{"id":1232,"date":"2025-03-27T10:23:31","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T11:23:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/?p=1232"},"modified":"2025-03-27T11:27:35","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T11:27:35","slug":"meet-britains-doomsday-preppers-stockpiling-for-world-war-three","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/27\/meet-britains-doomsday-preppers-stockpiling-for-world-war-three\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Britain\u2019s Doomsday preppers stockpiling for World War Three"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\"?We?re\t<\/div>
UK preppers are ready to respond to any disaster (Picture: Prepared Pathfinder\/The Bug Out Shop)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Your phone<\/a> is out of action, the electricity has cut out and there\u2019s no way to reach food. What\u2019s your game plan?<\/p>\n

These are questions people have been urged to explore as the risk of \u2018World War Three\u2019 seemingly grows.<\/a><\/p>\n

With the EU announcement <\/a>warning people to pack a kit that will help them survive for three days in case of war or natural disaster, nearly half a billion people across 27 countries have been advised to buy bottled water, energy bars, a torch, and waterproof pouches for IDs.<\/p>\n

\u2018Today\u2019s threats facing Europe are more complex than ever, and they are all interconnected,\u2019 The European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib said. <\/p>\n

\u2018Knowing what to do in case of danger, gaming out different scenarios, that\u2019s also a way to prevent people from panicking.\u2019<\/p>\n

But for a growing number of \u2018preppers,\u2019 \u2013 sometimes known as survivalists \u2013 they don\u2019t need any warning. Whether it\u2019s cupboards overflowing with tinned food<\/a>, a car stocked with blankets or an emergency bag stocked with flares \u2013 they\u2019re ready. They have been for years.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\"Commuters\t<\/div>
The world has been urged to take basic precautions in case war does spill into yet more countries (Picture: PA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018There\u2019s a lot of people in high positions saying we\u2019re on the brink of World War Three<\/a>\u2019, Tom Blakey tells Metro. <\/p>\n

He served in the Pathfinders, an elite unit which acts as the \u2018eyes and ears\u2019 for the British Army\u2019s 16 Air Assault Brigade.Tom, who has served in Kosovo, Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan, would operate behind enemy lines to relay back information as quickly as possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If anyone knows how quick reactions can be the difference between life and death, it\u2019s him.<\/p>\n

\u2018The first 36 hours of any disaster are crucial, but surviving that first night is just the start,\u2019 explains Tom, 53.<\/p>\n

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Tom during his deployment in Afghanistan in 2006 (Picture: Prepared Pathfinder\/Tom Blakey)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018An attack may not come in the traditional way we view war, with a physical invasion or bombs dropping. It could be a cyber attack<\/a> which could wipe out our phones, energy supplies and water infrastructure in one big hit.<\/p>\n

\u2018Whatever the threat is \u2013 whether it\u2019s the weather, other human beings, a natural disaster \u2013 the first step is getting away from it and having a plan B. What if your car breaks down? What if the bridge you wanted to cross has collapsed? What if you don\u2019t have a water supply? You need to be prepared for the \u201cwhat-ifs\u2026\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n

Tom was brought up with a will to survive. His father, a Vietnam veteran, would conduct dramatic fire drills at their home. With his brother and sister, Tom would climb out windows as the pretend \u2018fire\u2019 raged. <\/p>\n

They weren\u2019t allowed to wear hoods or headphones, their father wanted them to be aware of anything and everything.<\/p>\n

Tom spent the final three years of his Army career as a reservist with the Red Devils parachute display team based in Wiltshire. But an injury cut the experience short which meant, by Covid, he had ample time to explore the Internet. There, Tom stumbled upon prepping videos on YouTube and realised he had skills he could lend to the community<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Tom, pictured here in Glencoe, wants to share his survival skills with others (Picture: Prepared Pathfinder\/Tom Blakey)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The prepping movement took root in the US where it is typically associated with dramatic Doomsday-like events \u2013 anything from an alien invasion to a zombie outbreak<\/a>. But for British preppers, it\u2019s risks such as climate change or conflict they\u2019re bracing for.<\/p>\n

Tom adds: \u2018I think there\u2019s a bit of a stigma around the word \u201cprepper\u201d. People think we\u2019re conspiracy theorists who hide away in the woods. That might be down to the Americans stereotype, especially as preppers over there can really focus on guns and weapons over basic skills.<\/p>\n

\u2018For a lot of us in the UK, it\u2019s a lot more practical. I do think it\u2019s important to have an inquiring mind and to question things, but I\u2019m no conspiracy theorist.\u2019<\/p>\n

Over in Wales, Leigh Price describes prepping as an \u2018insurance policy\u2019. He served in the Army in the 1990s and spent 20 years in the building trade after leaving service.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Today, he combines both those skills as owner of the Bug Out<\/a> shop. Leigh sells everything from army rations to water filters, camping equipment to first-aid kits.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\"\"\t<\/div>
Leigh has combined his Army and building experience to create an Aladdin\u2019s cave of survival gear (Picture: Leigh Price\/The Bug Out Shop)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

His range of freeze-dried tinned food \u2013 his most popular item \u2013 can last until 2047. After Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, he says prices of food tins skyrocketed by 56%.<\/p>\n

