THEY were the lonely Cold War outposts set up to document and chart the devastating effects of a nuclear attack on the UK.

As the bombs fell, men from the Royal Observation Corps (ROC) were to shelter within the tiny underground bunkers, monitoring the size of the blasts and plotting the course of the radioactive fallout as it spread across the country.

Isolated from each other, but connected with a communications network, the monitoring posts were built as an insurance policy against a day it was hoped would never come.

But as the threat of an atomic exchange receded, they fell into disuse and were abandoned as relics of a darker time, with few remaining intact today.

Yet now the secrets of one of the last nuclear monitoring post’s left in Scotland are to be revealed for the first time in more than 20 years through a project being undertaken to uncover the lost history of a remote part of the North East.

The Herald:

Little can be seen of the bunker above ground

At first glance, the fields of Inverharroch Farm on the Cabrach are an unlikely place for a stronghold from the height of the Cold War.

But it was from here that a three-man squad would watch mushroom clouds spreading from the ruins of Aberdeen, Dundee and other population centres if ther Soviets had ever launched their missiles.

There used to be ROC monitoring posts every 10-15 miles, with the Cabrach, which has been closed since 1992, site neighbouring those in Findhorn and Elgin.

George Anthony from Keith was a former group officer for the ROC and worked at the Drummuir site. He explained what the organisation was tasked to do.

He said: "Ten thousand observers were part of the Royal Observer Corps around the country and I started out as an observer at a monitoring post in Drummuir. When I was promoted to group officer I looked after four posts in Moray.

"If we came under attack, our job was to plot the flash going off and the pressure of the nuclear burst.

"Even in peacetime we had to take readings from instruments every five to 10 minutes so each shift was very busy.”

He added: "There was no heating, though, and the only air was via a small vent and the access shaft, so you had to be hardy."

The Herald:

Access is provided through a deep shaft

Sunk 20 feet under the ground, the reinforced concrete bunkers were designed to survive an atomic blast, with access provided by a single ladder descending from a turf-covered steel manhole on the surface.

Inside, there was enough space for three servicemen to live for a period of up to three weeks after a nuclear attack, although conditions were cramped.

Each bunker comprised only a single room, with mapping and monitoring equipment crammed into the living space, along with an adjacent chemical toilet.

From here, the ROC officers would trace the shifting patterns of deadly radioactive fallout blowing on the wind and relay the information to larger underground centres, such as the Troywood bunker in Fife – a 24,000 sq ft facility now open as The Secret Bunker tourist attraction.

The Herald:

Conditions inside were cramped

Andy Fairgrieve from Dufftown, who also manages the arts programme of a nearby Speyside distillery, has visited more than 200 decommissioned nuclear bunkers around Scotland, Northern Ireland and the North East of England.

He said: “If you were on duty when the bombs dropped then you had to stay in the bunker. The data you provided would have helped the government to establish the effects on the country and to help any survivors.”

He added: “The nuclear posts were located around 10 to 15 miles apart and were organised into clusters which communicated between themselves.

“The Cabrach bunker, or ‘Post 32’, was part of the Aberdeen Section. The UK’s network of bunkers were reorganised from 1968 onwards, with a number of them being closed down, although Post 32 remained operational until the early 1990’s when the Royal Observer Corps was stood down.

“Most are now flooded, burned out or permanently locked by the landowner but this one remains in remarkably good condition and I’m really looking forward to showing people around it.”

The bunker, which will be opened for one day on Saturday 18 August, is under the care of the Cabrach Trust, which plans to work with historians to convert the existing farm steading into a historically-accurate distillery, heritage centre and cafe as a significant new tourist attraction. All profits will be reinvested locally in jobs, housing and infrastructure.

“Heritage isn’t just all about ancient history,” said the Executive Director of The Cabrach Trust, Sue Savege.

“The nuclear bunker is part of the Cabrach’s very recent history and is a fascinating chapter in of the area’s long and interesting heritage. The story behind this bunker will eventually be documented alongside the rest of the history of the Cabrach in our new heritage centre.

"The Open Day will give us an opportunity to give an update on how work is progressing on the heritage centre, and we’ll be offering a ‘virtual tour’ of the site.”