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  • "Put one's head between one's knees..."

    The script that was written by Whitehall for the Queen to deliver when the 3rd Shock Army came racing through the Fulda Gap and Instant Sunshine was on the cards...

    The Queen was expected to urge Britons to pray and remain united and resolute in the event of the "madness" of nuclear war, papers from 1983 show.

    'WWIII Queen's speech' script revealed

    1 August 2013 Last updated at 07:25

    In a Whitehall-written script, the Queen speaks of the "madness" of war
    The Queen was expected to urge Britons to pray and remain united and resolute in the event of the "madness" of nuclear war, papers from 1983 show.

    The script for a hypothetical broadcast has the monarch describing the threat to the "brave country" as "greater" than any other in history.

    It also mentions the Queen's son Prince Andrew, then in the Royal Navy.

    The speech, devised by Whitehall officials at one of the most fraught Cold War periods, was never recorded.

    The document, released by the government under the 30-year rule, was drawn up as part of a war-gaming exercise in the spring of 1983, which worked through potential scenarios.

    'Madness of war'

    Although it was only a simulation, the text of the Queen's address - written as if broadcast at midday on Friday 4 March 1983 - seeks to prepare the country for the ordeal of World War III.

    The script, which starts off by referring to the Queen's traditional Christmas address, reads: "The horrors of war could not have seemed more remote as my family and I shared our Christmas joy with the growing family of the Commonwealth.

    "Now, this madness of war is once more spreading through the world and our brave country must again prepare itself to survive against great odds.

    The speech includes a reference to Prince Andrew, then serving in the Royal Navy
    "I have never forgotten the sorrow and the pride I felt as my sister and I huddled around the nursery wireless set listening to my father's [George VI's] inspiring words on that fateful day in 1939 [at the start of the World War II].

    "Not for a single moment did I imagine that this solemn and awful duty would one day fall to me.

    "But whatever terrors lie in wait for us all, the qualities that have helped to keep our freedom intact twice already during this sad century will once more be our strength."

    Striking a personal note, the script continues: "My husband and I share with families up and down the land the fear we feel for sons and daughters, husbands and brothers who have left our side to serve their country.

    "My beloved son Andrew is at this moment in action with his unit and we pray continually for his safety and for the safety of all servicemen and women at home and overseas.

    "It is this close bond of family life that must be our greatest defence against the unknown.

    "If families remain united and resolute, giving shelter to those living alone and unprotected, our country's will to survive cannot be broken."

    The speech concludes by saying the Queen's message to the nation was "simple".

    'New evil'
    It adds: "As we strive together to fight off the new evil, let us pray for our country and men of goodwill wherever they may be. God Bless you all.

    In the war-gaming exercise, Orange bloc forces - representing the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies - launch a chemical weapon attack on the UK.

    Blue forces - representing Nato - retaliate with a "limited-yield" nuclear strike, forcing Orange to initiate a peace process.

    The exercise came in the year that US President Ronald Reagan both enraged and alarmed Moscow with his denunciation of the Soviet Union as the "evil empire", his plans for a "Star Wars" ballistic missile shield in space, and the deployment of US nuclear cruise missiles to Europe - including to RAF Greenham Common.

    Tensions increased when the Soviets shot down a South Korean airliner that strayed into their airspace, killing all 269 on board.

    A Nato military exercise, codenamed Able Archer, then nearly triggered an actual conflict with the Soviet leadership apparently convinced it was cover for a genuine attack.

    The Soviet Union and the US later negotiated a reduction in the number of nuclear weapons, as the Cold War came to an end.
    'He died who loved to live,' they'll say,
    'Unselfishly so we might have today!'
    Like hell! He fought because he had to fight;
    He died that's all. It was his unlucky night.
    http://www.salamanderoasis.org/poems...nnis/luck.html

  • #2
    I was born amidst the peak of the Able Archer 83 flap, which probably accounts for my grim fascination with the Cold War era.

    Could have been a very short stint on this planet.

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    • #3
      The only substantial threat to the UK in those days was the psychopath Thatcher.

      She systematically set about dismantling the UK's manufacturing capability and invested the nations future in privatisation of national assets and the promotion of "The City" (London) as the European financial hub. She was also quite keen on financial deregulation............

      Well done that Prime Minister.

      Having said that air shows at the time were amazing ....

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      • #4
        I was prepping for my Leaving Cert, the only thing worrying me was how we were going to do in the Schools Rugby ( and probably who I was going to unsuccessfully chat up at the next school disco!)
        'He died who loved to live,' they'll say,
        'Unselfishly so we might have today!'
        Like hell! He fought because he had to fight;
        He died that's all. It was his unlucky night.
        http://www.salamanderoasis.org/poems...nnis/luck.html

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