Leigh, who also helps run survival courses<\/a> from the Bug Out shop, tells Metro: \u2018People are now realising the importance of survival. You insure your house, you insure your car, why wouldn\u2019t you insure your way of living?<\/p>\n

\u2018But most people are used to things being easy. They can get food delivered, parcels ordered, they\u2019ve never experienced a power cut. We might have zombies after a disaster, but those zombies would be people trying to survive without a phone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018Everyone expects that the government will provide for them if things go wrong, but that might not be the case. It will be communities supporting each other. That\u2019s how it used to be, but it\u2019s something we\u2019ve lost now \u2013 especially in big cities. You do see it more in rural areas like here in Wales, as people know each other\u2019s skills and look out for each other during flooding or snow.\u2019<\/p>\n

Like Tom, Leigh suspects that the biggest threat the UK faces isn\u2019t a nuclear attack, but a tech-based <\/a>one that could limit our access to power.<\/p>\n

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We are close to war and people are only now realising that. I don\u2019t think nuclear war will happen, they don\u2019t want that.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018But a cyber attack or energy black-out can still lead to mass panic. Desperate people will do desperate things to survive.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Both Tom and Leigh run YouTube channels, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@PreparedPathfinder\">Prepared Pathfinder<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@TheBugOutShop\">TheBugOutShop<\/a>, respectively. If the world does unravel into chaos, they believe we\u2019ll be learning from each other rather than relying on those in power.\u00a0The hope the information they teach can make that possible.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The government doesn\u2019t want hysteria, but there are a lot of things happening which we don\u2019t know about,\u2019 says Tom, who also runs adventure courses with<a href=\"https:\/\/www.firstinevents.com\/\"> First In Events<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>He adds: \u2018In the case of cyber attacks hitting the UK, they\u2019re relentless. We can no longer sit here and think everything will be alright.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Taking small, basic steps can be the difference between life and death in the future. The risks are out there, online and in real life, and they\u2019re unpredictable. We need to be ready to face them head-on.\u2019<\/p>\n<div class=\"factbox\" data-ico=\"factbox_article\" data-track-module=\"factbox_article\">\n<h2 class=\"factbox-title\">\n\t\t\t\tHow to start your own survival-skills journey\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<div class=\"factbox-content\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Top 5 Tips For Prepping\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/05zEVQDmlW4?start=628&feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><em>Tom uses the acronym \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=05zEVQDmlW4&t=628s\">FSNAP<\/a>\u2019 to break down his advice<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Fitness<\/strong>: \u2018If disaster strikes and you can\u2019t comfortably carry a bag of kit, or walk several miles then you\u2019re automatically on the back foot. It might be a raging fire or a mob of people \u2013 you have to be able to make a quick escape. Be as fit as you can be because with any kind of threat, you need to be able to move from A to B. For the poor people in Ukraine, they had to evacuate with as much as they could carry, some holding children as well as their belongings.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><strong>Skills<\/strong>: \u2018Top of my list would be medical first aid, if you don\u2019t know how to treat a wound then you risk illness or infection. You don\u2019t need to be a doctor, but basic first aid skills mean you can help other people as well as yourself. Navigation skills are also important, it\u2019s a dying skill. Familiarise yourself with a physical map, learn how to read it and understand the lay of the land so you don\u2019t take the hardest route or become trapped in a bog or marshland. Basic survival skills, like how to purify water or start a fire, are also important.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><strong>Networking<\/strong>: \u2018You can\u2019t go it alone. There will be a time you have to rely on others. Networking with like-minded people means you can lean on each other\u2019s strengths. Maybe someone is great at building a shelter, while another person is really good at medical skills. The threat might be other humans, so you\u2019ll be stronger as a pack rather than going it alone.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><strong>Actions On<\/strong>: \u2018This is a phrase we used while out on patrol in the military. It\u2019s about being prepared for things going wrong. You might be operating at night where the lights go out, what do you do? Your car breaks down, what do you do? You need to be ready for anything.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><strong>Personal Skills:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2018This is putting your skills into practice. You can watch a YouTube video on how to start a fire, but you really need to get out and try it first. Survival skills are hard, you can\u2019t put theory into practice the first time. If you do a medical course, do a refresher a few years later to make sure you\u2019re preserving what you\u2019ve learned.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><em>Watch more below:<\/em><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"UK Preppers | How to Start Prepping | What is Prepping all About.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1jkif2KYPiQ?start=228&feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em>This story was first published on January 23, 2024.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Do you have a story you\u2019d like to share? Get in touch by emailing <a href=\"mailto:Josie.Copson@metro.co.uk\" data-type=\"mailto\" data-id=\"mailto:Claie.Wilson@metro.co.uk\">Josie.Copson@metro.co.uk<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Share your views in the comments below.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UK preppers are ready to respond to any disaster (Picture: Prepared Pathfinder\/The Bug Out Shop) Your phone is out of action, the electricity has cut out and there\u2019s no way to reach food. What\u2019s your game plan? These are questions people have been urged to explore as the risk of \u2018World War Three\u2019 seemingly grows. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":300,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-russia-ukraine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1232"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1239,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1232\/revisions\/1239"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}