From 1947 , the British atomic weapons programme , called '' HER '' or '' High Explosive Research '' , was based at Fort Halstead in Kent ( ARDE ) , and also at Woolwich . The first British atomic device was tested in 1952 ; Operation Hurricane . In 1951 the AWRE moved to RAF Aldermaston in Berkshire . ARDE , which had begun in the Arsenal in 1922 , retained its Woolwich outstation there until the 1980s
Operation Hurricane
Operation Hurricane
Royal Arsenal