they had/have BIG mercury arc rectifiers in there.
Also nice big vent shaft at the rear of the building.
Ahhh...happy days :)
Regards,
Roy
stuartw...@gmail.com
Bill
stuartw...@gmail.com writes
>been tested and it was linked up to hack green nuclear bunker in
>natwhich
>
could have it if I could move it. Didn't have a crane with me at the
time, so it's probably still there.
http://s117.photobucket.com/user/G8IAY/media/Siren1.jpg.html?o=18
--
Bill
MB
> I remember one been on top of knutsford fire station in the 80s and it been tested and it was linked up to hack green nuclear bunker in natwhich
>
Jeff
>
fighters at some stations.
Jeff
MB
> I found one on top of a theatre in Manchester a while back. They said I
> could have it if I could move it. Didn't have a crane with me at the
> time, so it's probably still there.
collapsed. Meant that the siren on the roof was not accessible so just
left there.
Someone I know set off the sirens over a bit of the South East of
England one night - intentionally because the light came on and he could
not get hold of anyone to confirm.
damdu...@yahoo.co.uk
signify when some live ordnance is being handled.
Puzzles a few people as it can be heard quite clearly over much of
Southampton which is opposite across the River Test.
G.Harman
Jeff
for nuclear accident from the Z berth for nuclear submarines.
Jeff
warwic...@googlemail.com
I remember the Crayford one being tested when I was a child, up until '92 maybe?
Russell W. Barnes
>
https://www.flickr.com/photos/russell_w_b/3619777657/in/album-72157619654427376/
MB
http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/13506778.Air_raid_siren_memorial_unveiled/
mayfiel...@hotmail.co.uk
> Are there any air raid sirens left standing in the UK or
> was every single one taken down?
> I`d also be interested to hear any memories (especially
> from the early 1980`s) that you have of the sirens- tests
> for example.
>
> Rob
>
>
> * Sent from AltaVista http://www.altavista.com Where you can also find related Web Pages, Images, Audios, Videos, News, and Shopping. Smart is Beautiful
Russell W. Barnes
time in as an electrician on the Manpower Services Scheme in Workington,
on the site of the Moss Bay ironworks which had just closed down. I was
just out of my time as an electrician at another British Steel plant
down the road.
The guy in charge, who really ought to have known better (isn't
hindsight a wonderful thing?) asked me to remove 'this old siren' which
happened to be in the way of something. In I went and switched the
handle on the isolator and gave it a few seconds before shutting it
down. I was just reaching for my tools when a red-faced works policeman
puts his head round the door, fuming. 'I've just had Cockermouth Fire HQ
on the phone!' he said. 'They think WWIII has broken out!'
Likely the back-contact on the siren control had flagged up an alarm at
the CCP (Carrier Control Point)! It was an old WWII air-raid siren, but
was used during the 'cold war' too. Through my childhood it sounded at
12:00 every Saturday with the one on Workington fire-station and
Workington town hall. I only learned in later years that it was an
official test of the siren system.
All sirens in Workington were removed about 1990/91 with the disbandment
of the ROC and the wire-broadcast system. There was a 'cold-war' siren
on a radio station 'somewhere in England' (of which I have the
autowailer and panel), but it's siezed up.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/russell_w_b/albums/72157619654427376
There's a WWII air-raid siren extant on a hangar on the former RAF
Kirkbride airfield (RAF 12MU) in north Cumbria.
--
Regds,
R.
sheffie...@gmail.com
Chris Turner
cbaker...@googlemail.com
> There's 3 near me, one in Crayford, one in Bexleyheath, one in Lewisham.
>
> I remember the Crayford one being tested when I was a child, up until '92 maybe?