I rather suspect, despite the advice given in that work of fiction, namely the "Protect and Survive" booklet, that should you have seen those bright flashes in the sky or anywhere else, then you would not have had a home and, should you have survived initially, you would have not lasted very long thereafter.
It has become quite fashionable to mock "Protect and Survive", but some of the comments are based on a misunderstanding of what it was really about. Obviously you won't survive if you are very close to a nuclear explosion, but for people further away it was important to know what to expect and to use simple mitigation techniques to try to maximise the chances of survival.
I am not mocking and I understand what it was meant to do but the fact is Protect and Survive was the biggest load of rubbish ever produced. It was meant to reassure rather than be of much practical use. If the blast didn't get you then radiation sickness etc., etc. would eventually get you. Furthermore, it wouldn't have been just one bomb and there would have been utter devastation across the country; every city, every military installation, every seaport and airport
I am not entirely ignorant of what would have happened and what the result would have been. Today's problems pale into insignificance compared to those which would exist as a result of nuclear attack.
I am fully aware of the plans because I was one of those who would have been required to do his bit, but whether or not I would have been safe is highly debatable and I rather suspect that I, together with my colleagues, was expendable. Furthermore, we were never told what would happen to our families whilst we were out there trying to preserve law and order anywhere we were required across the country.
During our "Protect and Survive" training, such as it was, the consensus of opinion was "in the event of a nuclear war stick your head between your legs and kiss your a*** goodbye". Despite your protestations, this thought is something which, even to this day, I cannot argue with.
I am also aware that the authorities will have action plans in place to deal with our current situation and, I would suggest, these will be more easily implemented than those which were in place in the event of nuclear attack.
