The Hole in the Ground (1962)

Russell Napier: Narrator

Quotes 

• Narrator : 14:40 hours on 24th of January nineteen... well the year doesn't really matter. This man in the Warning and Monitoring Organisation is a Chief Sector Warning officer. He is in charge of this Sector Operations Centre and normally is the only full-time member of its staff. Beside him, is his leading scientist who is an air pollution expert in civil life, an appropriate occupation as he will be responsible, in the event of a nuclear attack, for advising the Chief Sector Warning Officer where, when, and how much radioactive fallout can be expected.

  Narrator : [he continues]  This is the Carrier Receiver Set which, if its regulating should ever change to a banshee-like wail, could confirm that their knowledge will be required. These people normally work in the local post office and as they knew all about telephones anyway they. like the scientist, volunteered for this work. They train at a special school in London along with everyone else here and they're all Civil Servants.

  Narrator : [he continues]  They're not worried because none of these people know that in a matter of minutes they will be earnestly, frantically busy. They don't know yet that Midas Satellites, circling the Earth, have just reported large-scale, rocket-firing, deep from enemy territory. They don't know that two, giant radar stations, part of the ballistic missile early warning system are tracking those rockets towards the North American continent and that other missiles have been picked up which are aimed at this country.

  Narrator : Master radar stations around the coast, following reports from continental radar stations have picked up a wave of high-flying, supersonic bombers heading for targets all over Western Europe. At the Air Defence Operations Centre, A-D-O-C, the warning officer has assessed the situation and has issued an air attack warning to all parts of the country - The Red Warning. This air attack message has been passed to the BBC for nationwide broadcast. At the same time, an automatic system known as "Carrier Control" is relaying the massage to fifteen thousand warning points throughout the country. Now it is only a matter of seconds before the nation knows it is fighting for survival.

  [the alarm goes off and air-raid sirens begin to wail]