Buckinghamshire (1962: The Apocalypse)

Stats
Buckinghamshire is a Democratic UK survivor nation based in Buckinghamshire, north east Berkshire and southern Northamptonshire.

World War 3, 1962
It is known that only 3 atomic devices had hit the territory and none went off, save for 1 1kt bomb in Verny Railway Junction, in the Soviet attack. A Soviet bomber did crash near Brackley after dropping its bombs elsewhere. The crew were killed in the crash. London had been hit repeatedly. Radiation would be a big problem in the south and east of the nation.

The 3 places hit were

 * 1) Verney Railway Junction- 1x 1kt.
 * 2) RAF Finmear- 1x 1kt. (did not go off)
 * 3) Claydon L&NE Junction (Varsity Line with Princes Risborough/High Wycombe Line), Bucks- 1x 1kt (failed to go off and only broke up on impact, spewing radiation, dirty bomb style).

Survival
A severe famine and a cholera outbreak hit Buckinghamshire and Hemel Hempstesd, killing many people during 1963 and 1965. It was only due to harsh laws and joint pooling of their resources at a county-come-national level that lead to their survival. Niden Manor Airstrip was used for storing remaining coal, diesel, paraffin and petrol under heavy police and army guard.

First contact
Explorers from Northamptonshire and Market Harborough arrived in 1967. It was made with the City State of Sutton, Kentshire, and Sussex in 1973. 1974 saw contact made with Mercia and Towcester commune. An on-off war was started by Southern England in 1977 over the ownership of Hertfordshire. Explorers arrived from West Wiltshire in 1983. Hostile relations started with the Daventry and Woodford Halse Union and Brackley and Hinton-in-the-Hedges Union in 1989.

Hertfordshire and Hemel Hempstead join the union


Hemel Hempstead was peacfully annexed in 1977 and the west of Hertfordshire was liberated from Southern England's occupation between 1978-1987. Hostillity continues over the fate of the rest of Hertfordshire.

1974- 1994
Towcester Commune peacefully merged with Buckinghamshire in 1982. The leader of Hertfordshire's government in exile, Malcolm Wicks and his deputy Mark Prisk set up a FM in radio station in the border town of Welwyn Hatfield and export only newspaper to promote democracy in the S.E.R.

Former refugee camps

 * 1) Wendover
 * 2) Marsh Gibbon
 * 3) Saunderton
 * 4) Hertford
 * 5) Tring
 * 6) Aylesbury

Earthquake
An earthquake rocked the ruins of Northolt and a large surrounding aera, reaching out as far as Hertford, in the early morning of 23rd September 2002 (as in OTL). It registering 5.7 on the Richter scale according to scientists in the Kingdom of Lille-Wallonia and the PRUK, and lasted approximately 20 seconds. An aftershock of magnitude 2.4 occurred on 25th September at the same time, but was not felt beyond Hemel Hempstead.

Bad weather

 * 1) The floods of April 2006 killed 1.
 * 2) The heat waves of early 2006 and 2007 killed 1.
 * 3) The was major flooding between June and August 2007 killed 2.
 * 4) The rainstorm and floods of mid 2007 killed 2.
 * 5) the hurricane of mid 2009 killed 2.
 * 6) The winter of 2009-10 was the worst in 50 years killing 1.
 * 7) The rainstorms of early in the June of 2012 killed 1.

Military
The armed forces discontinued the use of bows and swords in favour of rifles and pistols in 1987. The armed forces are a volunteer force of 8,000.

They poses the following petrol vehicles-
 * 6x Chevrolet RD 4x2 (USA) - Trucks
 * 4x T17E1 Staghound (USA) - Armoured Cars
 * 2x Leopard 1 Tanks
 * 6x Centurion tanks (3 are known to be in storage)
 * 1x Ferret armoured car
 * 2x FT-17 Tank

Weapons

 * 1) Thompson sub-machine gun
 * 2) Canon de 75 modèle 1897
 * 3) Ordnance QF 18 pounder
 * 4) Colt 45 pistol
 * 5) The French Darne machine gun.
 * 6) Stokes mortar
 * 7) Enfield No. 2 Mk I Revolver
 * 8) The Rifle, Anti-Tank, .55in, Boys commonly known as the "Boys Anti-tank Rifle" (or incorrectly "Boyes", nicknamed the "elephant gun")
 * 9) Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Mk I (1903)

The Southern Journey-
It was made with the Sutton city state, Kentshire and Sussex in 1973.

