Britain Under Threat: Civil Defence in the Era of Total War, 1914–1989 - Media

Our latest “Document of the Week” was chosen by our Senior Curator, Dr Charlie Hall. It comprises multiple copies of the pamphlet, Some Things You Should Know If War Should Come, which was distributed throughout Britain in July 1939, when another major European conflict seemed extremely likely. Read more →

How did the government attempt to convince British citizens that a nuclear attack was survivable? Take a look at the “Protect and Survive” booklet from 1980, which was accompanied by a series of animated films Read more →

The scale of the threat grew exponentially with the development of nuclear weapons. Find out how the nature of British civil defence was forced to change in the years following the Second World War. Read more →

The Bethnal Green tube disaster was the largest loss of civilian life in the UK during the Second World War. Read more →

A huge civil defence endeavour was undertaken to limit the impact of aerial bombardment on Britain during the Second World War, but how did it impact the day to day lives of ordinary people? Read more →

We know that the British government was responsible for civil defence during the First World War, but what role did ordinary citizens play? Read more →

Over the coming weeks, we will be sharing exciting insights into our new collection, Britain Under Threat: Civil Defence in the Era of Total War, 1914–1989, spotlighting important documents and the stories that they tell. Read more →