The Cold War Experience at Broadway Tower’s Nuclear Bunker
Fifteen feet below ground on the Broadway Tower Estate lies a relic of the Cold War. Our former monitoring bunker was once part of a wider network of similar structures all over the United Kingdom, built to study and report the effects of nuclear explosions and the resulting radioactive fallout.
Manned by mainly civilian spare-time volunteer men and women, the Royal Observer Corps was active from 1925 to 1995. ROC activity was subject to the Official Secrets Act and is hence a seldom told part of our social history. Members would be expected to spend three weeks below ground during a Nuclear exchange, monitoring and reporting strikes.
Our nuclear bunker was closed in September 1991 when the Royal Observer Corps stood down. It has now been fully restored to how it would have been in the 1980’s at the height of the Cold War.
The last Air Commodore-in-Chief ROC was Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Step back in Time
We offer you the chance to step back in time and witness how our country would have coped if the Cold War had ever turned hot.
Our Nuclear Bunker Museum is open April to October on weekends, bank holidays and select days. The guided tours last up to 45 minutes. Please book your admission through our website.
Please ensure you arrive at the Nuclear Bunker Museum, 10 minutes prior to the time you have booked for your Nuclear Bunker tour.
Important information about access to the bunker
Please be aware that access to our nuclear bunker is via a ladder. Because of this there is no means of disabled access for visitors with impaired mobility or sight. The minimum age for bunker tours is 10 years old. Anyone under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Please ensure that you wear suitable clothing and footwear.
Special openings can be arranged in advance during the week for schools, history groups and private parties.
War Memorial
On the 2nd June 1943, the crew of a Whitley bomber on a training mission from Honeybourne airfield, crashed next to the Tower. Unfortunately, Pilot HG Hagen, Sgt EG Ekins, Flt Sgt DH Kelly, Sgt DA Marriott and Sgt RS Phillips did not survive.
At the time of this tragedy, the Tower was being used by the Royal Observer Corps, as a vantage point to track enemy planes over England. First on the scene were two members of the Royal Observer Corps, Albert Lowe and Ernest Hollington. Braving the flames, the two men pulled all five airmen clear and though four were dead, a fifth man was still alive. Taken to the shelter of the nearby tower, he died soon afterwards.
A memorial stone marks the spot where the Whitley bomber crashed. Everyone is welcome to come and pay their respects to the brave airmen who all lost their lives on that date.