The short answer
Protect and Survive was the government's Cold War advice for a nuclear attack: a Home Office booklet and twenty short films narrated by Patrick Allen. It told families to build a 'fall-out room' or inner refuge, store 14 days of food and water, keep a battery radio, and stay inside when fallout warnings sounded. Raymond Briggs's When the Wind Blows, about an elderly couple facing a nuclear attack, made many people question how much that advice could do. Some of it still matches today's official advice: go indoors, stay away from outside walls, keep water and a battery radio, and listen for official instructions. Today's UK advice is shorter: 'go in, stay in, tune in', usually for one to two days.
Why people are looking this up again
Searches for Raymond Briggs and nuclear war have jumped in the UK this autumn, alongside searches about WW3. Many people remember When the Wind Blows or the Protect and Survive films from school or TV. This page explains what that old advice said, and how it compares with what UK officials say today.
It isn't a prediction. If war news is worrying you, our post on coping with worry about war may help.
What Protect and Survive was
- A booklet, written by the Home Office and the Central Office of Information and printed by HMSO. The Imperial War Museum's copy is recorded as 1976, reprinted 1980.
- Twenty short films, which the Imperial War Museum describes as public information "filmlets" designed to be broadcast at a time of imminent nuclear threat. Patrick Allen is listed in the cast.
There was an earlier version too. The National Archives holds the Householder's Handbook from the 1960s, which told people to whitewash the house, tape the windows and make a safe core in one room.
What it told families to do
From the Imperial War Museum's description of the films:
- Warnings: a rising and falling siren meant attack; three bangs, gongs or whistles meant fallout; a steady siren meant all clear.
- At home when the attack warning sounded: turn everything off, close windows and curtains, and go to your fall-out room with the children.
- Supplies for the fall-out room: food, drinking water, a radio and spare batteries, a tin opener, warm clothing, bedding, a first aid kit, a toilet bucket, and things to pass the time. It said you might be there 14 days or more.
- Water and food: 14 days' worth; tinned food you can eat cold; eat perishables first; ration everything.
- After fallout: stay in the refuge for at least the first 2 days, and don't go out until the radio says so, and then only briefly.
- The radio: described as your only contact with the outside world, battery powered, with lots of spare batteries.
When the Wind Blows
Raymond Briggs, best known for The Snowman, wrote When the Wind Blows, a graphic novel about an elderly couple facing the effects of a nuclear attack. Penguin describes it as funny and grim at the same time. It was later made into an animated film.
Many readers took it as a comment on government advice: an ordinary, trusting couple doing what they're told, in a situation where that can't save them. That's our reading, and a common one, rather than an official view.
Then and now: what's changed
| Protect and Survive (1970s–80s) | Today's official UK advice | |
|---|---|---|
| Main message | Build a fall-out room, stay inside | Go in, stay in, tune in (UKHSA) |
| How long inside | At least 2 days; supplies for 14 days or more | Usually one to two days for a radiation emergency (UKHSA) |
| Warnings | Sirens, bangs, gongs, whistles | Mainly phone Emergency Alerts, TV, radio and GOV.UK (see our Emergency Alerts guide) |
| Where to be | Inner refuge, away from outside walls | Indoors, doors and windows shut, away from outside walls (UKHSA) |
| Water | 14 days' worth | 3 litres per person per day for 3 days in the home kit (Be Ready) |
| Radio | Battery radio, spare batteries | Battery or wind-up FM radio (Be Ready) |
| Clothing | Shake off dust before going indoors | Take off outer clothing if you were outside; UKHSA says this can remove around 90% of contamination |
| Iodine | Not in the films' summary | Only take tablets officials give you, when told (UKHSA) |
One important difference: today's UKHSA page is written for radiation emergencies such as an accident at a nuclear site or with radioactive material in transport. It doesn't mention nuclear weapons. It is still the clearest official advice on sheltering from fallout that we have.
What the old advice got right
- Getting inside quickly and staying away from outside walls. UKHSA still says this.
- A battery radio and spare batteries. Be Ready still lists a battery or wind-up radio.
- Stored water and food you can eat cold. Be Ready still asks for both.
- Planning for a toilet when you can't use the normal one. Our emergency toilet post covers this for any emergency.
What it got wrong, or what has dated
- It said little about what was beyond any household's control. The National Archives says the 1960s handbook "seemed remarkably naïve" even before Protect and Survive, and notes the protest movement's reply, "Protest and Survive".
