THE ORFORD NESS NATURE RESERVE

Even among the assortment of pavilions, bunkers and concrete groundworks, the two so-called Pagodas stand out. With their raised roofs they put one in mind of ancient temples, but their purpose was entirely practical – they were Vibration Test Buildings where Britain’s nuclear bombs were subjected to procedures designed to gauge their ability to withstand extreme environmental pressures.

This much I was at least vaguely aware of before visiting Orford Ness. But while there I gleaned an even more startling piece of information. For Portillo’s Hidden History of Britain I arranged to meet men and women who were witnesses to history – ordinary people who were caught up in extraordinary events. In one of the Pagodas on

Orford Ness I spoke to a former civilian engineer with the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment who told me that sometimes (and contrary to official policy) the bombs being tested contained both high explosives and fissile material (ie capable of a nuclear reaction).

That sounds risky to me. Could “Orford Ness” have become a byword for nuclear catastrophe? My witness claimed that the chances of such an event occurring were vanishingly small, but military research and planning are as susceptible to error and mishap as any aspect of civilian life.

Another site I investigated is the village of Imber on Salisbury Plain. At the end of 1943, as Allied forces prepared for D-Day, the War Office ordered Imber’s inhabitants to leave so the Army could use the site for tank and target practice.

Some villagers claimed they Open March-June, Saturdays only; summer, Tues-Sat; October, Saturdays only. See website nearer the time for 2019 prices. (nationaltrust. org.uk/orford-ness-nationalnature-reserve).