Silverdale ROC Post, Staffordshire

The fifth location visited on the 2007 Urbex Meet-Up in Stoke-on-Trent is this ROC Post (please see the previous four posts for the others). Just a very short article, as I've only got a few photos, but some more information about the weekend tacked onto the end.

A little background information: Royal Observer Corps Monitor Posts were part of the cold war defence system in Britain between 1955 and 1991.  

Underground structures manned by volunteers, the majority of ROC Posts were built to a standard design comprising a toilet/store and a monitoring room and accessed by a 14-foot-deep access shaft and ladder.

Opened in 1962 and closed in 1991, this one at Silverdale was a Master Post. According to Subterranea Britannica some artefacts remained in 2006, including furniture, switch boxes, original papers, fire blanket box, BPI mount and several other things.

I wasn't able to manage the ladder to go in - which is a shame as this was my first and only ROC Post - and I don't remember if anyone mentioned what they saw, so I don't know what, or if, any of the artefacts remained.

The article on Sub Brit can be found here

Just a bit more information about our meet-up weekend. The meet was arranged on the Derelict Places forum that we all belonged to. Using our avatar names, we were Stafforshireranger (our resident host), SmileySal, World of Shadows, Reaperman, Braveheart and Foxylady (me!). World of Shadows and Reaperman just joined us for the first four locations then went off to do something else.

Braveheart and Staffordshireranger about to go inside.

Staffordshireranger going down the ladder.

The next photo shows the start of the last explore - Silverdale Tunnel. I couldn't manage the way down...or rather, I was half way down and realised that I'd have problems getting back up from the bottom of a very high and steep bank...so I gave up at that point, lol. Smiley Sal very kindly came back to see if she could help me down and after crying off I managed to get a photo of her going off to catch up with the blokes.

After the explores we all went back to our respective billets, then all six of us met up again in the evening for nosh and a few beers. I was so tired I kept nodding off into my pint. Doh!

There was a bit more exploring the next morning, of a mine, but as my coach back to Devon left mid-morning I didn't join in that one. A fantastic weekend, though, which I thoroughly enjoyed. :)