‘No protection against the H-bomb’ : press and popular reactions to the Coventry civil defence controversy, 1954

Barnett, NJ ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8814-0419 2014, '‘No protection against the H-bomb’ : press and popular reactions to the Coventry civil defence controversy, 1954' , Cold War History, 15 (3) , p. 2014.

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Abstract

This article examines British popular and media reactions to America’s Bravo test shot in April 1954 and Coventry City Council’s subsequent decision to abandon Civil Defence. The article finds three key motifs emerged which relate to Britain’s broader sense of national identity in the 1950s. First, the controversy formed part of a cultural battle for national identity between a conservative and potentially militaristic culture, and one which was more progressive and opposed war and nuclear armaments. Second, opponents labelled the councillors as Moscow stooges and this revealed underlying anti-communism. Third, reactions engaged with a secular strain of Cold War apocalypticism.

Item Type:	Article
Schools:	Schools > School of Arts & Media
Journal or Publication Title:	Cold War History
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
ISSN:	1468-2745
Related URLs:	Publication
Depositing User:	NJ Barnett
Date Deposited:	10 Jul 2019 13:43
Last Modified:	16 Feb 2022 02:19
URI:	https://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/51770

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