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National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph

Sat, 24 Jun 2023 12:00:00 GMT

The National Service of Remembrance, held at The Cenotaph in Whitehall on Remembrance Sunday, provides the nation with a physical reminder of all those who have served and sacrificed, with British and Commonwealth soldiers, sailors, airmen and women represented, together with members of the emergency services and civilians, ensuring that no-one is forgotten.

Members of the Royal Family will pay tribute alongside Members of the Cabinet, Opposition Party leaders, former Prime Ministers, as well as the Mayor of London and other ministers.

Representatives of the Armed Forces, Fishing Fleets and Merchant Air and Navy will be there, as well as faith communities and High Commissioners of Commonwealth countries.

Eligibility

Associations are asked to prioritise individuals who reflect the depth and breadth of the veteran community with priority given to:

Ex-service personnel and civilians from the UK and the Commonwealth who have served the Crown.
Wives, husbands, or civil partners of those who have died as a result of their service in His Majesty’s Armed Forces.
A carer of a veteran requiring wheelchair assistance.

Please note, this is a veterans’ parade, therefore serving Armed Forces personnel are not permitted to take part.

Civilians cannot take part unless they meet the eligibility criteria above.

As any carer accompanying a veteran will be included within the 10,000-attendance cap; where appropriate, the option of one veteran assisting another for the duration of the dispersal should be considered.

Application

The BNTVA will be allocated a block of places for it’s members. To march with the BNTVA you must meet the criteria above and have received an entry ticket.

On 25 May 2023 applications for tickets open and the final applications must be received at the BNTVA Office by 20th August 2023.

Tickets will be issued by the Royal British Legion on 30-31st October 2023.

To obtain an application form please send your contact details to:

BNTVA Remembrance Parade, NCCF, PO Box 8244, Castle Donington

Conference 2024

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 11:30:00 GMT

Return to Tradition...

In the light of some disparaging comments received about the format of last years conference the BNTVA trustees have taken a long hard look at the delivery of conference events within the nuclear community.

Drawing on the heritage of the traditional BNTVA Blackpool event and the comments received following last years event we are determined to take next year’s back to its roots, back to the members with a traditional Saturday event followed by the

Gala Dinner.

We are also returning to a spring event as we have a busy autumn in the community with the All Tests Reunion at Sand Bay, The French Nuclear Veterans Annual Conference, National Atomic Veterans Awareness Day and Remembrance Sunday.

Returning to the long established weekend format, guests will be able to arrive Friday afternoon/evening or Saturday morning, depending on their travel arrangement and other commitments.

The main event will commence at 10:00h on Saturday, with a Gala Dinner at 19:00h on the Saturday evening. Day visitors to the conference will be free of charge but day visitors wishing to attend the Gala Dinner will be required to contribute to the meal and entertainment cost.

Sunday will be departure day but, we are looking to organise a morning trip out before everyone heads home.

Location wise we are currently looking at accessible venues in both the Midlands and the North so we may even be on for a return to Blackpool!

We will have decided on a venue and will get all the details out in the near future.

BNTVA Funeral Service Attendance

Wed, 21 Jun 2023 11:46:03 GMT

We have an update on the current situation regarding the provision of Coffin Drapes and Standard Bearers for the funerals of BNTVA veterans.

Due to circumstances beyond our control we only have access to one coffin drape at this moment, we also only have one Standard Bearer, Ron Watson.

Special mention needs making of Ron because we have gone through a protracted period where we have not been able to access the bank accounts of the charity.

This has meant that Ron has attended many funerals at his own expense without the certainty of being reimbursed for his expenses.

If you require either a coffin drape or Standard Bearer for a funeral please get in contact with us as soon as possible so that we can try to provide.

Contact Details for this service are:

Email: funerals@bntva.com

National Atomic Veterans Awareness Day 2023

Wed, 21 Jun 2023 10:53:00 GMT

NAVAD will be celebrated at the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas, Staffordshire this year on Sunday 1st October 2023.

A service will be held by the Very Reverend Nicholas Frayling, BNTVA Chaplain, in the National Memorial Arboretum Chapel at 10:00 followed by a procession to the BNTVA memorial where a remembrance service will be conducted.

Following the services, a light lunch will be made available where visitors can celebrate 40 years of the BNTVA movement. We will reflect on what has gone before and look to the future for the organisation.

Parking is not included but can be prearranged which also saves on the cost of the ticket. Simply visit this link and enter your details: https://www.maximcloud.co.uk/nationalmemorialarboretum/day/

Persons wishing to attend should also pre-register for the event by contacting Shelly Grigg who will be coordinating via the following:

s.grigg@bntva.com

Or NAVAD 2023, PO Box 8244, Derbyshire, DE74 2BY

If you have specific mobility needs please advise Shelly as we may be able to book assistance from the venue.

Invitation from the Office of Veterans' Affairs to a Commemorative Event for British Nuclear Test Veterans

Wed, 09 Nov 2022 12:45:13 GMT

Open invitation from the Office of Veterans' Affairs

On behalf of the Office for Veterans’ Affairs (OVA), we would like to cordially invite you to:

An event to mark the contribution and service of Nuclear Test Veterans of the United Kingdom Armed Forces

To be held at the National Memorial Arboretum on Monday 21st November 2022.

The National Memorial Arboretum opens at 10.00am. Guests are asked to arrive for the event no later than 11.30am. Tea and coffee will be served on arrival from 11.00am in Aspects, and staff will be on hand to direct you. The main programme will take place from 12.00-12.40pm. Lunch will be available afterwards, with the event concluding at 2.30pm.

Dress Code for the event is smart.

If you would like to attend, please send the following information to info@bntva.com or telephone 0208 144 3080 by 12.00pm on Friday 11th November 2022.

First name
Surname
Date of birth
Any dietary requirements (e.g., vegetarian, intolerances etc)
Reason for attending (e.g., veteran/relative/carer)
Any accessibility requirements
Vehicle registration number if travelling by car (parking permits will be sent in due course)
Arrival station if travelling by train (we recommend either Tamworth or Lichfield Trent Valley and will be organising a shuttle service based on demand)

We will need your approval to share the above information with the OVA so they can organise an enjoyable event for all. Attached to this email is a privacy notice and consent form explaining how your information will be used. When you respond to this email, please confirm that you and any guests accompanying you are happy for us to share this information with the OVA. We will need to receive a consent email for each attendee (you do not need to return the consent form).

Further information will be provided once guests have registered their intention to attend.

ATOMIC VETERANS ITV Meridian WEST

Sat, 15 Oct 2022 15:27:47 GMT

ATOMIC VETERANS ITV Meridian EAST

Sat, 15 Oct 2022 15:24:28 GMT

BNTVA Chairman, Ed McGrath on ITV Anglia

Sat, 15 Oct 2022 12:14:32 GMT

BNTVA Conference 2022

Fri, 09 Sep 2022 22:16:54 GMT

BNTVA Conference Reunion and Exhibition 2-6th October 2022

This year's conference will mark the 70th anniversary of the first Commonwealth atmospheric test, Operation Hurricane, which took place aboard the HMS Plym at the Monte Bello Islands on 3 October 1952.

The conference will coincide with the launch of a unique BNTVA-curated "Plym to Pamlico" exhibition which will reside at the Royal Engineers' Museum from 4 October 2022 to 18 March 2023. The exhibition will showcase British involvement in the atmospheric testing from 1952 with stories and ephemera from the nuclear test veterans themselves.

If you would like to attend, please print off the attached booking form and either send to BNTVA, Vicarage, Beresford Road, Liverpool L8 4SG or send to info@bntva.com.

A year remembered since the passing of Flight Lieutenant Joe Pasquini

Fri, 05 Aug 2022 12:56:38 GMT

Flt Lt Joe Pasquini

FLT LT JOE PASQUINI by his daughter, Simone.

He flew through freshly bloomed thermonuclear mushroom clouds for the safety and security of the nation.

It has been a year since you left us and the legacy of your service as a member of the 76 Squadron during the British Nuclear Tests on Christmas Island is ever present.

Not many men can say they have flown through the cloud of a freshly deployed thermonuclear bomb. Even fewer can say they have flown through the cloud of a freshly deployed thermonuclear bomb numerous times as you were required to make a number of cuts through the clouds at various altitudes.

It was your duty as a member of the Royal Air Force – a duty which you undertook at the time without question as you were there to serve Queen and country. It was the Cold War and you and your colleagues were a fundamental part of the ‘furtherance of the national policy of peace through strength’.

You were literally in the middle of the ‘Nuclear Deterrent’.

On September 2 ^nd , 1958 you and your colleagues in the Primary Sampler plane made 2 passes into the thermonuclear cloud to gather first-hand radiation readings of the megaton bombs strength … in the name of ‘peace’. 60 days later, on October 31st, 1958 The Conference on the Discontinuance of Nuclear Weapon Tests commenced in Geneva.

It has been a tough year without you on many different levels.

How can we step into your empty shoes? … not only for the family but also a legacy left to the nation. Peace.

How fortunate have we been these past 7 decades to live free from the worry of a nuclear war… that is until now. Today, we are reminded almost daily in the press of the imminent threat of a nuclear weapon being deployed. Will we consciously know when this new ‘Cold’ War of politics and sanctions turns ‘Hot’… or will it be too late by then?

Do we need to re-watch that iconic 1983 movie ‘The Day After’ – as a reminder of the perils of nuclear war?

The weekend after the program aired you commandeered the dining room table – dusting off your navigation equipment and maps charting, through your RAF training, to understand if we would survive a nuclear blast on the closest city to us.

How can we forget this?

Perhaps more importantly – how can we remember?

How can we remember what you - and your colleagues - did all those years ago to keep us safe?

During the last years of his life Flt Lt Joe Pasquini was a big advocate for the recognition of all British Nuclear Test Veterans and worked closely with the BNTVA (https://www.bntva.com/) .

We would like to use the one year anniversary of his passing to shed light on his service – and those of his colleagues in the air, on the ground, and at sea. Their legacy, and what they did for their country, should not be forgotten… even more so today.

Remembrance Sunday Cenotaph Veterans' Parade 13 November 2022

Wed, 13 Jul 2022 10:50:41 GMT

Tickets available for the Cenotaph Veterans’ Parade on Whitehall, Sunday 13 November 2022.

We have secured a number of places for this year's Cenotaph Veterans' Parade on Whitehall on 13 November.

This will be one of our opportunities to remember our British nuclear test veteran comrades who have gone before us around the 70th anniversary of the first Commonwealth atomic test at Operation Hurricane, the Monte Bello Islands.

If you would like to attend, please can you email m.harding@bntva.com or phone 0208 144 3080 by 22 August 2022 so we can upload the names of attendees to the Royal British Legion portal.

If you require the assistance of a carer, please can you include their name with your registration as they will be included in the ticket allocation.

Thank you,

We will remember them.

The results are in - "No evidence of increased mutations in the germline of a group of British nuclear test veterans"

Tue, 05 Jul 2022 11:25:31 GMT

Initial results are in for the Genetic and Cytogenetic Family Trio (GCFT) study by Brunel University Centre for the Health Effects of Radiological and Chemical Agents (CHRC), the University of Leicester and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, funded by the Nuclear Community Charity Fund (NCCF) and the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust (AVF16).

Further to the release of the first paper (attached) of the potential germline effects of radiation exposure in British nuclear test veterans and their offspring by Moorhead et al, the BNTVA makes a summary and first observations. The BNTVA has also sent the paper to the Office of Veterans’ Affairs for their comments.

On examining recent MOD research through the Fourth Analysis Study of the British nuclear test veterans, Moorhouse et al describe that just one quarter of the 21,357 nuclear weapons test participants were monitored with film badge dosemeters for radiation exposure. The authors touched on the small excess in mortality for cancer and non-cancer diseases (cerebrovascular disease) in British nuclear test veterans compared to the control group within the previous study, published in February 2022.

Additionally, the worries of nuclear test families were expressed through ‘exposure worry’, studied by Collett et al, which includes an inherent fear of genetic risk about radiation exposure at the tests, test sites and clean-up operations in Australia and the Pacific.

The paper explains that 759 test veterans were categorised by the Ministry of Defence into “special” groups, including the cloud sampling flyers at multiple atmospheric tests, and the crew of the HMS Diana who sailed through the plume at Operation Mosaic in 1956. The authors state that despite the limited radiation measurements taken from only one quarter of the men involved in the testing, many participants worked with radiation contamination for long periods of time following the tests but weren’t included in specific groups and their potential exposure was not monitored. These participants included aircraft mechanics, who often worked on cloud sniffing aircraft as well as many other men at the test sites.

Despite the title description revealing that no evidence of increased mutations found using whole genome sequencing in the germline of 30 nuclear test veterans has been identified compared to a similar control group of 30, this study found that a statistically significant finding occurred through single base substitution (SBS) mutations with signature 16 revealing “the largest difference”.

The discussion shows that of the six families with the highest number of the SBS16 mutations, the nuclear test veteran within four of the families had been assigned to potential for radiation exposure at the test sites. The study touches on how potential radiation-induced DNA damage in the veteran appears as a SBS16 signature finding within the offspring, yet then dismisses this data in comparison to the wider general population.

In 2021, Yeager et al published a study into the lack of transgenerational effects (de novo mutations) of ionising exposure in Ukrainian families subsequent to the Chernobyl accident. The authors state that the reported increase in health effects in nuclear test veteran offspring isn’t explained by de novo mutations “when compared as a group in this study”.

Findings suggest that many nuclear test veterans were “thought” to have encountered very low doses of radiation exposure, that there was a significant gap between test site participation and the conception of offspring. On comparing nuclear test veterans with cancer patients treated by radiotherapy with doses of 10s of Gys, DNA damage has been found to be completely repaired within testicular stem cells. However, despite taking this into consideration, further investigation is required into the elevated SBS signature 16 mutation which was discovered in the offspring of British nuclear test veterans.

The BNTVA welcomes further research on this finding as it raises more questions about our nuclear family. We would like to thank Brunel CHRC for carrying out this much-needed study and our sister charity, the NCCF, for providing the funding to make this happen.

