Cold War Conversations

The man who built his own nuclear bunker (240)

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Episode notes

Graham Bate was 30-year-old Civil Servant when he built his own nuclear bunker in the garden of his rural home 20 miles outside Hull in the UK.

It was here that the Bate family expected to survive for at least 3 weeks after a nuclear attack.

We speak with Graham Bate and his son Conrad who was 5 years old when the bunker was built and has vivid memories of the period.

0:00 Introduction and background

0:53 Guest Introduction: Graham Bate and his nuclear bunker

2:26 The inception and design of Graham's bunker

7:04 Family's experience and trial run in the bunker

13:27 Reflections on the bunker project

20:10 The family's nuclear emergency plan

29:11 Security measures and local perspectives on the bunker

32:37 Living conditions in the bunker

37:03 Graham's fame and bunker building business

43:39 Impact of the Cold War on the bunker business

46:03 Learning curve and survival in a post-apocalyptic scenario

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I am delighted to welcome Graham and Conrad Bate to our Cold War conversation…

There’s further information on this episode here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode240/

Special thanks to Al McCann who helped facilitate this episode. Please visit his website Northern Ireland's Secret Bunker. A Cold War 'Living' Museum situated in County Armagh https://www.facebook.com/nibunker/

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