# Carter siren



## gushysfella (Jun 16, 2011)

Carter siren 

Last time I seen a air raid siren still in position was about 3 minutes before I took it off its locking plate and went to lower it off the roof of the old village hall in Thurmaston, (it was at that point I realised the phone line was still connected to the junction box under the locking plate, I turned to shout to my mate in the cherry picker and nearly fell of the sodding roof!!) that was also the point I realised I was too old for messing about on buildings and moved departments so I would be working underground! :icon_evil 

Any ways must be 15 years since I seen one and today drove passed one still on it’s pole, I was at a set of traffic lights and as far as I could see was in good order, orange paint clearly visible through its vents and a line connecting, I will be back at the weekend with a camera! Never seen any on this site yet there’s a big cold war following with the amount of treads, any one else seen any around? 

(not asking for locations just photos)


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## krela (Jun 16, 2011)

gushysfella said:


> Carter siren
> 
> Last time I seen a air raid siren still in position was about 3 minutes before I took it off its locking plate and went to lower it off the roof of the old village hall in Thurmaston, (it was at that point I realised the phone line was still connected to the junction box under the locking plate, I turned to shout to my mate in the cherry picker and nearly fell of the sodding roof!!) that was also the point I realised I was too old for messing about on buildings and moved departments so I would be working underground! :icon_evil
> 
> ...



There's been a few on here in the past. They seem to be getting fewer and fewer though, I know of many that have been removed in the past 5 years. Isn't it odd though, getting nostalgic over something that in reality was really quite grim.


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## gushysfella (Jun 16, 2011)

krela said:


> There's been a few on here in the past. They seem to be getting fewer and fewer though, I know of many that have been removed in the past 5 years. Isn't it odd though, getting nostalgic over something that in reality was really quite grim.



Reason I put the question was over dinner tonight mentioned the sighting to the good lady and she just looked at me and said “they were awful every time they tested the one at the end of the road she got goose bumps”! what do you want a photo of one for you used to moan about them!! Now this is going to sound silly, Late 70’s early 80’s I use to have to travel around the midlands and test them, 30 second blast of high & low, and 30 sec’s level, (apart from those in a flood plain I bet most people would now a day’s wouldn’t know what they sound like, nippers!!) but it’s the sort of sound I just can’t put my finger on, grief, for those who never made the shelters in the war, fright knowing what they were making their wail for, excitement, fright I’d probably get goose bumps one going off down my road now! They meet so much at one time yet you never see them now


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## krela (Jun 16, 2011)

Unless you live in a heavily industrial area. There's a carter siren system around Avonmouth here which goes off infrequently, but even then most of the residents don't know what it means even though it's there for their benefit. I know there is similar around Port Talbot, and Teeside, and presumably there are others too.


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## Badoosh (Jun 16, 2011)

Devonport Dockyard in Plymouth still test the siren every Monday morning at 11.30. I have three full size cold war era sirens & control box plus a hand operated siren still in it's crate that will be used for exhibitions in the near future.


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## stevejd (Jun 16, 2011)

Used to be one of those on top of the water tower at Rauceby Asylum, good fire alarm but scared the pants off new locals who didn't know better, eek escaped patient alarm.
Unfortunately a smaller version was used as a repeater a couple of hundred yards from my rented staff house.
odd times fine but when bugs keep setting the smoke alarms off 5-6 times in a night, it's pass the sledge hammer time.
The big one is long gone as is the tower it sat on, but the repeater remains.


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## John_D (Jun 16, 2011)

There used to be one, atop a 20ft pole next to a blue Tardis type police box in Highbury Grove, North London, sadly now both gone (just checked on 'street view')


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## Walrus75 (Jun 16, 2011)

gushysfella said:


> ...it’s the sort of sound I just can’t put my finger on, grief, for those who never made the shelters in the war, fright knowing what they were making their wail for, excitement, fright ...


Al Khobar/Dharhan in Saudi Arabia, Jan/Feb 1991 - when they went off it sure sharpened the mind 'cos it meant incoming Scud missiles. Best bloody fireworks display that I've ever seen though  The wierdest thing is being in a rather large city and hearing the sirens going off, very eery 

And in the 80's on a RAF camp in Germany: we usde to have 4/5 day exercises, one of the last things that used to happen was the sirens going off followed by a tannoy which went "_All remaining crews to cockpits, Scramble for survival"_ - this was the siganl for all aircrew and flyable aircraft that hadn't taken part in an attack against the advancing Red hordes to GTF outta there 'cos there's nukes on the way: it was quite literally the 4 minute warning. Used to put a chill up my spine every time I heard it and still does now I think about it.