We look forward to the next phase of results concerning a chromosomal analysis of veterans to look for signs of historic radiation exposure as well as chromosomal analyses of genetic alterations in their offspring.

https://chrc4veterans.uk/articles/

Further papers from the CHRC include:

Reference: Christine Rake et al (2022). British nuclear test veteran family trios for the study of genetic risk. Journal of Radiological Protection 42(2), 021528. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6498/ac6e10

Lay summary for: British nuclear test veteran family trios for the study of genetic risk. – Centre for Health Effects of Radiological and Chemical Agents (chrc4veterans.uk)

Reference: Collett, G., Young, W.R., Martin, W. and Anderson, R. (2021) ' Exposure Worry: The Psychological Impact of Perceived Ionizing Radiation Exposure in British Nuclear Test Veterans. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(22), 12188. https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/22/12188

Exposure Worry: The Psychological Impact of Perceived Ionizing Radiation Exposure in British Nuclear Test Veterans. – Centre for Health Effects of Radiological and Chemical Agents (chrc4veterans.uk)

New Paragraph

The passing of Anthony L Johnson Radio Operator RN

Mon, 04 Jul 2022 23:24:53 GMT

A message from Maria Johnson, Tony's widow

RIP Anthony L Johnson, Radio Operator, Royal Navy.

Tony, of Seaton, Devon, died peacefully after a 6 month hard fought battle against cancer.

Tony was a Christmas Island veteran 1957/58 of Operation Grapple X and Y. This was a year that Tony never forgot.

Maria, Tony's widow, writes,

"We were more than a couple, he was my comfort blanket, my knight in shining armour, my partner, and best friend, and my darling husband. I feel that the safe place for resting my head has been taken away from me. I know that 83 is a very good age, but until he became unwell he didn’t act his age at all.

I will miss him always."

Our heart goes out to Maria and we are very sorry for the loss of her dear husband. We know that many BNTVA members knew Tony and will miss his cheerful smile and friendship greatly.

Fair winds and following seas.

My father, terminal cancer and the scandal of the missing radiation film badges

Sun, 26 Jun 2022 21:49:14 GMT

A birthday eulogy to my father, Mike Marsh, British nuclear test veteran (Mike left of picture, his brother David, bandsman, on the right).

Mike's father, Bandmaster Robert Allan Noel Marsh, Royal Military School of Music, Kneller Hall, back row, second from left.

88 years ago today, my father, Michael Allan Marsh, was born to Robert and Doreen at the Royal Military School of Music, Kneller Hall, Twickenham. He was the eldest of five children. Mick, as he was commonly known later in the Royal Air Force (along with Boggy or Swampy by his RAF colleagues!), lived and breathed military life. He grew up in India, Singapore, Hong Kong and Northern Ireland, living closely with military families, even with one of our very own Grapple veterans, I recently discovered. My grandfather was Band Sergeant of the 1st Battalion of the Black Watch before becoming Bandmaster of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers.

At this point, I'd like to convey my lineage of military ancestors with a recording of Captain Frederick William Wood, who became bandmaster of HM Scots Guards, conducting in 1911 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1OjO_TfOuQ . Frederick took the Scots Guards to play at the Somme during the First World War, and in 1929 established the Bristol City Police Band. The point I am making is that in well over 150 years of military history within the family and two world wars, no direct military ancestor was treated as disgustingly as Mike by his own government after participating in the Commonwealth race for the nuclear deterrent.

Dad was technical, and, after a short stint in the Merchant Navy, which he joined to move from Omagh as he was picked on for being the son of a British army officer, he enlisted in the RAF on 24 September 1953, aged 19. Dad served in the RAF until 3 March 1976, where, at the time of discharge he was Chief Technician on C-130s at RAF Lyneham. Indeed, myself and my sister were both born in the same room at Princess Alexandra’s Royal Air Force Hospital, Wroughton, Wiltshire.

I was familiar with comments that our servicemen were really looked after, particularly with the marvellous array of food presented at RAF Lyneham, which I remember well (particularly when I visited Lyneham as a Corporal in the RAF cadets in 1988 to participate in circuits and bumps in a stunning yet hefty Hercules transporter 'plane). The irony was that in the case of my father and the 21,356 other British nuclear test veterans, their moral fabric was breached by the UK government at the atmospheric testing and they really weren't looked after at all...

Dad, with the assistance of the BNTVA (namely Derek Fiddaman from 1997, Grapple veteran and member of the Goldfish Club, and Ken McGinley, then Chairman of the Association), and the Royal Air Force Association, applied for a war pension on 14 October 1997, after being diagnosed with an inoperable adenocarcinoma of the gastro-oesophageal junction in May 1997 further to a duodenal ulcer ten years previously. Dad’s service records are a troubling read; there are documents that I have wanted to become immersed in yet dreaded the context knowing the humanity behind the paperwork. The records clearly describe his incurable cancer in great detail, that the tumour had spread into his pancreas, and the impact of the sheer moral injury that had occurred during his time at Maralinga...

Naga Munchetty took so much interest in hearing about personal connections and the familial legacy of the nuclear tests on veterans and their families recently during her interview of 23 April 2022 on BBC Breakfast, and spoke at length to me about the effect of the atmospheric testing on my father.

Before I get stuck into correspondence between my mother and Tony Blair, the AWE, the Ministry of Defence, service records and war pensions’ documentation, I would like to share a document that Ken McGinley sent to my father in 1998 entitled, “Radiation Exposure Guidance for Military Operations – ACE Policy for Defensive Measures against Low Level Radiological Hazards during Military Operations” (NATO Unclassified, 2 Aug 1996) …

“(2). Low-level Radiation (LLR) exposure produces a risk to soldiers of long-term health consequences. The doses received from these exposures are higher than those routinely received by health physics workers and the general public and are in the range from background radiation to 70 cGy. The primary consequence of exposure may be induction of cancer in the longer-term post exposure. Additional health risks that may occur are teratogenesis and mutagenesis and their associated psychological and social consequences. The hazard from LLR may result from Alpha, Beta or Gamma radiation.”

There is no time limit on cancers, and as Professor Robert (Bo) Jacobs has highlighted in the attached film Nuclear Bodies: Internal & External Radiation on Vimeo , if an atomic or nuclear blast is experienced then radiation penetrates straight through that person. There should be no debate on this topic in contemporary society and with current scientific thought. Kite, the test that Dad witnessed during the Buffalo series, caused radiation to pass over Maralinga Village; even Sir William Penney spoke of this happening and it is recorded in the McClelland Royal Commission 1984-1985.

The Evidence:

Dad's Blue Book entry: 160 Wing; dose_gamma none recorded

20 October 1999:

Dr Phil Gilvin, National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), in a letter to my mother,

“I have been in contact with the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) Radiation Protection Service (DRPS) at Alverstoke, and with AWE at Aldermaston, to see if they could help. DRPS had no records relating to your late husband, but AWE were able to find something. According to their records Mr Marsh was involved in Operations Buffalo and Antler in 1956/57, but was not an aircrew member, nor was he in Active Handling Flight, and was therefore not issued with radiation dosemeters. His contact with radiation was likely to have been very slight. This is the information AWE have.”

27 October 1999:

Letter from Pauline Johnson, Head of Health Effects, AWE to my mother,

“ No doses are recorded.

All personnel who served at Operation BUFFALO were issued with two film-badge dosemeters. At that time, the minimum that the dosemeter was capable of recording (the threshold), was 20 milliRoentgen (or 0.2 milliSievert in the modern units). In cases where the dosemeters indicated no exposure above this threshold, records were not always kept. AWE is confident, however, that had the doses been in excess of threshold records to that effect would have been kept. AWE has no record of doses to Mr Marsh. It is therefore assumed that the dosemeters issued to him indicated no exposure above threshold. Similarly, all personnel who served at Operation ANTLER were issued with one film-badge dosemeter. It is thus similarly assumed that Mr Marsh, if he was present at the operation, was issued with a personal film-badge dosemeter covering the period of Operation ANTLER which on assessment showed no level of exposure above the minimum recordable (threshold) of 20 milliRoentgen (0.2 milliSievert).

The assessed effective dose equivalent received by Mr Marsh consequent upon his participation in Operations BUFFALO and ANTLER was therefore at most:

BUFFALO 2 general-issue film badges 0.4 milliSievert

ANTLER 1 general-issue film badge 0.2 milliSievert

Total 0.6 milliSievert

It was in all probability much less.”

November 1999:

Letter from Pauline Johnson to my mother, “The fact that film badges were issued to all participants at Operation Buffalo is attested by former AWE staff who were there at the time, and confirmed in such documents as the Safety Regulations for the Maralinga Range and a notice put out by the Trials Co-ordinator. I cannot say why more detailed records of film badge issue were not kept. There was no statutory requirement at the time to do so.”

16 November 1999:

Derek Bingham PhD, NRPB to my mother, “Dear Mrs Marsh, Further to the reply by Dr Gilvin (20 October 1999) regarding radiation records for your husband, please find enclosed information for him that was used in a study of the health of nuclear weapon test participants. The record for the study agrees with the response from Dr Gilvin that your husband served at Buffalo and Antler tests but that he was not monitored for radiation exposure.”

If you’re wondering concerning a response from Prime Minister Blair about my mother’s concerns, he never replied...

Pensions Appeal Tribunal (Entitlement):

So, based on the pensions' entitlement, which was declined, the government response was weighted on my father, who was suffering from an incurable cancer with a palliative outlook.

Dad was put in the impossible position of proving that he had been subjected to ionising radiation at Maralinga, despite the fact that the National Radiological Protection Board and the Atomic Weapons' Establishment state that they hadn't monitored him for radiation exposure at all!

This is a completely unfeasible task for the majority of nuclear test veterans, as seen in the February release of the Fourth Analysis of the Nuclear Test Participants' Study by Gillies and Haylock ( The new study of UK nuclear test veterans - IOPscience ). This latest study reveals that only 23% of the nuclear weapons' test participants were actually monitored by dosemeter for ionising radiation and 64% of the dosemeters didn't show a reading. On looking at Christmas Island regulation documents, the emulsifying layer on the film badges would rub off quickly in the humidity. This reveals that the emphasis on film badges is a complete misnomer, yet the government, knowing that dosemeters were seldom issued, or readings taken, still put the nuclear test veteran in the position of providing evidence of something that they cannot achieve and they are rejected for war pensions again and again... When they pass away, their widows are also rejected from receiving a war widows' pension due to the lack of dosemeter readings.

So, in a nutshell, a dying man who had the right to apply for a military war disablement pension, never had any chance of being successful due to the shifty way in which the radiation dosemeters weren't provided by the government. Dad's hopes were built up, his time was wasted, his physical health deteriorated and the worries exacerbated concerning finances, worries about my mother and the Act of Omission that the Ministry of Defence had breached, tantamount to a moral injury. Dad's only fight at that time should have been against the malignant cells within his own body rather than being told that although his type of cancer was caused by ionising radiation, he couldn't provide proof of irradiation.

The Act of Commission of participating in the atomic testing and the Act of Betrayal of the participants in witnessing the most fearful manmade bomb in history under orders from their own side as "observers" is simply appalling. The nuclear bomb remains the most fearful and feared weapon in 2022; Why would a government order their own men to witness this horrifying spectacle?... Time and time again...

My mother pursued avenues long and hard for my father, and I admire her tenacity. I believe that she discovered vital information, which sadly puts the government in an extremely bad light concerning the nuclear test veteran and their war pensions’ claims. Is this simply a case of the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing, or is there more at play?

The letters and pension document reveal the words used by government officials, the Secretary of State and scientists: 'assumed' , 'likely' and 'probability' . How can the government base their arguments of awarding or disallowing life-changing war pensions and decision-making on non-scientific vagueness? Such words strike blows to the veteran concerned, and, much as Veterans UK state that they will always look at evidence and give the veteran the benefit, this is simply a case of speaking empty platitudes.

After sitting in a war pensions’ adjournment hearing panel in February 2022, I can relay first-hand how hard it is for an elderly veteran to sit in front of a panel including a judge and give evidence to support their claim. The ongoing nit-picking and criticism from the court is extreme, and the burden is for the nuclear test veteran to establish that their perceived injury is attributable to ionising radiation, rather than a service-related injury. The government has clearly been negligent in monitoring and protecting these men. Please see the attached documents from Dad's war pension below which reveal the responses of the government.

It is clear from the correspondence that my father was not issued with any film badges whilst attending Operations Buffalo and Antler, and neither was he equipped with any protective clothing or equipment when handling the cloud sniffer aeroplanes. However, this did not stop the government from using their false, repetitive stock phrases concerning a minimal fabricated radiation dose. It's a travesty to repeat this rhetoric in front of a terminally ill veteran who served his country for 22 years.

Dad writes,

"During exposure to nuclear fallout at Maralinga, and suspected contamination from handling equipment used on aircraft that passed at low altitude (500ft), through the post explosion nuclear cloud, no special clothing was worn neither were there any instructions to use special garments which were (as far as we were concerned), not available."

The government's response stated,

"Our doctors have looked at your case again for this condition - carcinoma of the oesophago-gastric junction but they still do not accept that the condition you are appealing about was caused by your service or made worse by your service...Cancer of the stomach is conclusively linked to radiation exposure, being confirmed by the report of the Radiation Effect Research Foundation follow-up study on survivors of the atomic bomb."

Then, finally...

"Claim for carcinoma of the oesophago-gastric junction, rejected."

The rejection was made on 1 March 1999 and Dad passed away on 18 April 1999.

Why was Dad put in an impossible position by the government to prove that he had encountered ionising radiation, when the government hadn't even bothered monitoring him? Why does the nuclear test veteran have to prove something that cannot be proven due to the lack of safety mechanisms in the world of invisible radiation?

My father was the loveliest of men; I valued every moment we had together. The repercussions of the neglect and insults he encountered by the government at a time of terminal illness (he passed away on Mum's birthday, 18 April 1999), meant that he went through his final months struggling, couldn't access any assistance with bills due to his war pension rejection. Dad became so disillusioned in his final months, after having shown such pride in his military service for over two decades. He was convinced that his incurable cancer came about from neglect and bad-decision making by the Ministry of Defence.

The UK really needs to take radical measures to become the best country to be a veteran, and our veterans' service and injuries should be respected. Too many nuclear test veterans have suffered in a similar way to Dad, and they need to be compensated individually through the war pensions' scheme.

Armed Forces Day 2022

Sat, 25 Jun 2022 10:17:49 GMT

UK Armed Forces Day, 25 June 2022

Up and down the United Kingdom today and tomorrow, people will be celebrating our brave armed forces personnel including reservists, veterans and cadets.

We appreciate the service and sacrifice of the thousands of people who have or are currently serving, and especially remember the significant service of Britain's nuclear test veterans in the post second world war race to secure the nuclear deterrent.

As the UK's premier charity that represents Britain's nuclear test veterans and their families, we have placed the attached advertisement in the official National Armed Forces Day 2022 programme in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, where Shelly Grigg will be attending. As Scarborough hosts the official National Armed Forces Day event, today will be action packed with events.

Programme - Armed Forces Day National Event Scarborough 2022 (scarborougharmedforcesday.co.uk)

Michelle will attend Fort Burgoyne in Kent, and Ceri and John will attend the Llandrindod Wells event.

