The Royal Observer Corps post at Chop Gate has recently been restored and a fantastic job has been made of it, its such a nice change to see a post in good condition rather than being stood in knee deep water with rotting artifacts floating around you.

On the surface the entrance was fitted with its Ground Zero Indicator (GZI) which is a pin-hole camera to record the position of any nuclear bomb bursts.

   

The ventilation shaft is in great condition with a fresh coat of paint.

  

The dome for the Fixed Survey Meter was also present, which has normally long since vanished.

 

A great collection of the kit associated with the post was also on display, such as a set of maroon launchers used to warn the public of fallout.

  

A hand cranked air-raid siren and generator to charge the posts batteries.

  

Then it was time to get underground !

 

Underground the post is in stunning condition.

 

An early Teletalk and Warning receiver were present as well as their later BT replacements

 

The Bomb Power Indicator is suspended from the roof.

 

The probe for the Fixed Survey Meter which would be sent up a tube to the dome outside to monitor radiation.

 

With the old and new versions of the Fixed Survey Meter to actually monitor radiation.

 

It was also very nice to see some of the more ephemeral items such as METAR weather report forms, Triangulation calculators and post maps.

 

 

And finally of course the post important piece of equipment in the whole place, the toilet.

 

I can’t compliment this place enough, its great that we now have a local restored post, further information on the restoration and details of future open days can be found on the Attack Warning Red site. Huge amounts of information about the ROC can also be found on numerous sites 1 2 3

NOTE : None of the items in these photographs are stored in the post, it is completely stipped when there’s not an open day in progress.