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## johno23 (Jun 16, 2011)

There are a lot of these old WW2 sirens still in situ,all along the Lincolnshire coastline,they have indeed been there since WW2 and were used for the same.

But in more recent years they were used as the warning system for coastal flooding.They were tested every August and at other times if maintenance was needed,it was highly amusing watching the reaction of the holidaymakers when they went off.

They stretched from Boston to Louth all along the coast and were operated via BT Landline from a central control room.They are STILL in situ but no longer used as they have gone onto an automated telephone calling system that you have to sign up for.This was to allegedly save money on maintenance,landline rental and electricity etc.

I wonder how many have signed up and who is daft enough to get out of bed at 3 am to answer the phone on a cold night.However you could not ignore the eery sound of these things no matter what.

For info,some are on top of buildings such as cinemas,police stations and shops whilst others are on stand alone telegraph poles.


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## oldscrote (Jun 17, 2011)

Thought I'd remembered sirens on the forum here's the link

http://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/main/showthread.php?t=2827&page=3


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## rusty-signs (Jun 17, 2011)

One sounds midday every friday in the folkestone area, i assume it originates from shornecliffe camp, And there was one still on a pole in the Silverhill area of Hastings, must have a look next time i'm passing, see if it's still there!


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## Andymacg (Jun 17, 2011)

up until february this year there was a siren on the roof of the post office sorting office in erdington until they took it down when they re roofed it

and while were on about sirens
i remember being home on leave just after the 90/91 gulf war and the siren went off at the old Fort Dunlop , which used to go off if they had had a leak or as i found out after every other wednesday afternoon, me mams face was picture as i went into a panic as i couldnt find my respirator and nbc gear


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## odeon master (Jun 17, 2011)

*Double impeller sirens*

Hi,
interesting topic here, i actually own both types of siren used from WW2 till the end of the cold war era.
The large ones with an impeller at each end had a large 3 phase motor working at 415 volts, they were activated like stated on this thread by a signal sent down a telephone wire, this in turn pulled in a relay in a control panel with inturn activated a 3 phase contactor switch to put 415 volt to the siren motor.
The wailing sound was activated by the AUTOWAILER device which was an electric driven time switch which would power the siren for say 4 seconds, and then cut the power for 4 seconds and back on again for a pre determined time of say 5 minutes.
The ALL CLEAR signal was a continuous blast on the siren for several minutes.
The 3 phase sirens are going to be very rare nowdays as the national air raid warning system was completely dismanteled and scrapped in 1992, only some remained for flood warnings etc.
the only others were long disused ones that had slipped through the sytem so to speak.
Mine came off the top of Nestles coffee factory where the local fire station was once based, i'v had it a good 20 years now.
The hand wound sirens can oftern be seen on ebay and the like, they seem to fetch quiet a bit of money, but there nowhere near as rare as the big double impleller jobs.
If you google AIR RAID SIREN you can hear ones going off where people have recorded them.

cheers
THE ODEON


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## MD (Jun 17, 2011)

i saw one on saturday at hunstanton !! 

nice to see you ODEON its been a while 
hope your well mate


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## The Archivist (Jun 17, 2011)

There's a network of 13 around Broadmoor to warn of escapees, tested every Monday at 10 o'clock. Bloody creepy if you ask me, see here: [nomedia]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2WU9qwDI_Y&feature=related[/nomedia]

If my memory serves me rightly there was also one on top of the fire station in Horsham (West Sussex) a couple of years ago. Whether it's still there or not I don't know.

EDIT: almost forgot the Nuclear Event Siren at HMNB Portsmouth. Think they only test that twice a year though.


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## Foxylady (Jun 17, 2011)

The Archivist said:


> Bloody creepy if you ask me, see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2WU9qwDI_Y&feature=related


Ooh, agree. Mind, the one that always puts the hairs up on the back of my neck is the WW2 air raid siren...don't think you can beat that for creepy.
One near where I was brought up had the same sound as the air raid siren but was a continuous note instead of the fluctuating one. My parents called it the 'fire bull', but I suspect it belonged to the nearby borstal.


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## steve_o (Jun 27, 2011)

Badoosh said:


> Devonport Dockyard in Plymouth still test the siren every Monday morning at 11.30.



And if it does go off and its not 11:30am on a monday. Then that does mean impending Doom!


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## chubs (Apr 16, 2012)

i live in hastings, it is still there.


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## ian1200 (Jun 26, 2012)

Heysham power station still have them. thay test them every thursday at 10 am.
As a child in the 60's and 70's in Kendal I remember one going off to call the retained fire brigade in and when ever the river kent was flooding, also thay were tested every sataday at 13.00 Hrs


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