We find that many nuclear test veterans and their family members contact and join the Association when we place adverts to locate them. If you would like to join, please follow the link and choose a paper or electronic membership that suits you and/or your family .

Membership – Tagged "Membership" – BNTVA Shop (bntva-shop.myshopify.com)

Let us know which #ArmedForcesDay2022 event you will be attending this weekend.

BREAKING NEWS EXCLUSIVE

Wed, 22 Jun 2022 20:41:51 GMT

Fissionline 64 by Alan Rimmer - Issuu

Operation Mosaic G2 - 66 years since the dirty bomb

Sun, 19 Jun 2022 11:03:51 GMT

Operation Mosaic, G2 19/06/1956

This week I received an unexpected letter from a survivor of the HMS Diana's crew of 1956-57 after he viewed the BBC Breakfast interview with the BNTVA, by Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt on 11 June.

The amazingly warm and friendly man joined the BNTVA in the 1980s and he proudly wrote that his membership card was signed by our Honorary Lifetime President, Ken McGinley. We spoke at length that afternoon, and he sent Captain John Gower's autobiographical memoirs to the BNTVA for copying. He had won them in a raffle that Captain Gower had attended at a Diana Reunion many years ago.

His initial letter describes sailing through the fallout of two atomic bombs at the Montebello Islands (on May 16th and June 19th 1956), off North Western Australia. He writes,

"We were told that the first bomb wasn't dirty enough so there was a second bomb, which I believe was seven times more powerful than the one dropped on Hiroshima. To protect us we had hoses with holes punched in them on deck to wash the contaminated seawater over the deck. We sailed around in the fallout for 13 hours. We had scientists on board for the first explosion but they weren't on board for the second knowing presumably what they were in for.

I was 19 when I got bombed and am now 85. Of course, most of Diana's crew are dead now. Very many died of cancer and many wives suffered miscarriages and had children born with birth defects. I've known for 66 years that the powers that be just want us to go away. Can't imagine that Boris will do anything but please keep trying. There is talk of a medal which I paid £25 for many years ago which came from Australia. Strangely enough the inscription mentions many places but not Montebello and us..."

He then described his role on the focsle deck with Andi's father, Gwyn Jones, after Diana sank the Domiat at Suez. This gentleman became stuck in the sea whilst rescuing Egyptians and started to drown as a rope became entangled around him by a whaler. Captain Gower, always on the look out for his crew, shouted, "Get that man out! " and so he was saved by two men from a watery grave.

Captain Gower's memoirs detail the exact movements of men and ship. He writes, "My appointment came about by chance. The captain earmarked to command Diana broke both legs ski-ing and the Admiralty had to find someone to replace him. I was selected and had to quickly go down to Plymouth and commission the ship in February 1956. I was very pleased to be back at sea in command, although the circumstances were unusual. However, it left Aimee with a heavy burden, alone with three young children and a teenager to cope with. When I arrived on board I discovered that with the other ships in our squadron, namely the Duchess, Decoy and Diamond, we were to sail in company shortly afterwards for Malta via Gibraltar and thereafter I would be detached for special service. This we duly did and after a couple of days in Malta I learnt that my special task was to take the ship out to Australia to be a guinea-pig for the atomic trials about to take place off the islands of Montebello."

Captain Gower was a decorated WW2 hero who took part in the Arctic Convoys, D-Day and saved the crew of a Norwegian ship with his quick-thinking and expertise. However, the word he used to describe his duty on the Diana, and that of his crew, was of an ordeal . Of around 300 men, 20 were National Service conscripts. He vividly describes the moment when the Diana left their squadron at sea and states, "We were on our OWN."

Gower describes the urgency of Mosaic 1 and Mosaic 2, with the race to become full members of the nuclear club before the Partial Test-Ban Treaty would stop further testing. He was angry that since 1953, the Chiefs of Staff "had wanted to know the effect of an atomic explosion would have on ships, their contents, equipment and men. How much radioactivity could a ship withstand and remain operational? HMS Diana and her crew were made available to provide the answers."

Instead of focusing on the league of events leading up to G2 and the crew shut down in the bowels of the ship experiencing both physical and psychological distress, this blog will examine Captain Gower's observations concerning the Diana's mission, the role of the BNTVA years later and the failings of the Ministry of Defence.

First and foremost, Gower states that the ship was a guinea pig ship. The Diana had "11 working days to train for our ordeal" in the "gruelling heat".

Those who initially wore space suits ate limes and salt as the legs of their suits filled with sweat on 35 minute watches. The ship's company wore working rig, seaboots and carried gas masks. Only the engine room watchkeepers remained on deck, despite alternative reports being relayed. He is clear that 207 men were in the forward citadel and 95 in the after, and "were suffering from the effects of cramped conditions, humidity and excessive sweating."

The STAAG mountings became extremely radioactive whilst sailing through the fallout, which Gower describes as 98kt, as the MOD admitted this yield in 1985. This yield matches a document in the possession of the BNTVA. The radioactivity levels were so enhanced on board, particularly around circulating filters and the pre-wetting hose that malfunctioned, that the ship was refused access to Fremantle Harbour. It sailed to Singapore whereby the ship's company repainted one side and Chinese labour painted the other...

Gower states, "What puzzles so many of us is why, on conclusion of the trials, no effort was made to see what effect the explosions had, both physiologically and psychologically, on the men who witnessed them, and, perhaps more important, on those who went through the fallout. Yet we had no follow-up medical checks of of any kind.... The answer given by the Prime Minister in 1983 was that, "no one was exposed to any significant health hazard; therefore no tests were necessary." But without testing, how is it possible to be sure?"

He talks of the formation of the BNTVA,
"Understaffed and underfinanced, whose objectives are:

To extract recognition from the MOD that servicemen were put to hazard during the nuclear tests without adequate care and protection
To ensure proper medical care for those suffering as a result
To secure compensation for them and their dependants."

Captain Gower talks of the early BNTVA health questionnaires that revealed the "Alarming incidence of such diseases as cancer, skin complaints, early cataracts and deformities in their children." Talking of the NRPB studies, he states, "Presumably these investigations have now been completed, thus resulting in the Defence Secretary's refusal to accept any liability."

"The MOD's attitude remains, as always: "If you think you have a case, prove it!" No individual can do this", writes Gower, "One has to accept that it is a battle lost."

Thus speaks a man respected by all of his crew, a man with wisdom and obedience but cynicism as to the way his crew was treated in the guinea pig ship. His account oozes both risk and rigour for the whole crew.

Further reading on HMS Diana at Operation Mosaic we recommend the Guinea Ship book available from the BNTVA Shop. (details below)

Guinea Pig Ship Book, by Brian Marshall

The beginning of Operation Mosaic – why did British nuclear testing return to the Montebello Islands?

Mon, 16 May 2022 05:30:03 GMT

A note from the BNTVA Curator.

I have made the decision that I wanted to reshare this fantastic blog the Ceri wrote last year and to update it with some better quality photos. Since this was first written I have found some more photos from Operation Mosaic that were in an old BNTVA archive box which had been passed on to me last summer. Some of the photos were initially unattributed but further research has identified the veteran they came from. (Something I endeavour to do with all photos that have been previously passed to the BNTVA)

We have found more documentation about the tests, and at the 2021 BNTVA Conference, Roger Grace kindly allowed me to take his amazing photo album away so we could professionally digitise the photos on our copy stand. We previously used some of Rogers photos in this blog so it is great to be able to show them off better! They are one of the best collection of photos from Operation Mosaic I have seen so far.

Please note that I am still actively hunting for more material from Operation Mosaic including the films that were made, so far I've only located the rushes at the IWM.

I want to just finish with a thank you to everyone who has contributed to the BNTVA Collections & Archives, whether its your written accounts, oral histories or photos and ephemera, because without your assistance we can't tell your stories.

Thank You,
Wesley Perriman
BNTVA Curator

The beginning of Operation Mosaic – why did British nuclear testing return to the Montebello Islands? by Ceri McDade

Operation Mosaic was a series of two British nuclear tests conducted at the Montebello Islands on 16 May and 19 June 1956; this blog post explores G1, the first lower yield test of 15kt, detonated on 16 May 1956 at 1150 hours. The Maralinga testing site was not yet ready, so the Montebello Islands were chosen as the perfect place to perform these two tests.

The purpose of G1 was to test the increased yield of British nuclear weapons and is set in time at the Montebello Islands three and a half years after Operation Hurricane, the first British 25-kt atom bomb test aboard the HMS Plym on 3 October 1952. The British then performed Operation Totem in October 1953, which tested a limit on the amount of plutonium-40 that could be present on a bomb. Alongside Totem, which took place at Emu Field in the Great Victoria Desert in 1953, were the Kittens trials, which didn’t focus on explosions, but experimented with the effects of conventional explosives on polonium-210, beryllium and natural uranium to investigate “neutron initiators”, which kick start a fission chain reaction. These “Minor Trials” at Emu Field became known for causing more destructive damage than the major tests a couple of years later. The British weren’t keen on returning to Emu Field due to the sudden dust storms, sand dunes and water shortage which could hamper their time-constrained work on competing with the US to test a British hydrogen bomb.

It was clear that the British scientists, under William Penney, were becoming more ambitious in their testing, focusing on output and competition with the US rather than the safety of military personnel. The Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (AWRE) considered using boosted fission weapons, where isotopes of light elements such as lithium-6 and deuterium were added. They had heard from the American tests, that using a natural uranium tamper (uranium-238 can be used during fission to produce plutonium-235) could increase the yield from 20-50%. The Australian government had already dictated that the British were not allowed to experiment with hydrogen bombs in Australia, so using a boosted fusion weapon, circumvented the fact that they would test a hydrogen bomb, despite it being closely linked with hydrogen bomb development.

Prime Minister Anthony Eden cabled Robert Menzies, Prime Minister of Australia, on 16 May 1955, to detail the proposed tests. Eden promised that the yield would be less than two and a half times the yield of Operation Hurricane, hence not exceeding around 60kt of TNT; later 80kt was agreed between Eden and Menzies. Eden stated that the two bombs would be detonated from towers and would produce a fifth of the fallout from Operation Hurricane in 1952; he gave assurances that there would be no harm to sea life or animals and humans on mainland Australia.

Both G1 and G2 became the responsibility of the Royal Navy. Planning took place from February 1955 under codename Operation Giraffe before the Admiralty adopted the name Operation Mosaic in June 1955. The scientific director, Charles Adams from AWRE, had deputised for William Penney at Operation Totem, with Ieuan Maddock as scientific superintendent. Group Captain S W B (Paddy) Menaul commanded the Air Task Group. Menaul was already a British nuclear test veteran, as he had been an observer on board Vickers Valiant WZ366, when it had made its first operational drop of a British atomic bomb at Operation Totem, Emu Field.

The Australian government formed a Montebello Working Party as a subcommittee of the Maralinga Committee set up for the future tests from September 1956 in South Australia. The HMAS Warrego (sloop) and Karangi (boom defence) conducted mooring, hydrographic surveying and marking operations of marker buoys for moorings in October and November 1955. Site preparations, including construction of the two 300ft towers, were performed by the Royal Engineers. The Royal Engineers and Royal Navy built a shore camp, control building and camera tower on Hermite Island, and weapons towers on Trimouille and Alpha Islands. A naval meteorological station was set up at Christmas Island, along with operational bases at Onslow, Pearce and Darwin, Australia. The corvettes HMAS Fremantle and Junee provided logistical support, ferried personnel between islands and housed the designated 14 British and Australian media representatives during G1.

HMS Alert, HMS Narvik and RFA Eddyrock formed Task Force 308.1. Captain Hugh Martell took charge as commander of Task Force 308 from the HMS Narvik. The Royal Australian Navy component comprised HMAS ships Junee, Fremantle, Karangi, MRL 252 and MWL 251, which were anchored 12 miles southeast of Ground Zero and were named Task Group (TG) 308.2. The HMS Newfoundland, along with destroyers HMS Cossack, Consort, Concord and Comus formed Task Force 308.3; the HMS Diana was detailed to perform scientific tests for G2 in Task Force 308.4.

Leslie Martin (Australian physicist and member of the Australian Atomic Energy Commission)), Ernest Titterton (British nuclear physicist who researched under Mark Oliphant), Cecil Eddy, W A S Butement (of the recently formed Atomic Weapons Tests Safety Committee, AWTSC) and L J Dwyer were flown from Onslow to the HMS Narvik on 14 May 1956. Martell set the date of the test for the 16 May on 15 May. This was a tentative time as the AWTSC didn’t initially approve the test. Penney sent a message to Adams on 10 May, and the test was back on. Four RAF Canberra bombers flew from Pearce – two conducted cloud sampling (one flown by Menaul) around 20 minutes after firing, whilst two provided support.

The RFA Eddyrock (an Eddy Class Fleet Attendant Oiler, A198) arrived at Fremantle on 5 April 1956 to load cargo and stores for the ships at the Montebello Islands for G1, which she also took part in.

Rehearsals were held on 27 April and 2 May, followed by a full rehearsal on 5 May. The fissile material was delivered by an RAF Hastings to Onslow, and collected by the HMS Alert on 11 May, delivered the next day to the Montebello Islands. The G1 test was detonated from a tower on the northwest of Trimouille Island.

MWL 251’s commanding officer, Lieutenant George Halley, described the blast,

“At 1145 all the hands mustered on the port side of the boat deck and the countdown commenced at 1148… At 1151, although we had our backs to Trimouille Island, we experienced a blinding flash of intense magnitude, followed by a slight burning feeling across the back of the neck and at the back of the knees. This was only momentarily (sic) and the intensity of the heat resembled the warmth of the sun on a December day. At ‘H’ plus 5 seconds, the hands were permitted to face the direction of Trimouille Island. On looking round we observed the last stages of the fireball. It resembled a huge oil fuel fire. As soon as it had contracted a thick mass of dark grey cloud rose in a vertical direction at a terrific speed. The familiar mushroom cloud soon developed. Shortly afterwards at approximately H plus 60 seconds, the blast wave was felt, company turned towards Alpha Island and on this occasion the glare of the fireball seemed to last longer and was more intense in its magnitude.”

After detonation at 1150 on 16 May, HMS Narvik and Alert entered the Parting Pool; the Radiological Group wore full protective clothing and entered the lagoon in a cutter, conducting a survey and retrieving instruments. A decontamination tent with a pumped water supply allowed the group to wash themselves before returning to the HMS Narvik. The ship’s evaporators weren’t run due to fear of radioactive contamination. A Varsity aircraft surveyed the Onslow to Broome coastline one day after G1’s detonation and reported there was no radiation. Maddock visited the crater on 25 May to take soil samples and collect film badges from Hermite Island.

