Architects of Armageddon
The Home Office Scientific Advisers' Branch and civil defence in Britain, 1945–68
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8390802 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Melissa Smith (0000-0003-1160-1509), Melissa M Smith (0000-0003-1922-7347, University of Manchester, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2010 |
| Volume | 43 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 149-180 |
| Publication date | 2010-06-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The British Journal for the History of Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0007-0874 • E-ISSN: 1474-001X |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0007087409990392 |
| OpenAlex | W2136961770 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
| References cited | 4 |
In 1948, in response to the perceived threat of atomic war, the British government embarked on a new civil defence programme. By the mid-1950s, secret government reports were already warning that this programme would be completely inadequate to deal with a nuclear attack. The government responded to these warnings by cutting civil defence spending, while issuing apparently absurd pamphlets advising the public on how they could protect themselves from nuclear attack. Historians have thus far sought to explain this response with reference to high-level decisions taken by policymakers, and have tended to dismiss civil defence advice as mere propaganda. This paper challenges this interpretation by considering the little-known role of the Home Office Scientific Advisers' Branch, a group of experts whose scientific and technical knowledge informed both civil defence policy and advice to the public. It explores both their advisory and research work, demonstrating their role in shaping civil defence policy and showing that detailed research programmes lay behind the much-mocked government civil defence pamphlets of the 1950s and 1960s
Civil defense · Government (linguistics · Interpretation (philosophy · Political science · Spanish Civil War · Work (physics · Engineering · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · Law · Nuclear Issues and Defense · Public Administration · Twentieth Century Scientific Developments
| Citations per year | 0.57 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2012 - 2019 (8) |
| Highly cited | No |