Operation Candid

Last updated
Operation Candid
Part of Cold War
TypeContingency plan
Planned byBritish Government
ObjectiveTo evacuate Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Edinburgh and other members of the British royal family in the event of nuclear war
Date1962 (1962)

Operation Candid: Protection of the Royal Family in an Emergency was a Cold War contingency plan of the British Government to evacuate Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Edinburgh and other members of the British royal family from London in the event of nuclear war. [1] The plan was devised in late 1962 following the Cuban Missile Crisis and approved the following year. [2]

Contents

History

During a time of crisis a Royal Duties Force would be formed. The force would be around 1,300 officers and men consisting of a reinforced battalion from one of the five regiments of Foot Guards, a reinforced squadron of the Household Cavalry equipped with armoured cars, a medical detachment, communications vehicles and other support and transport vehicles. It would be fully mobile and self-supporting for seven days. The force was capable of being split into four separate, self-supporting units to disperse key members of the royal family to different locations. [1]

The plan had contingencies for different situations depending on the political situation and the amount of preparation time.

The home secretary and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, would remain with Queen Elizabeth II so they could hold a Privy Council and appoint a new prime minister if necessary. [4]

The plan was renamed Operation Synchronise in 1965 and in 1968 was absorbed into PYTHON, the plan to relocate the core of government to the Central Government War Headquarters at Corsham. Under this plan, the Queen would be moved to Corsham Court during the Precautionary Phase and then moved into the Central Government War Headquarters at short notice if necessary. [2] It was withdrawn as a plan separate to PYTHON in 1973. [1]

Recent developments

In February 2019, media reported that the Civil Contingencies Secretariat had "repurposed" Operation Candid to evacuate the royal family from London in the event of rioting following a no-deal Brexit, however neither Buckingham Palace nor 10 Downing Street would comment on the report. [5] [6] [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuban Missile Crisis</span> 1962 confrontation between the U.S. and Soviet Union over ballistic missiles in Cuba

The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis [of 1962] in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union, which escalated into an international crisis when American deployments of missiles in Italy and Turkey were matched by Soviet deployments of similar ballistic missiles in Cuba. Despite the short time frame, the Cuban Missile Crisis remains a defining moment in national security and nuclear war preparation. The confrontation is often considered the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Civil defense</span> Protection of citizens from natural disaster and military attack

Civil defense or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state from man-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, or emergency evacuation and recovery. Programs of this sort were initially discussed at least as early as the 1920s and were implemented in some countries during the 1930s as the threat of war and aerial bombardment grew. Civil-defense structures became widespread after authorities recognised the threats posed by nuclear weapons.

HMY <i>Britannia</i> Museum ship, former royal yacht of the British monarch

Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia, also known as the Royal Yacht Britannia, is the former royal yacht of the British monarchy. She was in service from 1954 until 1997. She was the 83rd such vessel since King Charles II acceded to the throne in 1660, and is the second royal yacht to bear the name, the first being the racing cutter built for the Prince of Wales in 1893. During her 43-year career, the yacht travelled more than a million nautical miles around the world. Now retired from royal service, Britannia is permanently berthed at Ocean Terminal, Leith in Edinburgh, Scotland, where it is a visitor attraction with over 300,000 visits each year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Continuity of government</span> Principle of emergency government

Continuity of government (COG) is the principle of establishing defined procedures that allow a government to continue its essential operations in case of a catastrophic event such as nuclear war.

RFA <i>Engadine</i> (K08)

RFA Engadine (K08) was a helicopter support ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear arms race</span> Part of the Post-WWII era and the Cold War

The nuclear arms race was an arms race competition for supremacy in nuclear warfare between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective allies during the Cold War. During this same period, in addition to the American and Soviet nuclear stockpiles, other countries developed nuclear weapons, though none engaged in warhead production on nearly the same scale as the two superpowers.

This timeline of United States government military operations, based in part on reports by the Congressional Research Service, shows the years and places in which U.S. military units participated in armed conflicts or occupation of foreign territories. Items in bold are wars most often considered to be major conflicts by historians and the general public.

The Coats Mission was a special British army unit established in England in 1940 for the purpose of evacuating King George VI, Queen Elizabeth and their immediate family in the event of a German invasion of Britain during the Second World War. It was led by Major James Coats, MC, Coldstream Guards, later Lieutenant-Colonel Sir James Coats, Bt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Government War Headquarters</span> Underground complex in Wiltshire, England

The Central Government War Headquarters (CGWHQ) is a 35-acre (14 ha) complex built 120 feet (37 m) underground as the United Kingdom's emergency government war headquarters – the hub of the country's alternative seat of power outside London during a nuclear war or conflict with the Soviet Union. It is located in Corsham, Wiltshire, in a former Bath stone quarry known as Spring Quarry, under the present-day MoD Corsham. In 1940, during the Second World War, the site was acquired by the Minister of Aircraft Production and used as an underground engine factory.