The Canberra bombers were monitored and decontaminated on their return to RAAF Pearce.

The results of the test showed a yield between 15-20kt of TNT, which had been anticipated, however the cloud rose to 21,000ft rather than the predicted 14,000 ft. Although the implosion system had performed perfectly, the boosting effect of lithium deuteride was negligible. The fallout moved out to sea, but then reversed direction across northern Australia. Radioactive contamination from G1 was found on aircraft at Onslow, indicating that fallout had indeed blown across mainland Australia.

Arnold, L. and Smith, M. (2006), Mosaic-1956, Britain, Australia and the Bomb, pp.106-137 https://springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9780230627338_7

I have included this film as it includes Roger Grace speaking about his experiences and finishes with looking at the G1 test from the deck of HMS Narvik.

BNTVA London Memorial

Sun, 15 May 2022 19:03:51 GMT

BNTVA Memorial visit on the 65th Anniversary of Operation Grapple.

I wrote a short bit on the London memorial in Campaign magazine but it has been my mission to visit all of the memorials across the country. This one has been on my list for a while as I often come down to London but normally I haven't had time to get across to West Ham.

I Jumped on to the Hammersmith & City tube to West Ham and walked up the road to the church.
(in hindsight I should of jumped on the bus, its not a short walk!)

As you come you come up the road the first this you see is this wonderful bell tower.
The church is a grade I listed medieval church with some parts dating back to the 12th century.

As this church is not normally open, so I planned to drop in just after morning service.
(I had tried to contact the church prior to my visit but unfortunately I probably had left it too late and it didn't get through).

My plan was successful and I managed to get in. I was welcomed by some of the lovely people in the church, and met with Pastor Si.
They were fascinated to learn more about the memorial in their church and I explained how today was the 65th anniversary of Operation Grapple. I went on to highlight some of the other anniversaries that are happening this year.

Our memorial was very easy to find and in very good order.
(This is actually one of the best I've seen so far)

Here is some of the standards which are laid up above our memorial.

One last little treat for myself was I also discovered that they have some nice medieval wall painting which has suvived.

I would like to thank Pastor Si, his team and congregation for being so welcoming an to unexpected visitor and allowing me to share their beautiful church with you.

If you follow the link below it will take you to the website for the church.

I have now found the original article for the dedication of this memorial from Campaign June 2005.

65 Years of Operation Grapple

Sun, 15 May 2022 05:30:11 GMT

The 15th of May 1957 marks the 65th anniversary of Grapple 1.

According to Hubbard, the take-off time was 09.00hrs and the bomb was to be dropped at 45,000ft. After briefing he remembers the building excitement and recounts the moment Control from HMS Narvik gave him clearance to drop the bomb and states “It really was a sight of such majesty and grotesque beauty that it defies adequate description”.

He returned to Christmas Island as the Canberras of Squadron 76 set off to take high level samples from the cloud for evaluation by the Scientific Team.

Despite the “euphoria” of the success of the first live drop, the yield of the bomb was unfortunately estimated to be far below its designed capability and the government of the day did not confirm or deny that the UK had become a thermonuclear power.

The photos used in this article were taken Antony Lawrence, who was an 18-year-old Telegraphist on HMS Narvik 1957

Access to mental and physical welfare services for British nuclear test veterans and their families

Sun, 08 May 2022 16:04:26 GMT

Physical, psychological and welfare assistance for British nuclear test veterans and their families.

Over the past couple of weeks, the BNTVA has been grateful for increasing opportunities to tell the stories of our nuclear test veterans in the Telegraph, regional BBC South East news and through an interview on the red sofa for BBC Breakfast on 23 April, followed by a further interview with Naga Munchetty on BBC Five Live.

As a result of this media exposure, the BNTVA has been contacted by dozens of nuclear test veterans and their family members, requesting assistance with physical and mental health issues.

It is clear that the nuclear tests have affected a great majority of nuclear test veterans and their families in a number of ways. A few veterans had a great time at the tests and clean-ups, whereas many are still suffering from the emotional and breach of ethics of the tests.

Richard Wood, who contacted me after the interview on BBC Breakfast, shared his dreadful experience of life as a young 16 year old civilian as a crew member of RFA Wave Sovereign at Grapple X on BBC Five Live with Naga Munchetty. Richard and his fellow crew members weren't allowed to leave the danger zone surrounding Christmas Island despite not actually having any supplies on board ship. They were locked below deck by armed Royal Marines, and witnessed the flash of the 1.8 megaton thermonuclear bomb through the ship's steel. After the blast, he went on deck with the other crew members and exclaimed "Now I've seen hell". These images affected his thoughts and dreams over the decades, yet Richard has developed coping mechanisms over the years. He keeps himself busy at the age of 81 by running a fresh fish business.

John Folkes, who has shared his story through ITV Meridian and BBC South East and the BBC website Nuclear test 'cloud sampler' living with PTSD decades on - BBC News , still suffers from a hand tremor which developed during his first cloud sampling sortie, aged 19, at Operation Buffalo. John describes his experiences of seven cloud sampling missions during Operations Buffalo and Antler, Maralinga, in great detail and has touched the hearts of so many with his passion to talk of the injustices of the nuclear tests on the participants.

I can continue with the experiences of our veterans - from the British servicemen who were caught within the United States Joint Task Force 8 at Operation Dominic/Brigadoon, where the Americans rushed to airdrop all manner of nuclear bombs near Christmas Island in 1962 before the Partial Test Ban Treaty came into force.

John Lax, David Taunt and Peter Lambourne have explained their vivid experiences of 24 bombs in 78 days plus a Polaris missile fired towards Christmas Island by the USS Ethan Allen, which Michelle, our secretary, blogged about a few days ago.

Michelle is busy collating oral histories as I write, where Britain's nuclear test veterans share the accounts of their participation at the nuclear tests, the impact on their lives and on their families. If you'd like to share your story, please contact us through the website, info@bntva.com or 0208 144 3080.

Indeed, the BNTVA has been busy searching and connecting with the experts who can provide priority healthcare for veterans and their families, and we are keen to share what is accessible and how:

Veterans Orthopaedic Service (VOS).

The Veterans Orthopaedic Service is led by Lieutenant Colonel Carl Meyer and is open to those who have served with the UK military, including through National Service conscription. The VOS has been set up to treat arthritic lower limb problems, especially those requiring hip and knee replacements. More about the service can be found here RJAH - Orthopaedic Surgery

Patients are assessed by a Veterans' Service doctor at clinics which take place on Thursday afternoons and Friday mornings. For more information about this service, please contact Lt Col Carl Meyer's Medical Secretary, Rebecca Jones, on 01691 404344. 9651fa0c-3ad2-4969-b9e7-60a966ca78c1.pdf (rjah.nhs.uk)

Referrals start at your local GP Practice (except in Northern Ireland). Where necessary, prior funding arrangements with your local Health Board or Commissioning Group will need to be in place. Specific area requirements are as set out below:

England: Under Patient Choice within England you can be referred to a provider of your choice, your GP will advise you of the process. Compliance with our local Value Bases Commissioning policy will apply in all cases. More information about this is available on the website rjah.nhs.uk .

Wales: Your GP must follow the Welsh Veteran Policy before you can be referred out of area and treatment may be offered locally.

Northern Ireland: Current Northern Ireland rules prohibit referral to England unless funding has been approved. Please note: funding can only be arranged by a Consultant Surgeon in Northern Ireland.

Scotland: Funding will need to be agreed by the relevant Health Board prior to referral.

If you have any questions about this service, please feel free to contact the BNTVA too on 0208 144 3080.

Veterans Trauma Network (VTN).

If you are a veteran (including nuclear test veteran), the VTN can help you if you believe that your physical injury/illness is as a result of your service, whether from ionising radiation or anything else. I recently met the head of the VTN; he is an army surgeon and passionate about expanding this service.

We have tried and tested this, and it works! A nuclear test veteran was extremely unwell and contacted us recently. We informed him about the VTN and told him to return to his GP to specifically say that he is a veteran, as well as hand over the VTN email address. His GP wrote to the VTN, and he was referred immediately for appropriate treatment, which, if he had not, would have been life-threatening.

So, nuclear test veterans, please, if you feel you aren't getting anywhere with your GP, please inform them that you are a veteran, that your injury is associated with your service if you feel that it is and tell your GP to refer you by email england.veteranstraumanetwork@nhs.net.

The VTN has 12 specialist centres run by military and civilian doctors in England and Wales. It has a collection of 12 NHS Veteran Trauma Centres and four specialist units, each with military and civilian medical experts who will be able to help you with your physical service-related health problem.

VTN clinicians will work with you to develop the best clinical plan for your needs. They will not necessarily prioritise you over other NHS patients but the aim is to get you to the teams who can understand your needs and deal with them appropriately. Your care will be prioritised on clinical need as would happen with any NHS patient, but in the spirit of The Armed Forces Covenant. No other NHS patient will be disadvantaged by you seeking help.

The VTN will put you in touch with a Veteran Support Worker who will make contact with you to learn about your circumstances – both medical and non-medical. The Support Worker will guide you through the treatment pathway of the VTN, as well as ensuring you are signposted to the specialised support available for veterans and their families.

The Veteran Trauma Centres are located in Birmingham, Leeds, London (St Mary’s Hospital), Brighton, Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Bristol, London (Kings College Hospital), Nottingham, Cambridge, London (Royal London Hospital) and Oxford. The specialist units are located in East Grinstead, Frimley, Preston and Salisbury.

Veterans and Families Counselling Service.

We are pleased to inform you that we have built a collaborative working arrangement with a Forces' charity and successfully referred both veterans and descendants for specialist counselling. The counselling is provided by a BACP therapist, trained in complex PTSD and veterans' and military families' issues.

Although we are in the process of working on a bespoke service with a counsellor trained in issues that our veterans and their families may endure due to the nuclear tests, we can assure you that this referral service works with a 24-hour turnaround. The process entails speaking to Michelle, Shelly or Ceri at the BNTVA where we will complete the referral form with you and then you will have to complete a consent form with the counsellor.

So, if you feel you require confidential counselling as a nuclear test veteran, sibling, wife, widow or descendant, please contact us on 0208 144 3080, info@bntva.com or through the website, where we will put you in touch with the service.

Veterans' Covenant Healthcare Alliance

Veterans Rehabilitation Project NHS England is committed to raising awareness among healthcare professionals of Veterans’ needs. The Military Covenant health commitments are included in the NHS Constitution and Mandates and form part of the contract with every NHS commissioned provider. This helps to ensure all healthcare professionals will be considerate of these services. Veterans and Armed Forces issues, including the role of the Covenant, now form part of the curriculum for all GPs nationally and are tested in the Royal College of General Practitioners membership exam.

The Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA) is a team of professionals who are working with NHS providers, including acute, mental health, community and ambulance trusts, to gain their veteran aware accreditation status to support to the armed forces community.

Rehabilitation clinicians, Sarah Barker (Occupational Therapist) and Maisy Provan (Physiotherapist) are undertaking this project aiming to create clinical pathways and a set of recommendations for veterans in the NHS. This project will consider rehabilitation in the Ministry of Defence, to aid the transition of military personnel in to NHS care. The initial focus will be on:

 MSK, specifically shoulders, hip, knee, ankles, back and amputees

 Chronic pain

 Psychological effects of injury.

We met with Maisy and Sarah last year to share the experiences of Britain's nuclear test veterans within the VCHA, and heard from Major (retd) Ian Razzell who gave a keynote speak at the BNTVA conference 2021 concerning Veterans' Aware GP surgeries. Ian made it clear that not only veterans but their families can access priority care. We know of veterans and their families that have stated this to their GP, and that this works too. Our very own Vice Chair, David Bostwick, tested this via his GP, and obtained a speedy referral for private healthcare paid for by the NHS.

Don't forget to mention that you are a veteran or the family member of a veteran when accessing healthcare, for more targeted healthcare.

Legal and benefits' help.

The BNTVA is working with a military veterans' legal link with a two-way referral process for legal help including:

Free war pension representation by a pool of pro bono solicitors trained by the BNTVA in claims concerning ionising radiation and the nuclear tests

Complaints via an Ombudsman

Benefits' and housing issues for our nuclear test veterans and their families

Access to Legal Aid where possible.

These specialist workers are very quick to process applications, and if you need assistance then please contact the BNTVA where we will refer you for help with a trained specialist.

Battle Back

The BNTVA is at the beginning of a collaborative partnership with the Royal British Legion for nuclear test veterans who don't rely on care and can self-prescribe their medication. The activity weeks start on a Monday and are based at the beautiful Battle Back Centre at Lilleshall, Shropshire. We are working with the RBL to provide free activity weeks for nuclear test veterans and their families through Battle Back, so Leeds Beckett University neurobiologists get to understand he physical and psychological experiences of our British nuclear community more.

To apply for a Veterans Course all you have to do is complete the online application: https://form.jotform.com/2104037181 44345 – if you have any difficulties completing the form, please contact the BNTVA. The course includes adapted activities such as cycling, climbing, archery, walking, bowling and much more.

Veterans’ Course Selection Criteria
Participants must:
• Be independently mobile, even if a wheelchair user
• Able to independently transfer from one vehicle to another
• Able to participate in activities
• Have a moderate level of mobility and fitness
• Not be actively involved with the Community Mental Health Team
• Not have been detained under Sec. 2 or Sec.3 of the Mental Health Act within the last 3 months or currently under a Community Treatment Order

The Battle Back Centre:
• Is unable to provide clinical, medical or nursing support
• Will give precedence to those who have not benefitted from other Recovery programme courses
• Allocation process will be based on perceived need based on the facts presented
• Confirms there is no age restriction
• Will require basic medical information, to ensure your safety, but details will be destroyed once the course has finished, in accordance with RBL GDPR policies and procedures

The RBL writes, "The course is fully funded by the British Legion and is free to attend. All meals and use of equipment is included. We do provide a mileage allowance of 16p per mile, should you need to claim. The general process is that I will contact you about two months before the course to carry out our “Get To Know You Call”, and complete any further paper work. After which, about a month before the date we will confirm your reserved place and any necessary travel arrangements.

Approximately two weeks prior to the course you will receive joining instructions, together with further information about the centre and the course. A week before the course you will be invited to attend a welcome meeting (via computer / laptop / phone), just so that you can meet others on your course and the coaches. I hope that you consider our Veterans course and look forward to hearing from you."

