Region 6 War Room

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox building | name = Region 6 War Room | native_name = | native_name_lang = | former_names = | alternate_names = | image = Region 6 War Room 1.JPG | image_alt = | caption = Surface entrance building to the former Region 6 War Room | pushpin_map = United Kingdom Reading | pushpin_map_alt = | map_caption = Location within Reading | building_type = [[bunker|Nuclear bunker]] | architectural_style = | structural_system = | cost = | ren_cost = | client = | owner = | current_tenants = | landlord = | location = [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]], [[Berkshire]], [[United Kingdom|UK]] | coordinates = {{coord|51.4390|-0.9345|display=inline,title}} | altitude = | construction_start_date = 1950s {{Infobox designation list | embed = yes | designation1_offname = Reading War Room ('The Citadel'), University of Reading | designation1 = Grade II | designation1_date = 10 March 2009 | designation1_number = {{Listed building England| 1393194}} }} | completion_date = | inauguration_date = | demolished_date = | height = | diameter = | other_dimensions = | floor_count = | floor_area = | main_contractor = | architect = | structural_engineer = | services_engineer = | civil_engineer = | other_designers = | quantity_surveyor = | awards = | url = | references = }} The '''Region 6 War Room''' is a [[bunker|nuclear bunker]] dating from the early days of the [[Cold War]], on the [[Whiteknights Park]] campus of the [[University of Reading]] in the [[England|English]] town of [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]]. It is one of a number of such [[Regional seat of government|Regional War Room]]s built during the 1950s and designed to co-ordinate [[civil defense|civil defence]] in the event of an attack on the country using conventional bombs or [[atom bomb]]s.<ref name="subbritrdg">{{cite web | title = Reading War Room - Region 6 | url = http://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/sites/r/reading/reading.html | publisher = Subterranea Britannica | accessdate = May 12, 2006}}</ref>

== Cold War usage == In the event of war, the war room would have housed the Regional Commissioner and his staff who would have directed the strategic response to air raids throughout the counties of [[Berkshire]], [[Buckinghamshire]], [[Dorset]], [[Hampshire]], [[Oxfordshire]], and the [[Isle of Wight]]. The Regional Commissioner had the authority to assume the full powers of the central government in this region if contact with central government was lost.<ref name="subbritrdg"/><ref name="subbritrwr">{{cite web | title = The Regional War Rooms: 1950's | url = http://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/features/war_rooms/ | publisher = Subterranea Britannica | accessdate = May 12, 2006}}</ref>

The war room takes the form of a two-level windowless building, with the upper level being above ground level and protected by massive concrete walls, while the lower level is below ground level. The building is surmounted by towers containing filtration equipment. The bunker was designed to cope with attacks by weapons of the type used during the [[atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki]] during [[World War II]].<ref name="subbritrdg"/>

The development of the [[hydrogen bomb]] and the expectation of [[mutually assured destruction]] meant that the war room was both inadequately protected, and seen as too small to support the large live-in staff that would be needed after a major nuclear strike. Its principal responsibilities were transferred to a new Regional Seat of Government 6 (RSG-6) at [[Warren Row]] near [[Maidenhead]]. Some sources suggest that it continued in use as a civil defence communications centre for some period after this transfer.<ref name="subbritrdg"/>

== University usage == After ceasing to be used for civil defence purposes, the war room was taken over by the university and modified as a secure storage facility for use by the university library.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hyde |first=Nathan John |date=2017-09-30 |title=Reading is home to a nuclear war room |url=http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/reading-home-nuclear-war-room-13693410 |access-date=2025-12-16 |website=Berkshire Live |language=en}}</ref> In the university's updated development plan, announced in autumn 2007, the bunker was marked as being scheduled for demolition, along with the wartime 'temporary office buildings'. The land was to be used for a car park.<ref name="devplan">{{cite web | title = Whiteknights Development Plan | url = http://www.rdg.ac.uk/about/about-local.asp | publisher = University of Reading | accessdate = November 11, 2007 | archive-date = 30 March 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080330215013/http://www.rdg.ac.uk/about/about-local.asp | url-status = dead }}</ref> However, in March 2009, the building received a [[Listed building#Categories|Grade II heritage listing]] and is now protected.<ref>{{NHLE|grade=II|desc=Reading War Room ('The Citadel'), University of Reading|num= 1393194 |date=10 March 2009}}</ref> Footage from 2001 shown some parts of the war room covered in mold and many leaks.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsMYbPyBZ6A |title=My uni wouldn't let me see their nuclear bunker |date=2025-08-11 |last=Chris Spargo |access-date=2026-01-02 |via=YouTube}}</ref> In 2020 a video posted by [[YouTuber|Youtuber]] TheSecretVault, shows that most documents that are stored in there have mostly been covered by mold.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYYYxDG73d4 |title=Top Secret War Rooms on Reading Campus grounds NUCLEAR BUNKER RSG 6 |date=2020-10-24 |last=TheSecretVault |access-date=2026-01-02 |via=YouTube}}</ref> Also in video some of the original cold war era stuff from the war room is still there.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYYYxDG73d4 |title=Top Secret War Rooms on Reading Campus grounds NUCLEAR BUNKER RSG 6 |date=2020-10-24 |last=TheSecretVault |access-date=2026-01-02 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

[[Category:1950s establishments in England]] [[Category:Buildings and structures of the University of Reading]] [[Category:Nuclear bunkers in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Emergency management in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:British Defence Forces]]