"Protect and Survive" was a set of public information issued by the British government in the 1970s and 1980s, giving advice about preparations in case of nuclear war. The song contrasts the promise implied ("They said protect and you'll survive") with the reality of nuclear war, illustrated by the destruction of all the people who formed part of the British daily routine - the postman, the milkman, the dustmen (refuse collectors), the postman - each of whom fails to show up at the expected time, having been gruesomely killed by the effects of the nuclear attack - "eight pounds of over-pressure wave", "flash-blinded", reduced to a shadow on the road, or blasted off the road by high winds.
"... in deep shelters left below, sub-regional control ..." refers to the network of underground Sub Regional Control (SRC) centers, bunkers from which the British civil service ("self-appointed guardians of the race") was supposed to run Britain in the aftermath of a nuclear attack.
"Protect and Survive" was a set of public information issued by the British government in the 1970s and 1980s, giving advice about preparations in case of nuclear war. The song contrasts the promise implied ("They said protect and you'll survive") with the reality of nuclear war, illustrated by the destruction of all the people who formed part of the British daily routine - the postman, the milkman, the dustmen (refuse collectors), the postman - each of whom fails to show up at the expected time, having been gruesomely killed by the effects of the nuclear attack - "eight pounds of over-pressure wave", "flash-blinded", reduced to a shadow on the road, or blasted off the road by high winds.
"... in deep shelters left below, sub-regional control ..." refers to the network of underground Sub Regional Control (SRC) centers, bunkers from which the British civil service ("self-appointed guardians of the race") was supposed to run Britain in the aftermath of a nuclear attack.