OPERATION FRIGATE BIRD – 6 May 1962 – A veteran’s memories

Fri, 06 May 2022 05:00:03 GMT

OPERATION FRIGATE BIRD – 6 May 1962 – a veteran’s memories

It is unlike me to write an article without a book recommendation so here it is. Paul Lashmar has written this book following extensive research to uncover top secret missions flown by the US Air Force and Royal Air Force deep into Soviet territory. He has interviewed gentlemen from USAF, RAF and also the “Red Air Force” who tried to eliminate these flights. It has an interesting list of airplanes who were shot down whilst on secret surveillance flights and also many photographs and maps by an author who in his time has worked as an investigative reporter for The Observer, World in Action. He was also awarded the prestigious “Reporter of the Year” in the UK Press Awards in 1986 and produced BBC TV Timewatch documentary Spies in the Sky (1994) and Russia’s Secret War (1996). His book is well researched and easy to read and I thoroughly recommend it if you are interested in this particular aspect of the Cold War.

It reminded me of my interview with a USAF veteran who completed missions during Operation Dominic and in particular Operation Frigate Bird.

Frigate Bird, an early Polaris missile, was launched from the submarine USS Ethan Allen (SSBN-608) at 1417 on 6 May 1962, whilst it was submerged east-northeast of Christmas Island. The launch was originally scheduled for 5 May 1962 but was delayed by communication issues and also inclement weather conditions.

The missile travelled about 1,020 nautical miles (1,890 km) toward the island, detonating as an airburst and was the first and only live test firing of a Polaris missile carrying a nuclear war head. The veteran reports that it arrived within two miles of its target in the Christmas Island danger zone. RT, who told me his fascinating story, followed in the footsteps of his grandfather who had served in the Royal Navy in 1893 for fifteen years. RT served in the US Navy from 1959 until 1963. His story is recorded within the BNTVA’s Living Histories Project Collection, part of the BNTVA Collections & Archives.

Following the standard entry aptitude test, RT was told that he was to be trained as what is known as a CIC or Combat Information Centre airborne in a spy plane containing four and a half tons of electronics; the main job was airborne early warning – North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) had been formed about a year previously. RT and his crew were part of the extension of NORAD in the Western part of North America from the Aleutian Islands to the Midway Islands, a distance of 1,400 miles hence the flight was 2,800 miles, a minimum of twelve but usually around fourteen to sixteen hours flying time, which he did for three and a half years. He continues his story in his soft Californian drawl – so easy on the ear and I repeat part of this here as it is so interesting.

"We flew in a Warning Star or WV2 (Willie Victors) Super Constellation (see link 2 below) which was equipped with all this radar equipment and we could, for example, see the entire British Isles – that was the range of the radar that we had. So, our normal job was flying a barrier (five of these aircraft) 24/7 from Midway to the Aleutians and our radar had a 300-mile range forward and aft of our aircraft and our search area would overlap with each airplane. We would go up and down this 1400-mile track from Midway to the Rat Islands (part of the fourteen large volcanic islands and fifty-five smaller islands which made up the Aleutian chain) and we kept track of all the shipping and every aircraft the Russians were involved with. Vladivostok was their eastern front and we watched everything they did and we recorded all their emissions using electronic countermeasures. They would take all their new radio and radar equipment to Eastern Russia to test and then we would all listen. We knew exactly what they were doing as we listened to their transmissions. On the Eastern US from Reykjavik, Iceland down to the Azores there was another team which flew. We would fly about eight of these barriers and then we would get two weeks leave because we took off every 41 hours – we were constantly flying or getting ready to fly whilst we were deployed at Midway. I don’t want to brag but we were good at our jobs and joked that we could read a label on a beer can from two hundred miles.

So, what happened at Operation Dominic, we had 31 tests which were prompted because the Russians were going to unilaterally abandon the overground testing moratorium. There were 31 devices ready to go. The USA started Operation Dominic using Task force 8 which included the US Army, US Navy and USAF.

During Operation Dominic there were 21 nuclear bombs stored at Barbers Point (Navy base) and the B52s, even though they were USAF, were also at the Navy base which carried the devices out to Christmas Island were part of the Strategic Air Command (SAC), nuclear armed and ready to go at a moment's notice, just a few blocks from our house!

We got a call from the Admiral running the tests requesting one of our crews and aircraft to come to Christmas Island as they wanted us to confirm the drop area was clear – they had already had the area swept by a reserve VP squadron from NAS Alameda, California, flying the Lockheed P-2V Neptune (see link 3 below) designed for anti-submarine warfare using the same radar as our Squadron, an APS-20 which was just designed to have a 20-30-mile range.

Our sweep antenna was more than five times the length of theirs and what happened earlier according to the scuttlebutt (gossip) is that there had been some atomic tests where the same squadron had reported an area as clear and it had turned out that there was something like twenty or thirty Japanese fishing boats and approximately 400 Japanese fishermen died in small wooden boats which fished and transported the fish to a mothership for processing. These small fishing boats did not show up well on radar, however we had watched them for years and recognized the signal from this sort of vessel.

AEWBarRonpac was our squadron and we flew to Christmas Island to check the drop zones (DZs) for the air drops and we found thirty or forty vessels in the DZs that had been missed by the other squadron.

We were on the island for four to five days.

We searched and were also on the ground for two air drops, one of which was a free drop, I think the other was a parachute drop. I remember seeing the B52 approaching from 20-25 miles out. There were two air drops, Arkansas and Questa where I and my crew were on the tarmac on Christmas Island.

We then left Christmas Island to head home, flying north to Oahu and Hawaiian chain.

Between that test and the previous two I and my crew were involved in 2.2 million tons yield. In the other tests we were 20-25 miles away whereas with Frigate Bird, on reflection, I was very suspicious about exactly how near we were because when I was about 68 years of age, I started throwing off abnormal cells and had bladder cancer treated by surgery and three years of chemotherapy and have been cancer free now for around eleven years.”

This was in my opinion a fascinating perspective of a quite unique event.

Battle Back collaborates with the BNTVA to provide fully funded activity courses for Britain's nuclear test veterans

Fri, 29 Apr 2022 19:58:59 GMT

Working with the Royal British Legion to assist British nuclear test veterans

Earlier this year, Ceri and Dr Chris Kay, Senior Research Fellow and Neurobiologist, at Leeds Beckett University, started discussing how we could assist our British nuclear test veterans free of charge in a number of practical ways throughout the year, to build their confidence and create camaraderie so they aren't reliant on just annual reunions each year for kinship.

Chris works with wounded, injured and sick military personnel on a project called Battle Back. This is delivered and researched by Leeds Beckett University staff on behalf of The Royal British Legion and is funded by the Ministry of Defence.

At The Battle Back Centre, week long courses are delivered that encompass adaptive adventurous training and personal development for military personnel who are recovering from injury or illness. Chris oversees the longevity research which is conducted in line with these courses, gathering information to understand the part these experiences have in facilitating the participant's recovery.

Chris is keen to understand our British nuclear test veterans and their families, and ensure that the Futures Strategy of the RBL includes the people that the BNTVA as the UK Charity for nuclear test veterans work with each day. We are currently collaborating with Leeds Beckett Neurobiologists and the RBL to create more bespoke course for our British nuclear test veterans.

Chris Joynson, Recovery Support Manager at the Battle Back Centre, has continued this discussion with the BNTVA. Chris served for over 36 years in the Army and previously ran a Personnel Recovery Unit in the West Midlands. He works with serving personnel and veterans and has included Chelsea Pensioners within Battle Back activity courses.

Chris says,

"We use adaptive sport and adventure training activities as the medium for our courses around which we conduct a number of different wellbeing and recovery interventions – sleep hygiene, healthy eating, alcohol, anger management, stress to mention a few. In order to benefit from our courses veterans need to be independently mobile and self-medicating as there is no nursing or care related assistance on site.

We would happy to welcome any BNVTA veteran on to one of our veterans courses."

This is new territory for the BNTVA but not for Battle Back as the RBL provided £27 million to establish and operate The Battle Back Centre, at the Lilleshall National Sports and Conferencing Centre in Shropshire. We are keen to provide courses for our nuclear test veterans at this beautiful location and Battle Back are keen for our nuclear test veterans to take part in the activities. The Battle Back Centre | Leeds Beckett University

Due to the sheer professionalism and training of the staff at Battle Back, we believe this to be a safe zone and possible for some of our veterans to participate in. Activities are on offer for all who can register their interest with the BNTVA to become involved in the activity courses from early this summer.

Activities include archery, canoeing, assisted cycling and climbing (in a basket if necessary). The staff at Battle Back work regularly with three-limb amputees and people with physical issues, including sensory loss of sight or hearing, and these professionals are fully equipped to assist our nuclear test veterans.

Courses take place throughout the year and the staff are fully qualified to ensure paramount safety.

The courses commence on a Monday and finish on a Friday. They are completely free to our veterans so your only cost would be for travel from home to Battle Back Lilleshall, Shropshire and back. If the cost of this is an issue and you have limited savings, please contact the BNTVA on 0208 144 3080, through the website or by info@bntva.com where we can put you in touch with our sister charity, the Nuclear Community Charity Fund (NCCF), to cover this cost.

If you don't want to wait for the next BNTVA reunion to meet military veterans and are interested in taking part in a fully funded Battle Back course, please speak to us.

We attach a link to what to expect during a Battle Back week long course A week at the Battle Back Centre | Royal British Legion

Cold War Conversations Podcast with an Operation Dominic veteran - "Three, two, one, detonation..."

Mon, 25 Apr 2022 13:40:16 GMT

A young sailor's experiences during Operation Dominic, Christmas Island, 60 years on - Peter Lambourne.

The BNTVA is proud to have developed a special relationship with Cold War Conversations podcast creator, Ian Sanders. Ian has a love for all things Cold War, and spends his time recording the stories of every day people associated with the Cold War.

We were incredibly pleased that Ian joined with us at the BNTVA Conference Reunion at the RAF Museum, Cosford, in August 2021, where he shared his knowledge, skills and experience of recording his series of professional podcasts over the past couple of years.

In February 2022, the Royal Historical Society elected Ian as a Fellow to recognise his contribution to historical scholarship, which Ian gladly accepted. Ian writes about his diverse collection of oral history recordings through Cold War Conversations, "We have over 7 days worth of audio, with 1st person accounts from the son of a Soviet premier to submariners and KGB agents to childhood. We are collecting the whole gamut of Cold War experience. "

In this episode, recorded during the BNTVA Conference, Ian talks with Peter Lambourne, a young sailor, who participated in Operation Dominic at Christmas Island in 1962.

Put the kettle on, make a cup of tea and listen to Pete's experiences during the Cold War. It's well worth a listen. We'd like to take this opportunity to thank Peter for his contribution to this amazing Cold War oral archive.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

Three, Two, one, detonation…” A Royal Navy Nuclear test veteran remembers – The Cold War Conversations History Podcast

Service To Remember Operation Dominic 60 Years On

Mon, 25 Apr 2022 11:44:32 GMT

Remembering Operation Dominic nuclear testing in 1962.

John Lax, former Vice Chair and Trustee of the BNTVA, was stationed at RAF Christmas Island in the Pacific Ocean from 1961-1962. He was age 20 and had requested to be stationed at the Island to work on Hastings' aircraft.

Unbeknownst to John, at this time, the US military were planning a series of nuclear tests, with already existing nuclear weaponry, within a short space of time. Joint Task Force 8 arrived on the Island, led by Alfred Dodd Starbird, and detonated 24 nuclear bombs using B-52 aircraft, which were based at Hawaii, near Christmas Island. As part of these tests, the US also fired Frigate Bird, the earliest Polaris missile, from the USS Ethan Allen in the Pacific Ocean into the danger zone surrounding the Island.

John and his wife Helen, volunteer BNTVA Safeguarding Officer, are busy in their local community, particularly with Dunipace Parish Church, near Falkirk.

On 24 April 2022, Rev Jean Gallacher of Dunipace Parish Church read the following words to the congregation during the morning service and laid a wreath afterwards at the memorial to remember those who served at Operation Dominic and who are no longer alive. Jean invited the congregation to this solemn occasion, and the congregation willingly attended.

Sadly, John could not be present but he is grateful that a number of local people learned about the US testing at Christmas Island between April and July 1962 due to this event.

"Operation Dominic/Brigadoon was the name of the Anglo-American series of thermonuclear bomb tests that took place from 25th April 1962 to 11th July 1962 in the vicinity of Christmas Island, a Coral Atoll in the Pacific Ocean and reputed to be the world’s largest. It is, approximately, 36 miles long and about 6.5 miles wide and is shaped rather like a spanner with the main lagoon in the jaws of the spanner. This was the area where we were accommodated, in wooden huts and the Administration Offices were located, the Airfield was 17 miles away, a 30-minute bus ride away.

The code name Dominic refers to the American element and Brigadoon was the British element although the trails have always been referred to as Dominic.

During the period of the trials there were 24 nuclear detonations, bombs, and one Polaris Missile firing, from an American submarine somewhere in the Pacific.

These tests took place, predominately, in the early hours of the morning while it was still dark, we were instructed to put on long Khaki Drill trousers, long sleeved shirt of the same material and assemble on the football pitch. We had been issued with Film Badges which would record the amount of radiation we had absorbed and some very dark goggles to protect our eyes. Just prior to the detonation we had to sit with our backs to the blast and cover our eyes.

The first test was code named Adobe and that had a yield of 190kt, this meant we were sat about 30 miles away from a bomb with the explosive power of 190,000 tons of TNT! And this was dropped from an American Air Force B-52, at that time the Americans were not renowned for their bombing accuracy!

Over the next 78 days we were subjected to the rest of the tests, although this averaged one every 3 days it was not unusual to have three tests on consecutive days.

Christmas Island is 115 miles North of the Equator with the highest point just 5 feet above sea level, the atmosphere was quite humid, and we had frequent rain showers. Recently it has been established that the film badges that we were issued with were ineffective in humid conditions, so there is no record of our radiation dosage!"

Adobe

Mon, 25 Apr 2022 06:00:03 GMT

60th anniversary of Adobe

If you mention Adobe to someone today they are most likely to think of the computer software company that was founded in 1982, and whose programs are used worldwide. If you go back to an earlier description, Adobe is building material made from earth and organic materials, adobe is Spanish for mudbrick .
But Adobe means something else to some of our veterans as Adobe was the name given to the first shot of the American test programme, Operation Dominic. The test series was conducted mainly over two sites Johnston Atoll and Christmas Island.
Christmas Island had already been used for the British H-Bomb trials, Operation Grapple.

Bit of background on joint UK-US testing.

The partnership with the USA in 1962 came about 16 years after Operation Crossroads which had been last joint test where the British scientists were still directly involved, the two tests were the continuation of the work carried out during the Manhattan Project which saw British scientists from the the Tube Alloys Directorate working with the Americans at Los Alamos to develop a usable atomic weapon during World War Two.