Operation Ortsac was the code name for a possible invasion of Cuba planned by the United States military in 1962. The name was derived from then Cuban President Fidel Castro by spelling his surname backwards.

<i>Resurrection Day</i>

Resurrection Day is a novel written by Brendan DuBois in 1999. In its alternate history, the Cuban Missile Crisis escalated to a full-scale war, the Soviet Union is devastated, and the United States has been reduced to a third-rate power that relies on the United Kingdom for aid. The novel won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Atlantic Command</span> Military unit

United States Atlantic Command was a Unified Combatant Command of the United States Department of Defense. In 1999, U.S. Atlantic Command was renamed and given a new mission as United States Joint Forces Command.

Operation Giant Lance was an undercover military operation by the United States in which the primary objective was to apply military pressure towards the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Initiated on October 27, 1969, President Richard Nixon authorized a squadron of 18 B-52 bombers to patrol the Arctic polar ice caps and escalate the nuclear threat poised. The goal was to coerce both the Soviet Union and North Vietnam to agree on favourable terms with the US, and conclusively end the Vietnam War. The operation's effectiveness was also largely built on Nixon's consistent madman theory diplomacy, in order to influence Moscow's decision even more. The operation was kept top secret from both the general public and higher authorities within the Strategic Air Command, intended to only be noticed by Russian intelligence. The operation lasted one month before being called off.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wartime Broadcasting Service</span> Service of the BBC to be broadcast in preparation of a nuclear war

The Wartime Broadcasting Service is a service of the BBC that is intended to broadcast in the United Kingdom either after a nuclear attack or if conventional bombing destroyed regular BBC facilities in a conventional war. It is unclear if the Wartime Broadcasting Service is still operational as plans are kept mainly secretly with the BBC and government officials. According to an article by the BBC, recordings of a nuclear attack warning are still re-recorded and kept up to date periodically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Project Emily</span> British deployment of PGM-17 Thor ballistic missiles

Project Emily was the deployment of American-built Thor intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs) in the United Kingdom between 1959 and 1963. Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command operated 60 Thor missiles, dispersed to 20 RAF air stations, as part of the British nuclear deterrent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No. 226 Squadron RAF</span> Military unit

No. 226 Squadron RAF was a unit of the British Royal Air Force that existed as a bomber squadron during the First and Second World Wars, and as part of the UK's nuclear ballistic missile force in the early 1960s.

Python was a Cold War contingency plan of the British Government for the continuity of government in the event of nuclear war.

Operation Yellowhammer was the codename used by the British HM Treasury for cross-government civil contingency planning for the possibility of Brexit without a withdrawal agreement – a no-deal Brexit. Had the UK and EU failed to conclude such an agreement, the UK's unilateral departure from the EU could have disrupted, for an unknown duration, many aspects of the relationship between the UK and European Union, including financial transfers, movement of people, trade, customs and other regulations. Operation Yellowhammer was intended to mitigate, within the UK, some of the effects of this disruption, and was expected to run for approximately three months. It was developed by the Civil Contingencies Secretariat (CCS), a department of the Cabinet Office responsible for emergency planning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No-deal Brexit</span> Conjectured failure to achieve UK/EU FTA

A no-deal Brexit was the potential withdrawal of the UK from the European Union (EU) without a withdrawal agreement. Under Article 50 of the Maastricht Treaty, the Treaties of the European Union would have ceased to apply once a withdrawal agreement was ratified or if the two years had passed since a member state had indicated its will to leave the European Union. The two-year period could have been extended by unanimous consent from all member states, including the member state that was wishing to leave the European Union.

References

  1. 1 2 3 WO 32/21796 Protection of the Royal Family in an emergency, The National Archives
  2. 1 2 Jim Wilson (2009). Launch Pad UK: Britain and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Pen and Sword. p. 120. ISBN   978-1844157990.
  3. LaMarca, Anderson (June 2, 2014). "Duck and Cover - Hundreds of Soviet nuclear missiles were pointed at Britain by 1963". Medium.
  4. 1 2 "'Floating bunker' plan to help Queen escape nuclear attack". The Telegraph. 12 July 2010.
  5. "Plan to evacuate the Queen after a no-deal Brexit". The Times. 3 February 2019.
  6. Bull, Millie (3 February 2019). "Queen to be EVACUATED if no deal Brexit declared in plans taken from COLD WAR era". Sunday Express.
  7. "Riots After a No-Deal Brexit? Save the Queen". New York Times. February 3, 2019.