- Whitewashing windows and buckets of sand belong to the 1980s films and aren't in today's official advice.
- Sirens are no longer the main warning. Phones now get Emergency Alerts.
- Fourteen days in one room is not what UKHSA asks for today. Its advice is shorter, and says to follow official instructions on what to do next.
A calm next step
You don't need a fall-out room. The same few things help in a storm, a power cut or any emergency where you're told to stay indoors:
- A battery or wind-up radio and spare batteries.
- Water: 3 litres per person per day, for 3 days.
- Food you can eat without cooking, and a manual tin opener.
- Know which room in your home is most sheltered.
Our post on what to do if there's a nuclear attack warning covers the official steps in more detail.
What we couldn't check
- The National Archives' own image and film pages for Protect and Survive blocked our checks, so we've used the Imperial War Museum's records.
- Dates for the booklet differ: the Imperial War Museum's record says 1976, reprinted 1980, but notes the booklet itself states first published 1980.
- We haven't given publication dates for When the Wind Blows because the publisher's page we read lists only its current edition (1987).
What to buy
About these links: plain links to ordinary retailer pages. We may earn from some links in future; we don't now. We haven’t tested these and we don’t rank them: they are examples that were in stock when we checked. Prices change. Check what you already own first. Full kit list
Battery or wind-up FM radio
Look for: FM (Be Ready asks for FM; DAB as well is fine). Both a crank and ordinary batteries, so you have two ways to power it.
Spare batteries
Look for: The sizes your torch, radio and alarms take. Check the date on the pack.
Food-grade water containers with lids
Look for: Food-grade, with a lid, never one that held chemicals, fuel or paint. Date the water you store.
Frequently asked questions
What was Protect and Survive?
A UK government public information campaign about what to do in a nuclear attack. It included a booklet from the Home Office and Central Office of Information (the Imperial War Museum's copy records 1976, reprinted 1980) and twenty short films designed to be broadcast if a nuclear attack looked likely. Patrick Allen is listed in the cast.
What did Protect and Survive tell people to do?
Turn everything off, close windows and curtains, and go to a 'fall-out room' or inner refuge when the attack warning sounded. Stock 14 days of food and water, a battery radio with spare batteries, a first aid kit and a toilet bucket. Stay in the refuge for at least the first 2 days after fallout, and only go out when the radio said so.
What is When the Wind Blows about?
It's a graphic novel by Raymond Briggs, the author of The Snowman, about an elderly couple facing the effects of a nuclear attack, told in a style that is both funny and grim (Penguin's description). It was later made into an animated film.
What is the UK advice now if there's a nuclear or radiation emergency?
UKHSA's advice for a radiation emergency is 'go in, stay in, tune in': go indoors as soon as you can, close doors and windows, keep away from outside walls, and follow official advice on TV, radio and GOV.UK. You may need to stay indoors for one to two days. Only take iodine tablets if officials give them to you and tell you to.
Was Protect and Survive any use?
Parts of it match advice still given today: getting inside, staying away from outside walls, keeping water, and listening to the radio. The National Archives describes the earlier 1960s Householder's Handbook as seeming 'remarkably naïve', and notes the protest response 'Protest and Survive'. No advice could protect people close to a nuclear explosion.
Sources
We opened each page on the date shown. Official advice changes: if a source says something different now, follow the source.
- Imperial War Museums: PROTECT AND SURVIVE (film, COI 1088), full description of the twenty filmlets (read 1 November 2026)
- Imperial War Museums: Protect and survive (booklet record, Home Office / Central Office of Information, HMSO) (read 1 November 2026)
- The National Archives: The Cold War (Householder's Handbook, HO 338/57) (read 1 November 2026)
- Penguin: When the Wind Blows by Raymond Briggs (read 1 November 2026)
- UKHSA (GOV.UK): What to do in a radiation emergency (updated 10 September 2024) (read 1 November 2026)
- GOV.UK Be Ready: hazardous substance and radiation exposure (read 1 November 2026)
- GOV.UK Be Ready: be ready for emergencies (checklist) (read 1 November 2026)
Related guides
- Radiation emergency in the UK: what official advice says (go in, stay in, tune in)
- Worried about war? How UK households can prepare — calmly
- UK Emergency Alerts: a calm guide
- Wind-up radios: what to look for before you buy
Free tools
We're an independent UK site, not the government. We check guides against official sources and link to them. In an emergency call 999.
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