Protect and Survive

Casualties

"If anyone dies while you are kept in your fallout room, move the body to another room in the house. Label the body with name and address and cover it as tightly as possible in polythene, paper, sheets or blankets."

Casualties was a Public Information Film (PIF) which was part of the UK Government's Protect and Survive series. The film informs members of the public what they should do with the bodies of any members of their families who die whilst in the fallout shelter in the aftermath of a nuclear war. It would have been shown repeatedly on all TV channels and played on all radio channels in the days of tension leading up to a nuclear war. It is unlikely that the film would have been shown after the bombs had gone off as TV equipment is very susceptible to the Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) generated during a nuclear detonation, although radio broadcasts may still have been possible. This film paints such a bleak picture of the consequences of nuclear war that the government may have been reluctant to show it until the last possible moment in order to reduce the level of panic.

The film was produced in 1975 by Richard Taylor Cartoons (who also produced the famous "Charley Says" PIFS amongst others). It was narrated by Patrick Allen who went on to appear on Frankie goes to Hollywood's "Two Tribes" track (see Culture).

The transcript of Casualties is given below and an audio recording is presented in RealAudio format. If you require a RealAudio player go to the www.real.com site.

Casualties

After an attack is over and the all-clear has been sounded, arrangements will be made as soon as possible to treat any people who are ill or injured. Listen to your radio, details will be given about what to do, when to do it and how.

If anyone dies while you are kept in your fallout room, move the body to another room in the house. Label the body with name and address and cover it as tightly as possible in polythene, paper, sheets or blankets. Tie a second card to the covering. The radio will advise you what to do about taking the body away for burial.

If however you have had a body in the house for more than five days, and if it is safe to go outside, then you should bury the body for the time being in a trench, or cover it with earth, and mark the spot of the burial.

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This transcript and recording are believed to be in the public domain and were transferred to the Internet by George Coney.
Last updated June 1999
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