British Nuclear Test Veterans Association
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Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s address to the House of Commons in respect of the Atom Bomb Test at Monte Bello on 3rd October 1952.
Sheila Gray - Secretary
He made this announcement on 23rd October 1952.
“With your permission, Sir, I shall now make a statement in answer to Question 45, asked by my Hon Friend the Member for Morecambe and Lonsdale (Sir I Fraser).
The object of the test was to investigate the effects of an atomic explosion in a Harbour. The weapon was accordingly placed in HMS Plym a frigate of 1,450 tons, which was anchored in the Monte Bello Islands. Conditions were favourable and care was taken to wait for southerly winds so as to avoid the possibility of any significant concentration of radioactive particles spreading over the Australian mainland.
Specimen structures of importance to Civil Defence and to the Armed Services were erected at various distances. Instruments were set up to record the effect of contamination, blast, heat flash, gamma ray flash and other factors of interest.
The weapon was exploded in the morning of 3rd October. Thousands of tons of water and of mud and rock from the sea bottom were thrown many thousands of feet into the air and high tidal wave was caused. The effect of blast and radioactive contamination extended over a wide area and HMS Plym was vaporised. Some red-hot fragments were scattered over one of the Islands and started fires in the dry vegetation.
Very soon after the explosion two naval officers undertook the dangerous task of flying helicopters over the heavily contaminated lagoon where “Plym” had lain. This was in order to take samples of the water so that its radioactivity could be measured. After a longer interval, scientists and Service personnel in protective clothing entered the contaminated area to examine the effects and to recover records.
Technical descriptions of the performance of the Bomb cannot, of course, be given. It may, however, be said that the weapon behaved exactly as expected and forecast in many precise details by Dr W G Penney, whose services were of the highest order. Scientific observations and measurements show that the weapon does not contradict the natural expectation that progress in this sphere be continual.
To give some idea of the character of the explosion perhaps I might say this: normal blood temperature is 98.4 degrees. Many of us go over 100 degrees. When the flash first burst through the hull of the ’Plym’ the temperature was nearly 1 million degrees. It was, of course, far higher at the point of explosion.
The explosion caused no casualties to the personnel of the expedition. No animals were used in the test. Apart from some local rats, which were killed, no mammals were seen in the affected area and such birds as there were had mostly been frightened away by the earlier preparations.
Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom wish to express their indebtedness for all the help received from Australia. Not only did the Australian Commonwealth allow us to use their territory for the test, but all branches of their Government, and particularly the Navy, Army and Air force, gave us most valuable collaboration in the preparation and execution of this important experiment.
All those concerned in the production of this First British atomic bomb are to be warmly congratulated on the successful outcome of an historic episode and I should no doubt pay my compliments to the Leader of the Opposition and the party opposite for initiating it.”
I wonder what Sir Winston would say today, in light of the evidence, which is now in our possession. Men, both civilian and servicemen were harmed! Not all were given ’protective clothing’. Only key personnel - whoever they were! The birds which had “flown away”-they hadn’t, they were dead and had to be collected off the beaches, likewise the dead fish out of the sea! It was not a ‘success’, the wind blew the wrong way and the Australian Government sent frantic telegrams asking what was happening as the cloud was blowing towards their mainland!
Some of you reading this were there - you know what happened! All I shall say to end this is -ask my husband, he was there. Whoops, sorry he died ten years ago- he did not have protective clothing, he helped pick up the dead birds and dead fish out of the sea. Perhaps if he had been one of the servicemen given ’protective clothing’ and had not been ordered to pick up the ‘Birds who had flown away’, he would be with me now!
Sheila Gray - Secretary.