The northern Journey-
1974 saw contact made with Mercia and Towcester. The latter was assimilated by 1977.

The Slough to Twyford Journey-
Slough's, Maidenhead's and Twyford's tribesmen folk were re-integrated between 1979 and 1980.

The Daventry Journey-
Hostile relations started with the Daventry and  Brackley and in 1989.

Economy
Brackley’s economy is largely dependent on agriculture and stone exports to East Anglia and the Provisional Republic.

Agriculture
Cattle and sheep are a major farming produce with mutton and beef being the nation's leading export.

Manufacturing
The production of clothes, shoes, furniture, processed foods and stone products are made around Alysbury, Wendover and Buckingham.

Trade with the PRUK, East Anglia and Sussex
Mutton and beef being the nation's leading export. They are sold to the PRUK for machinery. Sussex and East Anglia buy the local cider in small amounts along with chalk and gravel to East Anglia in exchange for wheat and rye.

Windward Electrical Project
The Windward Electrical Project system was founded by Rutland, the PRUK and Central Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire in 1998. Other nations joined the project in 1999 and 2004. Connection was between 2005 and 2009, depending on location.

Irish peat and Walloon coal
These are common domestic fuels and were ready available since 2000.

Transport


Due to the lack of modern trasportation methods horses are the main beast of burden and land travel in Buckinghamshire. Yachts and canoes are used on local rivers, when possible.

Horses are still popular in the nation, despite the resent, but short lived, outbreak of equine ethmoid hematoma in Hemel Hempstead and Hertfordshire.

4 alco-fuel buses run twice on Mondays between The capital of the S.E.R., Sussex, Hemel Heampstead, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and the P.R.U.K.

Travel is mostly by horse and bicycle, since there are few motor vehicles. There are a few alcohol, petrol and sunflower oil vehicles and some petrol driven tractors in use across the republic. Alcohol powered motor bikes and bicycle also occur in more places as time goes by.

A 2 track railway unifies Banstead and Epsom with Buckingham, Slough, Horsham and Crawley. It was built in 2009 and has 3 diesel train services a week day. 2 more trains run on the Saturdays, but don't call at Banstead and Epsom.


 * Rolling stock includes-
 * 1) 2 Thompson Class O4/8 steam locos
 * 2) 2 GC Class O4 No. 6311 steam locos
 * 3) 4 GWR Pannier Tank 7714 steam locos
 * 4) 7 MK1 BR coaches
 * 5) 5 GUV Freight wagons
 * 6) 8 GWR coal trucks
 * 7) 3 GWR break vans

The 5 Nations Railway Project
The 5 Nations Railway Project was founded by Daventry, and Loughborough, the P.R.U.K., Central Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire on July the 15th, 1998. Kettering joined in 6 weeks later. Several there nations joined the project in 1999.

Healthcare
Thyroid cancers are no longer major issues, and are markedly less than they were before 1987.

Waterworks
Most water is taken from the 6 water works on the River Tove or local well, lakes and stream water.

The 2010 census

 * 1) Employment is at 99%.
 * 2) 97% of households have running water.
 * 3) 57% of households have electricity.
 * 4) 36% of households have a gas supply.
 * 5) Literacy rate - 99%
 * 6) Literacy rate of under 16's - 98%

Media
A national newspaper has been in circulation since 1982. Radio Buckinghamshire began medium wave transmissions from Wendover, Buckingham and Aylesbury in 2004. Radio Radlett began broadcasting on FM in 1989 and on MW in 2005. The commercial music station, Quff FM, began broadcasts from Buckingham in 2010.

Sport
Cricket, football, Hockey and rugby are the national sports.

The arts
Painting, wood carving and the works of William Shakespeare are enjoyed by many.

The Death Penalty
Murderers, sex predators, rapists, child molesters, traitors and enemy spies are executed with the hangman’s rope. A moratorium on hanging was put in place since 1989 and became permanent in 1990. A SER spy was also hung in 1997 for trying to politically undermine the government.