The British team was mainly involved with the implosion design which due to it complex design was tested 16th July 1945 at the Trinity Test site. This was followed up by the dropping of Atom bombs on Hiroshima 6th August 1945 and Nagasaki 9th August 1945.

The first test of Operation Crossroads at the Bikini Atoll was the Able shot 1st July 1946, and the second shot was Baker 25 July 1946. Baker was the first underwater nuclear test, and is probably one of the most famous, with the clip of the explosion enveloping the target ships being used in many pop culture things.

Unfortunately during this period the US Atomic Energy Act of 1946 (McMahon Act) came into force and ended joint UK-US testing this caused the rift between the two countries. The Act was seen to be in contradiction to the 1944 Hyde Park Agreement, the US copy had been lost in Roosevelts papers.

The McMahon Act is seen by many as the catalyst for Britain to develop its own Nuclear weapons programmes.

Independent American testing with British involvement?

Even though the McMahon Act stopped joint UK-US operations. It didn't completely stop British involvement.

Operation Dogstar 1954

I very much doubt that many will have heard of Operation Dogstar, but this was the British detachment who attended Operation Castle in 1954.
Dogstar was part of the wider Operation Bagpipes/Likewise unit based in Australia.

This all started as an agreement to allow the British to access debris samples from the US Castle thermonuclear trials, this agreement was reached at the December 1953 Tripartite Summit hosted by Churchill on the Island of Bermuda.

Based at Kwajalein 1323 flight was made up Hastings and Canberra's. Unfortunately the first two Canberra's ran into difficulty on the journey to Kwajalein, one had made an emergency landing on a small island, (the crew were eventually rescued) and the other was lost with no survivors. These were replaced with more Canberra's from the Operation Bagpipes unit, some of which had been used to sample the Operation Totem tests.

The British personal watched the first test from the north of the island, the Bravo test was the largest US test at 15mt and was far larger than expected.
With the issues only one Canberra WH881 was used to sample the cloud the sortie took 2¼ hours of which 1½ was spent in the "hot" part.
Also fallout from the test did cover Kwajalein (some American personnel required treatment), but more famously The fallout covered the Japanese fishing boat named Daigo Fukuryū Maru or “Fifth Lucky Dragon,” located 80 miles east of the test site. All 23 members of the crew, as well as their catch, were exposed to radiation. One crewmember died several months later.

The Canberra's continued to sample the castle series and manged to sample 5 out of the 6 tests.

Interestingly the cockpit section of one of the replacement Canberra's WH887 has survived and it was on display at Sywell Aviation Museum, though It's currently undergoing restoration elsewhere.

Operation Dogstar is just one example of the cloud flying operations and even my brief description of the events during Operation Castle wouldn't be possible without the help of a brilliant book called Sniffing and Bottling: 1323 Flight and its Successors, by Dave Forster.

There is also a good article on Operation Bagpipes in Exposure Magazine, link below.

A renewed relationship in 1962!

Even Operation Dominic wasn't the first joint UK-US test in 1962, the Pampas shot was a 9.5kt UK test carried out on the 1st March 1962. It had been included as part of the US Nougat test programme at the Nevada test base. This was our first underground test in Nevada and following the ban on atmospheric testing the site became our main proving grounds and was used up till the Julian Bristol test on 26th November 1991 which saw the end of the British nuclear test programme.

Operation Dominic

The Adobe shot was not huge compared to other tests on the island, at only 190kt, but to put into a better perspective the largest Australian test Britain carried out was at Operation Mosaic, Monte Bello Islands, WA. G2 had originally recorded at 60kt but was a revised to estimated 98kt, during the Royal Commission investigations.

Britain's largest test at Christmas Island was Grapple Y at 3mt but even this would be dwarfed by the Operation Dominic testing, 27th June the Big Horn shot was measured at 7.7mt, Yeso on the 10th June was 3mt and the last drop Pamlico 11th July was 3.9mt. over 72 days 24 bombs would be dropped off the bottom of Christmas island, and there were the other Operation Dominic tests either fired into the Christmas Island danger area or detonated at Johnston atoll some of which were still seen by servicemen on the island.

The excerpts bellow are from the Official report into Operation Dominic.*

BNTVA joins Genetic Alliance UK

Thu, 21 Apr 2022 17:01:25 GMT

The BNTVA is accepted into membership of Genetic Alliance UK.

After a long wait following the BNTVA's provision of information to demonstrate the needs within the British nuclear community, we are pleased that the Association has just been accepted as a member of Genetic Alliance UK.

The BNTVA understands issues surrounding living with rare conditions as we all have first-hand experience of misdiagnosis, misunderstanding and long pathways to diagnosis whether for ourselves and/or family members. Not being understood by medical professionals at a time when desperate help is required is beyond frustrating, affecting one's quality of life and the quality of life of those around the individual.

On top of this, raising issues surrounding participation within the Commonwealth atmospheric testing and radiation clean-ups with GPs and through secondary care hospital specialist referral processes can be demoralising and detrimentally affect the patient experience.

This is why the BNTVA knew it was worth applying to join the Genetic Alliance UK on behalf of the British nuclear community.

Genetic Alliance UK, run by staff with a background in natural and social sciences, states that,

"We work on a variety of issues that families and individuals with genetic conditions face. We aim to provide information, support families and influence the services needed by these patients. We also work to add patient voice into debates that matter to our community. Our work falls into different categories: reproductive techniques, diagnosis, medical research, healthcare and delivery, access to treatments and living and education. We advocate for fast and accurate diagnosis, good quality care and access to the best treatments. We actively support progress in research and engage with decision makers and the public about the challenges faced by our community."

In brief, Genetic Alliance UK's strategy includes:

DRIVING PROGRESS

Improving outcomes for everyone affected by genetic, rare and undiagnosed conditions through evidence-based influencing and campaigning.

BUILDING OUR COMMUNITY

Supporting and developing communities by providing an excellent range of services to our members, new groups and everyone affected by these conditions.

BUILDING GREATER AWARENESS

Creating the impetus for positive action by increasing understanding within the general public, the health and social care community, and with policy makers.

BUILDING OUR ORGANISATION

Maximising our capacity to deliver a programme of sustainable growth, continued improvement and development.

Genetic Alliance UK runs two long-term projects:

Rare Disease UK : A campaign focused on making sure the new UK Rare Diseases Framework is as successful as possible, and to ensure that people and families living with rare conditions have access to a final diagnosis, coordinated care and specialist care and treatment.

SWAN UK: The only dedicated support network in the UK for families affected by a syndrome without a name – a genetic condition so rare it often remains undiagnosed.

After the BNTVA participated in a cross-party Welsh government Senedd working group with Genetic Alliance UK, Rare Disease UK and SWAN UK in January, I can only conclude that the representatives advocated superbly with the Welsh Assembly Member involved on behalf of patients with both undiagnosed and diagnosed rare diseases. The BNTVA is delighted to be included as one of around 200 specialist charities and organisations represented by Genetic Alliance UK, and we are thrilled at their level of expertise and influence.

If you are searching for further information about genetic disease, please contact either the BNTVA, where we hold qualifications and experience in this area, or through Finding information about a rare or genetic condition | Genetic Alliance UK

More information is here concerning genetic testing Information | Genetic Alliance UK

For information on research projects at the Centre for Health Effects of Radiological and Chemical Agents at Brunel University, London, led by Dr Rhona Anderson, and funded by our sister charity, the Nuclear Community Charity Fund, the link is here Research Projects – Centre for Health Effects of Radiological and Chemical Agents (chrc4veterans.uk)

Our Chaplain on the Spot

Tue, 12 Apr 2022 23:32:25 GMT

"Relatively" podcast featuring siblings Nicholas and Christopher Frayling. The BNTVA is fortunate to have been blessed with Nicholas as the Association Chaplain since 1987.

Catherine Carr has worked in radio and podcasts for the last 20 years. Catherine created the Relatively About Siblings podcast to explore relationships about siblings.

This wonderful series includes people like Gok Wan, Susie Dent, Dame Jenni Murray, Nicky Campbell and Dan Snow, to name just a few.

The fraternal Fraylings, Nicholas and Chris, talk candidly to Catherine about their parents, the loss of their eldest brother, their mother winning the 1952 RAC Rally, boarding school, sibling rivalry and adult life. This is a charmingly touching yet bittersweet episode.

Frayling Major, Nicholas, shares about his work in Pentonville Prison which gave him a heart for mental health and social welfare, opening up his journey into the Church and his love of music, particularly Elgar. Frayling Minor, Chris, shares about relationships and his busy career as a Cambridge-educated historian and writer.

Pull up a chair and listen to a fascinating half an hour of Frayling Major, Frayling Minor and a peppering of military family history.

38 | Christopher & Nicholas Frayling — Relatively. (relativelypodcast.com)

Resubmission of BNTVA Medal Application from 2021

Mon, 11 Apr 2022 01:52:01 GMT

The BNTVA has just re-submitted the 2021 medal application to the Advisory Military Sub-Committee, the Secretary of State for Defence and the Minister for Veterans with the following letter.

Following the decision of the Advisory Military Sub-Committee to the BNTVA's medal application dated June 2021, the recent Freedom of Information Requests concerning the Committee in last week's press and the results of the Fourth Analysis of the British Nuclear Weapons' Test Participants Study, the BNTVA wishes to re-submit the medal application sent to the Committee last year.

The BNTVA is concerned that in light of the above email attachment as an outcome of the FOI, the submission was viewed in terms of health effects which would naturally garner a rejection, rather than the criteria which Mr Mercer pointed to in his letter of support. We are shocked that the submission was potentially viewed in the same way as Veterans UK would examine a war pension, rather than exploring the risk and rigour that the test participants bravely endured during the race for the Commonwealth nuclear deterrent.

I attach an extract of the previous Committee's minutes of the 29 August 2013, whereby under point 13, the AMSC established that the British nuclear veterans had indeed encountered risk within their service. Your response to me in December states that the Committee was aware of the "novel and challenging surroundings in which Service personnel involved in the test programme must have found themselves" , which is understandably unique yet points to rigour.

Indeed, Dr Richard Haylock of the UK Health Security Agency writes in response to my questions, " Information about deaths in the first 10 years was given in the previous analysis. In total there were 303 deaths in first 10-years and nearly half of these (148 deaths) were attributable to accidents or violence with only 53 cancers. The results are presented in table 6.7 in NRPB report W2 7."

The rate of intentional self-harm which covers accidents and violence (ICD9-10) for nuclear test participants was far higher than in the control group - for example, a comparison of 122 suicides amongst Army nuclear test veterans of Christmas Island compared to 68 in the control group. I am at a loss of how to explain any further about the risk and rigour that these men endured; as the Operation Totem document states from William Penney himself, health and safety had been lacking despite hearing the repeated sentences from government about adequate health and safety.

The tests weren't all about film badges as the Fourth Analysis points out, as a presumption had been made beforehand about likelihood of radiation; this was judged on the previous tests concerning potential measurable exposure, which was not truly scientific, so thousands of men attended without being monitored. 2.2 in the Fourth Analysis study attached above states, "Dose monitoring records were available for 23% of the participants, of whom 64% had zero recorded dose (see supplementary table S2). Only 8% of the total participant cohort had non-zero recorded radiation doses and the mean dose from gamma radiation amongst these men was 9.9 mSv."

It is lamentable that the nuclear test veterans have not been awarded a medal to date, and those who are still alive are an average age of 85 years old. Please will the government and the AMSC recognise these Cold War heroes swiftly?

The surviving participants are suffering due to government misunderstanding about safety at the tests. Many suffer enduring trauma from witnessing these nuclear bombs and/or cleaning up invisible radiation. A moral injury has been caused by the governments at that time concerning an act of commission, act of omission and act of betrayal which has impacted their very fabric of being at the nuclear testing, echoed by academics working with veterans and health professionals.

With kindest regards,

British Nuclear Test Veterans' Association

Living without protections - the impact of the removal of COVID restrictions on the British nuclear community.

Fri, 08 Apr 2022 21:29:39 GMT

BNTVA beneficiaries' point of view needed for new brief.

Part of the BNTVA's remit is to represent and advocate for British nuclear test veterans and their families by relaying the experiences of our unique community through health and social care think tanks and bodies in public forums.

We have been asked to share the point of view of the British nuclear community through National Voices, of which we are a member. National Voices is the leading coalition of health and social care charities in England who work together to strengthen the voice of patients, service users, carers, their families and the voluntary organisations that work for them.

Particularly, we are looking for the following to be included in a brief concerning Living Without Protections. This explores the impact that the removal of COVID protections is having on people's lives.

Has the removal of these protections affected your physical or mental health, social or work life?
Were there protections or support that you benefitted from and you think should remain?

If you have any thoughts on these questions or are suffering from the impact of the pandemic, please contact the BNTVA on 0208 144 3080, through the website or on info@bntva.com before 14 April. Thank you.

Commonwealth Day 2022 : Australia 1952

Thu, 17 Mar 2022 16:33:13 GMT

1952 HMS Campania and HMS Plym reach Freemantle.

Excerpt from the Plym Pudding and all photos are from the BNTVA Operation Hurricane collection.

THE PLYM PUDDING
Number12. "Australia Fair" Wednesday, 30thJuly, 1952.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

AUSTRALIA

Australia was first visited by explorers in the 16 ^th century, and in 1655, the Dutch, who had mapped most of the west Coast, named it New Holland. Captain Cook explored and charted the East Coast, which he claimed for Britain, in 1770. 18 years later the first British settlement was established near Sydney, and the exploration of the rest of the Continent, followed. It was renamed Australia and declared a British possession early in the 19 ^th century when settlements began to spring up at various places round the coast. These settlements Perth, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane became the centres of their areas and then the capitals of separate colonies, these later became independent states, which united on 1 ^st January 1901, to form the Commonwealth of Australia.

Australia was still almost entirely an agricultural country at that time, but has industrialised rapidly, especially since World War II, and now has her own manufacturing industries, Naval Dockyards and shipyards and aircraft works. Apart from important coalmines she has vast stocks of raw materials, and the goldmines which brought her prosperity and a rush of immigrants a century ago are now only a minor, though welcome part of her riches.

There over 8 million Australians in 6 States, one of them the island of Tasmania, and each State has Home Rule and its own parliament, while the country as a whole has a seventh federal parliament in Canberra, to run National affairs.

This operation of ours is a joint British and Australian project in which the Australian Government has provided great assistance at every stage, as well as the site at Monte Bello of course.

FREMANTLE AND PERTH.

