#ColdWarHistory #TURNSTILE Just found the following remarkable 1967 assessment of the vulnerability of Whitehall staff dispersed in war to the former Central Government War HQ at Corsham (then codenamed TURNSTILE), which was soon to be a decoy site for the new PYTHON concept.
#ColdWarHistory #TURNSTILE Such was the importance of maintaining the cover story that TURNSTILE was still the Central Government War HQ, that a small number of Whitehall staff would be dispersed to TURNSTILE, even though they apparently weren't expected to survive nuclear attack
#ColdWarHistory #TURNSTILE HDC(MG) 2nd Meeting states: "(e) The best comparison to use for the situation of those sent to TURNSTILE at a time of possible nuclear attack on the United Kingdom would be with those remaining in London, from which most of these would have come.".
#ColdWarHistory #TURNSTILE Given that the JIC expected London to be on the receiving end of at least 8 x 1 MT, it would appear that the Machinery of Government in War Sub-Committee did not expect their decoy at Corsham or those dispersed to it, to survive a nuclear exchange
#ColdWarHistory #TURNSTILE But, in order to protect the UK's most vital secret, the PYTHON Concept, the MGW Sub-Committee were prepared to risk sacrificing the whole R Group (about 250 personnel including military comms and PSA support staff. R Group would have still dispersed ..
#ColdWarHistory #TURNSTILE ..in a similar way to the pre-PYTHON dispersal plan. From London (presumably Kensington Olympia) to CHECKPOINT (Warminster School of Infantry) and then onwards to TURNSTILE. Unaware of their true role, they would've thought they were the Advance Party..
#ColdWarHistory #TURNSTILE ...and the Main Party would follow asap. Un-beknown to them, the Main Party wasn't following. Instead it was split into 5 PYTHON Groups a& 3 UKSA Sections and dispersed to separate highly classified locations across the UK. R Group were on their own.-
#ColdWarHistory #TURNSTILE HDC explain the terrible necessity of sending staff to the decoy "(f)...if it became known that TURNSTILE was not going to be manned before the attack the potential enemy might seek to identify the PYTHON sites earlier than would otherwise be the case."
#ColdWarHistory #TURNSTILE If it had become necessary to use the Government War Book, the dispersal of R Group to TURNSTILE would've convinced most senior Whitehall figures that the CGWHQ at Corsham was the only Central Government dispersal site. R Group would've done their job. 
