Are Air Raid Sirens Still Used In This Country?

[10ClarionSt]

Or, are they available to use in the event of an attack on this country?

[woofgang]

so we could do what? grasp our ankles firmly?

[237SJ]

There are some still in use. In the US there are test warnings that come up every now and again on the TV. I would imagine they would use something like that if there was an attack

[Dinapal]

http://www.ringbell.co.uk/ukwmo/Page211.htm

[Prudie]

I work on an army base and that sound is used as an alarm for any kind of attack. It's tested at 1200 every Friday so quite familiar to me. The first few seconds are also used to mark the start and end of any remembrance silence.

[pastafreak]

I'm about a mile away from the Devonport dockyard in Plymouth. A siren goes off at 11:30 am every
Monday morning. Apparently it's a test of the warning for a radiation leakage.
I never knew that til I Googled it just now...oh joy. :-(

[Canary42]

Still used in some industrial situations (e.g. quarrying before a blast).

[tamborine]

Our fire stn has it to warn an engine is about to race out....scares me each time

[237SJ]

Our local waterworks uses one to warn people within a certain radius of a chlorine leak so that they can evacuate. They test it every tuesday morning and it gave my Mum the shivers the first time she heard it because she had lived in London during the war and it brought back many memories

[Peter Pedant]

yeah you tube
air raid siren effects

many happy hours of siren effect

including a nuclear one from Floriddy 2009


complete disaster - the RAF bombed a school ( Jeanne D'Arc Academy) as well - 150 kids dead I think

I watched cloverleaf with alot of younger people
and commented towards the end
" O that is really bad boys and girls "

and when asked why
" that is a nuclear bomb warning - they are just about to let off an atomic bomb in New Yoirk Central Park to kill the sea alien" ( it IS fiction I stress )

and they said in wonder: "well you really know your air raid siren sounds innit ?" - [the early WW2 sirens in england were Gents and later they were Carter]

[Peter Pedant]

sorry a lot of stuff covered by the film square
o well c'est la vie

[Jackdaw33]

Often were used in factories/shipyards to indicate the time to start/stop work. Before their demise the shipyards on the Tyne would use them to herald in the New Year.

[Dinapal]

A few pictures of the 'Carter' sirens mentioned earlier.. The Colliers Wood and Robin Hood Gate (A3) sirens still exist in situ.

[Canary42]

Jackdaw: The railway works at Swindon were still using it for that in the 70s when I was living there. A very loud blast it was too. I believe they recently restored it and sounded it to celebrate something.

[Dinapal]

https://www.thesirenboard.com/photos_carters.html

[Tuvok]

There used to be radio receivers to be used in emergencies. These would be tested regularly by means of a word being broadcast and the tester having to report back the word to prove they'd listened.

I used to hate the noises broadcast before the test. The radio was situated above the door into the office.

Can't remember when these radios were removed but I do remember our sub post office also had it into the 80's