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==Background==
Following the report of the [[Strath Committee]] in 1955, the British government developed contingency plans for the continuity of government. This included construction of the [[Central Government War Headquarters]] (CGWHQ), codenamed BURLINGTON, at [[Corsham]]. As planned, it would have been a "reserve [[Whitehall]]" where the central government could be moved in an emergency and, hopefully, survive a nuclear attack. As nuclear weapons became more powerful and [[intercontinental ballistic missiles]]s became more of a threat than manned bombers, the concept of concentrating central government in a single ___location became flawed. Instead government would be dispersed around the country with just core functions at CGWHQ. The [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] of 1962 prompted a radical rethink of continuity plans.<ref name="herald">{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15039649.How_Scotland_and_three_CalMac_ferries_played_a_crucial_part_in_nuclear_planning/|title=How Scotland and three CalMac ferries played a crucial part in nuclear planning|publisher=The Herald|date=22 January 2017}}</ref> Part of the thinking is that the Precautionary Period ahead of nuclear war or a conventional war in Europe might only last 2-3 days rather than the 7 days originally planned, so it would not be possible to fully staff CGWHQ with 4,000 people in time.<ref name="Hennessy">{{cite book|title=The Secret State: Preparing For The Worst 1945 - 2010|page=141|author=Peter Hennessy|publisher=Penguin|year=2014|isbn=0141979208}}</ref>
PYTHON was became active on 1 May 1968 and described in the 1968 update to the Government War Book.<ref>CAB 21/5655 Government War Book, The National Archives</ref>
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In addition, in 1964 the [[Secretary of State for Scotland]] ordered three ships - [[MV Hebrides (1964)|MV ''Hebrides'']], [[MV Clansman (1964)|MV ''Clansman'']] and [[MV Hebridean Princess|RMS ''Columba'']] - which were chartered to [[David MacBrayne Ltd]] as car ferries but could be converted to floating nuclear bunkers in a very short time. They had heavy steel doors to seal the car deck, external windows and doors were air tight, decontamination rooms with showers and external sprinklers to wash away fallout. One or more of these ships would have accompanied RFA ''Engadine'' or HMY ''Britannia'' from Oban or [[Mallaig]].<ref name="herald"/>
The Corsham bunker, given the new codename TURNSTILE from 1963 and CHANTICLEER from 1970, would play an important part in the lead up to war but ceased to have a CGWHQ role other than as a possible aggregation point for PYTHON groups some time after an attack.<ref
==References==
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