HISTORY
OPERATION TOXIN
"OPERATION TOXIN"
from the Wabana Star
​Nov. 22, 1961, p. 9
Bell Island Civil Defence Authorities were called into action last week to play their part in a test of radio equipment in the overall defence network of Canada. Hubert Butler and Pat Myers stood by the Civil Defence radio set in the Town Hall from 12 noon on Monday, November 13, to 8 a.m. on the 14th. This was part of operation "Toxin," which was primarily designed to brief the general public on how they should act in case of a nuclear attack. During their time on duty, they were kept busy receiving and transmitting messages to the nine stations that make up the Newfoundland network. At about 10:45 p.m. Monday night, difficulty was encountered with reception at Bell Island, and the rest of the test had to be conducted by telephone. It is understood that in certain atmospheric conditions reception on Bell Island becomes very poor, and this was the cause of Monday night's interference.
The photo below is of an Air Raid Siren lying on the ground on the left. John Bennett's house is seen behind it, with the back of the Prince's Theatre mid-photo, then St. Boniface Regional High School. Photo by Gail Weir, 1985. When I started high school at St. Boniface in the Fall of 1962, the threat of Nuclear War was hanging over the world. The Soviet Union was building missile sites in Cuba and there was talk of Atom bombs. I believe the siren in this photo was installed about 1962 and we students were constantly aware of it as we could see it every time we looked out the window of our classroom. I don't recall air-raid drills, for all the good they would have done us!

There was another Air Raid Siren at West Mines and perhaps in other areas of Bell Island.
The photo below is of a piece of specialized equipment on Greenwood Avenue in January 1962. St. Boniface RHS is to the right out of the picture. Was this equipment there to install the air raid siren next to St. Boniface High School? Photo by Tom Careless courtesy of his son, Dave, who is in the right foreground.




​On the right is an advertisement from The Newfoundland Quarterly, Fall 1962 issue, for a power plant that would power your home's electricity needs in the event of a natural disaster and "insures essential electricity for fallout shelter lights, radio, pumps, hotplate, refrigerator."