Fremantle is the port of Perth, which is the capital and chief city of West Australia. Perth was founded in 1829, when the first settlement was made on the Swan River. The area was very lightly populated for a long time, and ruled as a colony from London, but after the discovery of gold settlers flocked in and it became a state in 1890. Today the state has a population of two thirds of a million, but although it is the largest state by size, nearly a million square miles, it has the smallest population due to the vast Eastern and Northern deserts which hem most of its people back into the fertile Southwest corner.

Fremantle is an artificial harbour built in the estuary of the Swan River, and the main port of the state. The town, which with suburbs. Has some 30,000 people, lies of the southern side of the river mouth 12miles downstream from Perth, and there are regular bus and train service between these two places.

Perth stands on both banks of the Swan, which widens there into the impressive spread of Perth water. The main city and the public buildings lie on the northern bank, and the city with its suburbs has some quarter of a million inhabitants. There are plenty of fine buildings in this well laid-out city, as well as good shops, cinemas and restaurants The 1,000-acre King's Park on the hill overlooking the city is worth a visit but being mid-winter there will be no chance of watching any Australian State Cricket or going bathing, though men in uniform will be granted free entry to Saturday's Racing and Trotting Meetings in the city.

The climate and temperature arc likely to be much the same as in Cape Town a few weeks ago, but an improvement in the exchange rate of £5 Australian for £4 of ours, and local beer is good and strong though bars close at 9 in the evening.

Commonwealth Day 2022 : Sierra Leone 1952

Wed, 16 Mar 2022 13:29:21 GMT

Freetown, Sierra Leone,

My last post on Freetown included a bit of information on the stop off at the port where HMS Campania refuelled and allowed the passengers and crew to receive and send mail.
I had originally tried to find some photos to accompany the post, unfortunately none could be found in our collections.
Today I was sent 19 photos from Operation Hurricane, 2 of which (I am told) are from the Freetown stop over, there are also some additional photos from the South Africa stop off, and some new ones from Freemantle, Australia.

These were digitised this morning, so I wanted to share.
Wesley
BNTVA Curator

(additional photographs from the Operation Hurricane collection.)

Commonwealth Day 2022 : New Zealand

Tue, 15 Mar 2022 23:01:39 GMT

New Zealand at Operation Grapple

During 1957 and 1958 New Zealand’s foreign policies were centered on that of the Commonwealth; the production and testing of atomic and thermonuclear weapons by the United Kingdom was supported as it was believed this would enhance the security of New Zealand and the rest of the Commonwealth; New Zealand did not object to the Pacific Ocean being used for tests as long as the weapons could be used to prevent or ward off an attack in the Pacific area.

Sir Anthony Eden originally approached Sidney Holland (New Zealand Prime Minister) with a request to use the Kermadec Islands as a testing site but this was refused in August 1955. HMNZS Lachlan surveyed the Northern and Southern Line Islands in early 1956 as part of the planning for Grapple and also supported air reconnaissance carried out by RAF Shackletons.

In July 1956, the UK requested two loch-class frigates be provided by New Zealand to the Grapple Task Force and in order to cover for the two RNZN frigates, offered HMS St Brides Bay and HMS Cardigan Bay. the radar on HMNZS Pukaki and Rotoiti was upgraded to type 277Q and the frigates were brought to operational readiness. After much debate and disquiet, the primary task of the two frigates was described as patrolling the test site and also as weather ships. One of the balloons was tracked by Pukaki to a height of 100,400ft. Secondary tasks were anti-submarine watch and sampling the water for radiation contamination.

HMNZS Pukaki and Rotoiti left Auckland on 13 March 1957 for Suva, collected 40 Fijian troops and then sailed on to Christmas Island.

HMNZS Pukaki was present at all four of the Grapple series of tests and Rotoiti at the first and second series of Grapple Tests.

It is interesting that Lorna Arnold in her books “A Very Special Relationship” and her official history of the H-bomb programme “Britain and the H-Bomb" provides great technical detail of the development of nuclear weapons but does not recount lived experiences of British let alone NZ or Fijian troops and this is why I highly recommend Nic Maclellan's “Grappling with the Bomb” which particularly as it is available as a free download should be on everyone’s reading list.

The BNTVA are proud to have as a member a gentleman who served on HMNZS Rotoiti during Operation Grapple.

The BNTVA has been in contact with a researcher from the New Zealand Navy Museum who has been kind enough to share transcripts of oral history interviews. The museum has also published a commemorative Operation Grapple issue of its White Ensign journal which may be found by clicking on the following link.

The link for Nic Maclellan’s book

The list of crews of HMNZS Pukaki and Rotoiti

Commonwealth Day 2022 : Fijiian Troops at Britain’s Christmas Island Tests

Tue, 15 Mar 2022 11:16:41 GMT

The role of Fiji as part of the British Commonwealth in the Cold War

Nic Maclellan was kind enough to send me a copy of the book Kirisimasi at the end of 2021 and most information is obtained from this wonderful bi-lingual book.

Approximately 300 Fijiian sailors and soldiers witnessed the development of the hydrogen bomb at both Malden Island and Christmas Island but their story was only first told in Kirisimasi, despite various books having been written about the British tests most of which do not mention the participation of Pacific Islanders.

Fijian military personnel were serving under British command as members of the Royal Fiji Military Force (RFMF) also The Fiji Royal Naval Reserve (FRNVR). Fiji only achieved independence in 1970.

Along with HMS Warrior, HMS Messina, HMS Alert and HMS Narvik also the survey ship HMS Cook and the two New Zealand frigates HMNZS Pukaki and HMNZS Rotoiti, Thirty-nine sailors of the FRNVR were present between March and July 1957, departing from Suva on 19 March 1957 on the two RNZN frigates and were transferred to HMS Warrior and were then commanded by Lieutenant Commander Black with Chief Petty Officer Ratu Inoke Bainimarama and Petty Officer Viliame Raikuna. The Fijian troops witnessed the tests on the decks of HMS Warrior.

Fijian dignitaries also visited to witness Grapple 2 and a full ceremonial welcome was held aboard HMS Warrior during which a whale’s tooth was presented to the warship’s captain.

From August 1957 RFMF worked as engineers, labourers and stevedores on Christmas Island in preparation for the next tests.

An interesting story is told of two sailors who were flown to Christmas Island in late 1957 in order to collect MV Ramarama from Singapore, which was to act as the Governor’s vessel in Fiji. However on 3 February 1958 they were transferred back to Fiji without the boat and without witnessing any tests.

As an aside it is noted that Fijian troops were paid less than the British counterparts and were also not permitted to buy beer from the mess. A Scottish veteran describes how he remembers buying them two cases of the “Operation Grapple, Christmas Island” beer.

The humility of the Fijian troops comes over clearly and is perhaps best expressed in comments such as the following of Malakai Niubasaga (RFMF Engineers):

“I’m very thankful to God for giving me time to relate my experiences because I’m old now. Nothing has been done, but we are thankful that you have decided to take our story”.

The following tune may be familiar to some of our veterans:

Nosy & Mila - Isa Lei Lia (Fiji Cover)

Commonwealth Day 2022 : Mauritius 1952

Tue, 15 Mar 2022 10:00:04 GMT

On the way to Operation Hurricane, HMS Campania and HMS Plym stopped off in Mauritius. It was mentioned what to expect in the Plym Pudding magazine;

(following is a transcript from the magazine with additional photographs from the Stan Bowyer collection.)

Number 10 "Ocean Keypoint" Monday, 14th July 1952
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MAURITIUS

Mauritius has a proud motto in Latin whose translation means “The Star and Key of the Indian Ocean”, and this has always been the opinion of its holders.

The island of Mauritius lies to the east of Madagascar Just inside the Tropics and is nearly 40 miles long by 30 broad.

The island was first settled by the Dutch, who named it after their prince Maurice, but they later abandoned it and were followed in 1710 by the French who re-named it the Isle of France. Their most famous Governor was Admiral Mane de La Bourbonnais, who founded the capital of Port Louis over 200 years ago, built roads, cleared forests, and made the Island prosperous by introducing the sugar cane. He gave his name to the southern port of Mahebourg and several other places.

Great Britain captured the island in 1810 during the Napoleonic wars, when it was an important base for the French Privateers raiding our Indian shipping and has held it over since as an ocean key point under its old name of Mauritius.

Three-quarters of the population which totals nearly half a million, are Hindu Indians, there are some Chinese, and most of the remainder are French-speaking Creoles of French descent, with a number of French Families. The Administration is British as it is a British Crown Colony, and there is a small British Garrison.

Port Louis, where we shall secure, is the chief port as well as the capital, and has nearly 70,000 inhabitants. It was almost destroyed by a hurricane in 1931 and although well laid out has few fine buildings or residential areas. Most of the better Europeans live up in the hills behind the city at Rose hill, Vacoas and Curepipe which are between one and two thousand feet up and on the railway. The climate is very moist and tropical, especially in Port Louis which is surrounded by a ring of hills inland, but at present it is winter-time and at its coolest. The main rainy season is over, and it should be quite dry.

The landing place at Port Louis is Custom House Steps, near which are the G.P.O. and Information Office. Shops are mostly Indian, or Chinese owned and haven't a great-deal of interest for sale. The better shops arc up in the hills generally speaking, and almost all shops have bars, understand English. Sugar, Guava Jelly, Honey and local Tea can be sent home. Sugar has been the main export since French days., and the island is covered with sugar plantations. It is hoped to arrange tours of plantations, refineries and other places-of interest.

Vaccoas is the main Army Camp, near Curepipe in the hills, and most of the sports grounds are there. Football, Hockey and Cricket are played at all seasons and matches are being arranged with both the Army and local teams. The grounds are reported good, and the teams keen.

Port Louis is unsuitable for bathing, but otherwise almost anywhere within the reefs is safe providing the sand is white. Black sand is liable to cut and poison the feet, and there are sharks outside the reefs.

The Garrison at Vaccocs have laid on a dance, and it is the racing season. The race meetings of the Turf Club at the Champ de Mars are a worthwhile spectacle according to previous ships, though nothing is said of local racing standards.

There is a selection of fair cinemas in the town, but the films are often very old or in French so cannot be recommended, journeys to Vaccoas arc run by the army for liberty men and much of Port Louis is “out of bounds” after dark, so take advantage of their help.

There is plenty of American bottled beer and French style wine, both good if not overdone, but the local rum is poisonous with a dangerous delayed action effect. This probably applies to the local women also, so be advised by this warning and don't ruin your evening with either, as Mauri only sees about one H.M. Ship a year and we want to keep up the Navy's good name.

Commonwealth Day 2022 : South Africa 1952

Tue, 15 Mar 2022 04:00:04 GMT

On the way to Operation Hurricane HMS Campaina and HMS Plym stopped off in South Africa, it was mentioned what to expect in the Plym Pudding magazine;

(following is a transcript from the magazine with additional photographs from the Stan Bowyer collection.)

Number 9 "Union makes strength" Tuesday, 1st July 1952
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SOUTH AFRICA

The first European to discover the Cape was the Portuguese navigator Biaz in 1486. He named it the Cape of Storms, but his more famous successor Vasco to Gama re-named it Cape of Good Hope when he rounded it eleven years later on his long voyage which discovered the sea route to India,

Although the Portuguese landed in several places along the coast, including the Natal which is so called because it was sighted on Christ’s natal day, Christmas Day, the first settlers were the Dutch. They landed at the Cape 300 years ago in 1632 under Jan Vaan Riebeck to found the city of Cape Town, where a very big celebration was held a few months ago to mark the occasion.

The Colony remained very small, a stopping place on the route to India for over a century and passed into our hands in 1815 as one of the prizes of the war against Napoleon. From then on British settlers began to arrive both at the Cape and along the coast all the way to Durban in the Natal, while the Dutch settlers, the Boers, moved, inland in many cases away from the British influence. The Great Trek of 1838 was the first big wave of Boer Movement into the present provinces of the Orange Free State and Transvaal, where they set up their own Republics for a time.

A mixture of Boer obstinacy and British greed led to the Boer War, which lasted from 1899 to 1902, after which the four provinces gradually united into the Union of South Africa, which came into being in 1910 with two official languages, English and Afrikaans - a Boer form of Dutch, two capitals with Parliaments in Cape Town and 'Whitehall’ a thousand miles away at Pretoria, and the optimistic motto “Union makes Strength”.

CAPETOWN AND SIMONSTOWN

Cape Town is the. oldest white settlement in the Union and Contains quite a few old buildings of interest, including Parliament House of which every brick was shipped cut from England, but its layout is typically modern with wide straight streets. The population consists of about 214,000 Europeans and 300,000 non-Europeans, cut in addition nearly as many Europeans live. Just outside the city in the surrounding suburbs where the better class houses are built.

These suburbs stretch from the Northwest side of the Cape Peninsular round as far as Simonstown on the Southeast side and are connected by a local train service which does a twenty two mile trip in from Simonstown to Cape Town in about an hour.

The Royal Navy set up a Dockyard at Simonstown in 1910, and it is both the base of the South Atlantic Squadron and Headquarters of its Commander-in-Chief. It is quite a small harbour dockyard- and during the war most ships were refitted at Durban. The difference is that Simons town is a British Admiralty Dockyard, while all other harbours in the Union are purely South African.

Simonstown itself is small, with only a few thousand inhabitants and few amenities, though we should find some Admiralty Sports Grounds there and fix a game or two of football. Its chief interest will probably be the Railway Station, a walk of about 20 minutes, from which regular trains run to Cape town, though it is a pleasant little town resembling Gibraltar in a small scale, both in its English atmosphere and its position at the foot of a rocky hill.

Commonwealth Day 2022 : Kiribati

Mon, 14 Mar 2022 22:01:46 GMT

Choosing Christmas Island for Operation Grapple

Here is a short clip from the official Operation Grapple film reel which talks about why the site was chosen.

This clip came from the BNTVA Archives but a full version of the film can be sourced from the Imperial War Museums film archive.

The BNTVA have been involved with the IWM Specialist Subject Network War and Conflict group for the last few years. It was this continuing partnership which has linked us up with other industry professionals like Squeaky Pedal and Cold War Conversations who have created some brilliant content which highlights the incredible stories of our veterans.

The full film can be found here

Commonwealth Day 2022 : Sierra Leone 1952

Mon, 14 Mar 2022 19:00:17 GMT

On the way to Operation Hurricane HMS Campaina and HMS Plym stopped off briefly in Freetown, Sierra Leone, here is the short article about it covered in the Plym Pudding magazine;

(following is a transcript from the magazine with additional photographs from the Operation Hurricane collection.)

Number 8 "White Man's Grave" Sunday 22nd June, 1952.

