WATCH: Cold War flares set off at L'Ancresse

Tuesday 11 December 2018

Guernsey Police and the island's Bomb Disposal unit have set off nearly 100 Cold War flares at L'Ancresse Common in a series of controlled detonations.

The move was somewhat of an experiment, as they did not know exactly what would happen when they tried to set the flares off yesterday.

They were issued by the Royal Observer Corps in the 1960s during the Cold War, as part of an early warning system for nuclear attack. Supposedly, people would be able to hear them two miles away from the point of the explosion, and would then know to get to a nuclear bunker as soon as possible.

Phil Martin, Deputy Civil Protection Officer, was also supervising the controlled explosions. He said they used to have instructions in the front of the phone books to tell people what to do if they heard the flares.

Cold War flares set off at L'ancresse from Bailiwick Express on Vimeo.

After the Cold War ended, many of the flares that were issued to parts of the UK were recalled, but that never happened to Guernsey's stockpile. Now, the island will be donating a number of inactive flares to the Imperial War Museum for a display, along with footage of the detonations.

Guernsey Police advised any dog walkers to steer clear of the common for yesterday morning as the area was cordoned off. 

Pictured top: The flares.