Protect and Survive

Between 1974 and 1981, at the height of the Cold War, the British government engaged in a project of civil defence and readiness in the event of nuclear attack consisting of the production of pamphlets, newspaper adverts, radio broadcasts and public information films (PIFs) under the umbrella title, Protect and Survive.

Originally secret but following letters and articles in The Times the pamphlet was made available to the general public in May 1980, who could buy a copy from the Post Office for 50p.  The PIFs however were intended only to be broadcast within 72 hours of an imminent attack until they were leaked to CND and the BBC and featured on an episode of the channel's flagship current affairs show, Panorama.

Richard Taylor Cartoon Films - makers of the 'Charley Says' PIFs - we're commissioned to make the 20 short films for which they employed Patrick Allen - a character actor well known in the UK for his voice-over work - to narrate and Roger Limb of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop to provide the music.  Mixing animation with still photographs and looking like the bleakest possible episode of Play School the films include such episodes as...

• What to Do When the Warnings Sound - if outside lie down in a ditch.
• Make Your Fall-out Room and Refuge Now  - hide under a table covered with luggage.
• What to Put in Your Fall-out Room - don't forget string.
• Water and Food - don't forget your tin opener either.
• Sanitation - make sure your poop bucket has a lid.
• Fire Precautions - paint your windows white.
• Life Under Fall-out Conditions - remember to brush any fall-out off your wellies after going outside.
• Casualties - make sure your loved ones are accurately labelled when you bury them in the garden.

The entire Protect and Survive project has, since it became known, been the source of much well deserved rebuttal (E.P. Thompson's Protest and Survive) and ridicule (Raymond Briggs' When the Wind Blows, Threads, The Young Ones episode Bomb). As a cultural artefact it makes for fascinating viewing that'll satisfy every hauntological itch in your body and show just how depressingly close to the mark folks such as Richard Littler, Robert Popper and Peter Serafinowicz were when they created pastiches like Scarfolk and Look Around You but in real terms it's farcical, reeks of "Keep Calm and Carry On" and would be catastrophically useless in the face of what would be an apocalyptic event.

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