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FREETOWN

Freetown is the. capital of the. British West African Colony of Sierra-Leone. The Name Sierra Leone meaning 'Lion Range’, was given by the Spaniards to the range of mountains that runs parallel to the coastline Just south of Freetown. These mountains, nearly three. thousand foot high, are most unusual on the flat coast of West Africa and will provide our landfall in the morning.

Freetown was founded over 160 years ago as a. home for freed African slaves from England, later joined from those rescued from the slave ships when the Royal Navy was suppressing slavery last century, and the colony, which now has a population of over 2 million, spread gradually.

The climate is hot and unhealthy, but nothing like as bad as formally when it was known as 'The White Man's Grave'. The town, which has some sixty thousand people, is not very fine or impressive, but it ‘stands at the mouth of the wide Sierra Leone River which forms an important harbour and fuelling place especially in wartime, rainfall of about 170 inches and it is now the rainy season, but we hope to fuel, deal with the mail and sail on without a ducking.

Though this excerpt is almost as short as Campania's stay in Freetown it should be noted that unlike HMS Tracker which had gone through the Suez canal. Campania was escorting HMS Plym (which was transporting Britain's first atomic bomb in her hold) around Africa so it had to make stops along the way at commonwealth countries.

Sheerness to Gibraltar 1300 miles

Gibraltar to Freetown 2000 miles
Freetown to Simonstown 3200 miles

Simonstown to Port-Louis 2200 miles
Port-Louis to Freemantle 3200 miles

Freemantle to Monte Bello 1000 miles
total 12900 miles

Commonwealth Day 2022 : Kiribati 1958-59

Mon, 14 Mar 2022 13:08:28 GMT

Kiritimati/Christmas Island, Kiribati 1958

Kiribati located in the central Pacific Ocean, consists of 33 coral islands and atolls. These are divided among three island groups: the Gilbert Islands, the Phoenix Islands, and the Line Islands.

The largest coral atoll is Kiritimati/Christmas Island, which is part of the Line Islands and is where Britain established a nuclear testing base for Operation Grapple, the H-Bomb trials. The first 3 Grapple drops were off Malden Island (approx. 400 nautical miles south of Christmas Island).

Michael Macfarlane

We have many collections of photos from Christmas Island from Operation Grapple and Operation Dominic but I have decided to share this fantastic collection and the story behind it. Last year the BNTVA was given an old archive box from an ex-trustee; contained inside was lots of correspondence from the early 2000's.

One letter I found was from Michael MacFarlane. It contained over 40 photos and the letter finished off saying he had included postage to return the photos. After some detective work, I managed to track down Michael, who was no longer a BNTVA member. He was pleasantly surprised by my letter, and I offered to return his photos which I put into an archival album. Before the end of last year I delivered his lost photos back to him and discovered that they had originally been sent in around 2006 and one photo had been used in the 'Campaign' magazine.

Here is a selection of collection and the full thing will be added shortly.

Michael was part of the RAF Catering team and he was in charge of the food stores at the Junior Ranks Mess. His photos include many of the catering team at main camp, I have added names where I have them if you can fill in the gaps please let us know.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Michael for allowing the BNTVA to share his wonderful collection, if anyone has anything they can add please get in contact.
info@bntva.com

Commonwealth Day 2022 : Singapore 1956

Mon, 14 Mar 2022 09:45:03 GMT

Stop off in Singapore on the way to Operation Buffalo 1956

These photos were sent to us by David Coppin they were taken by his late father Bernard Wolfe

 David pointed out that Bernard wasn't alone among the veterans of the tests in spending a bit of time in Singapore which was a stop off for anyone travelling by air out to Australia.

He went on to explain that there are not many photos, a couple of them are not very exciting and a couple are a little bit blurry,  But they might have some nostalgia value to a portion of the veterans cohort.

Raffles Hotel where Bernard was staying.

An air hostess who was working for Bangkok Airlines.  Whether she just happened to be staying at Raffles at the same time as Bernard, or whether she was a a hostess on a flight Bernard took, David doesn't know but suspects the former.

night time view of a Cinema.

New Paragraph

David suspects the stop over at Singapore was one of the highlights of Bernard's time away for Operation Buffalo in 1956.

The last photo is Bernard Wolfe actually on Operation Buffalo, he was part of the Aldermaston AWRE contingent.

We would like to thank David for sharing these photos with us, I know he has many more from Bernard's adventures.

Commonwealth Day 2022

Mon, 14 Mar 2022 08:33:13 GMT

A look at the Commonwealth participation in the Nuclear test programmes in the 1950s & 60s

Today is commonwealth day, over the next few days we will be post a number of blogs looking at different commonwealth countries who played a part in the testing programme.

We will look at items from the BNTVA collections & Archives as well as things which have been shared with us.

Hopefully these will bring back memories of some of the more forgotten aspects of testing on the far side of the world.

If you want to tell us about your experiences or share photos please get in contact with our team.
info@bntva.com

Ukraine Conflict

Mon, 28 Feb 2022 13:17:08 GMT

I am sure that we are all witnessing the distressing events unfolding and the intense conflict in the Ukraine over the past few days, instigated by Vladimir Putin. We are also aware of the growing nuclear threat and wonder what will happen next internationally or domestically, whether loss of life, international participation or less financial security as utility bills and fuel prices rise.

The BNTVA would like to inform all supporters, and members, whether nuclear test veterans, wives, widows, descendants, family members and friends that we are on the end of the phone or email if you need us - to talk, cry, have a need for signposting for specific services in your area such as debt advice or health services, or just to hear a friendly voice.

We know that some have relatives who are serving members of the armed forces or relatives in or close to Ukraine.

Our phone number is 0208 144 3080, email is info@bntva.com or you can contact through the website.

Blessings to you all.

Ceri, on behalf of the board of Trustees.

The UK government's own study reveals a compromise of public servants' health and a violation of their dignity

Mon, 28 Feb 2022 01:20:21 GMT

Prof Robert Jacobs comments on new Government Study

Over the past few months, the BNTVA has been grateful for the questions raised, answers given and the expertise acquired from Professor Robert (Bo) Jacobs, Nuclear Historian at the Hiroshima Peace Institute, author of the Global Hibakusha Home | Bo Jacobs Global Hibakusha Overview.mp4 on Vimeo

Bo shared with over 100 delegates during the BNTVA's conference reunion at the Telford Hotel & Golf Resort in 2021. He spoke at length about the intentional use of utilising radioactive fallout as a weapon on the participants at Bikini Atoll and in subsequent tests before the Partial Test Ban Treaty in 1963.

Bo's talk left a profound effect on British nuclear test veterans, family members and supporters. It was chilling to hear Bo's simple and evidence-based explanation of the government strategy in employing ("volunteering") troops and scientists as part of live atomic and nuclear tests whilst developing the nuclear deterrent during the Cold War.

The ethics of these nuclear tests is certainly questionable, and, as stated in our last blog The Results are in - Findings of the Fourth and Final Government Study (bntva.com) we truly believe that a moral injury was committed by the British government on the test participants. Professor Neil Greenberg, Mental Health Defence, King's College London, and Professor Dominic Murphy of Forces in Mind Trust explain moral injury in more detail here A short introduction to Moral Injury - YouTube and Moral injury: the effect on mental health and implications for treatment - The Lancet Psychiatry

Moral injury is caused by one or more of three things:

An act of commission that crosses a personal boundary of conscience
An act of omission
A betrayal from someone in authority.

In the case of the Commonwealth and American nuclear tests, a moral injury was caused in the act of commission and the betrayal of the weapons' test participants, causing life-long negative changes for up to 22,000 British participants.

The results of the Fourth Analysis of the Nuclear Test Weapons Test Participants gives a large volume of information concerning causes of death and cancer incidence over the last 40 years about Britain's nuclear test veterans. Although both disturbing and fascinating, the core of the issue is quite simple - even in an epidemiological and statistical minefield. On reading the paper, Bo told the BNTVA,

"The government prioritized the development of these weapons over the wellbeing of its soldiers."

Quite simply, the BNTVA, as the UK's charity for nuclear test veterans agrees fully with Bo's statement and we are grateful for his insight. We will take the main points of Bo's message when we and our sister charity, the NCCF, meet with the MOD at the invitation of the Prime Minister last month. The minutiae of the report is useful to aid our veterans and their widows to claim war pensions.

Unfortunately, the transgressive act has been committed, the genie is out of the bottle, and we have the sombre data on increased suicides amongst nuclear test veterans in comparison to a military control group. Events cannot be undone. However, now is the time for the government to respond to this paper, and listen to the representatives for the UK's nuclear test veterans in order to recompense and recognise these Cold War heroes and their families.

The Results are in - Findings of the Fourth and Final Government Study

Fri, 25 Feb 2022 14:59:00 GMT

An initial look at the long-awaited data

After years of collation by the Office of National Statistics, health records and death certificates, the fourth and final government study into cancer incidence and mortality rates for the 21,357 servicemen and male civilians who participated at atmospheric tests and clean ups at the Montebello Islands, Australia and Christmas Island (including the US Operation Dominic series) from 1952-1967 has at long last been published. This was published a little sooner than the study team expected, taking a few people by surprise. Journal of Radiological Protection - IOPscience

Over the past few months, the BNTVA has been in dialogue with Dr Richard Haylock, Study Author, along with Michael Gillies, and Group Leader of Radiation Epidemiology at the now-named UK Health Security Agency (previously Public Health England). I am pleased to say that the BNTVA has successfully influenced the harnessing of some of the analysis and results. As the paper was released yesterday morning, Richard wrote to me,

" I know you sent me a list of questions a while ago. It was fortuitous in a way that you sent them when you did as we were able to add some extra results to the paper to address several of them. We will now take another look at them and try to provide answers – based on the published paper."

The government website, which is awaiting an update concerning the Fourth Study, sets the context,

" The third NRPB study published in 2003 followed the groups to the end of 1998 when cause of death was established for 23% of participants and controls. Interest in the health of nuclear test veterans has continued and in 2017/18 the Public Health England (PHE) review of study information found that about 55% of those present at the tests had now died, meaning that the statistical power of any further study to detect differences in the mortality of cancer incidence and mortality would be greatly increased. The Fourth study, commissioned in 2018, will extend the analysis by a further almost 20 years, again considering overall mortality and cancer incidence and mortality and comparing Veterans present at the tests with a control group of age and sex matched Veterans serving at the same time but who were not Nuclear Test Veterans, and also with the UK general population. It will also consider variations in risk in the groups with time."

As the paper explains, the average age of Britain's nuclear test veterans is 85 years old at 31 December 2022 and mortality rates are actually below the general population at this time . Please note that I am not saying that the mortality rate is actually less than the general population at the times of previous studies or over the whole study since 1983, as thousands of us have lost our fathers or husbands far too early in life due to acute and chronic illnesses.

On first observation, we see two major factors - overall cancer mortality was 3% higher for the nuclear test participants than the control group, and 2% higher for non-cancer diseases (which haven't previously been recorded within the first three studies). The accompanying notes from the UKHSA state,

"Variation in background characteristics, such as smoking habits, between the groups are a possible explanation for this slight difference but a small impact of test participation cannot be ruled out. "

What is not known though is the number of control group National Servicemen, when figures on conscription were available for the nuclear test veterans.

There is evidence of slightly higher rates of specific cancers for the nuclear test veterans than for the controls (despite not ruling out that the control group may have been exposed to depleted uranium in their line of military service around the same time as the nuclear test veterans). These cancers include non-chronic lymphoid leukaemia (non-CLL), stomach (of which my own father died aged 64 in 1999), bladder, prostate and respiratory organs, pleural, buccal (cheeks) and pharynx, although taking factors into consideration, these results aren't significant within the whole study.

However, what is note-worthy is the data for the sub-groups, as prostate and brain cancers show elevated levels, particularly prostate for the HMS Diana crew who were ordered to sail through the radiative plumes of G1 and G2 in May and June 1956 at Operation Mosaic. I am sure that debate will continue about the pattern of results in the sub-groups through health monitoring and better diagnosis. The BNTVA is not aware that these men were monitored as a specific group as Captain John Gower had complained about the lack of physical and psychological monitoring of his crew after the nuclear tests in his article in the "The Pierhead Review."

For the lay person, and as an avid lover of statistics, I will explain... quantitative statistical significance is achieved when 'p' is smaller than 0.05. This is the time when researchers jump up and down saying that the data is really talking. So, p=0.01 is the result for non-CLL incidence. Risk for chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) is raised since the third study for the nuclear test participants where p=0.007. The explanation continues,

"Taken overall, the current analysis indicates that the possibility that test participation has caused a small increased risk of non-CLL cannot be ruled out and that, whilst the evidence for any risk appears to have been the greatest in the early years after the tests, a small risk might have persisted in more recent years, this long-term risk being particularly evident for CML. It is worth noting that CML is a rare disease with only 32 instances observed among the participants and 14 among the controls during the whole study and of which 21 and 8, for the participants and controls respectively, occurred in the latest follow-up period."

Compared to the first study in 1983, it seems that over time the risk of multiple myeloma reduced for the test participants. I wouldn't go as far as the author to state that "the raised risk in the first analysis was likely to have been a chance finding." This is strange however, as a member of my family passed away from this disease in his thirties. On numerous occasions, we had been told that this cancer presents from aged 60 onwards and it is extremely rare in younger males Multiple Myeloma: Diagnosis and Treatment - PubMed (nih.gov) .

The lack of smoking data in this study has certainly clouded the analysis concerning lung cancer, ischaemic heart disease and COPD (a collection of diseases including bronchitis, emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and this is unfortunate to clearly see any possible correlations in the study. Weighing up the listed cancers, there are fluctuations compared to the control group throughout time, but nothing remarkable jumps out of this data.

I wanted to know more about the range of causes of death that would be included in the study, so contacted Dr Richard Haylock to see if the BNTVA could impact this by asking questions that could be answered within the data. Richard was very open to discussion and eager to pursue my requests. I requested the following and am still awaiting some results in addition to the published paper:

The number of nuclear test veteran deaths within 10 years of return from the tests and in subsequent decades compared to the control group?
How many NTVs were National Servicemen, officers and non-commissioned officers by service?
The suicide/intentional self-harm figures by serviceman's position at test location and specific test by year over the first 10 years after return from the tests and then over each five year period compared to the control group.
The intentional self harm figures by ICD classification and by specific cause of death compared to the control group.
The standard mortality ratio compared to the control group.
Overall comparison of other categories of diseases compared to the control group.
The cancer incidence rate compared to the control group.
The list of cancers that are included in the study and the number of NTVs with each cancer (I know some may overlap) compared with the control group.
The rate of cancer incidence by individual test position at each test location by test.
Inhalation dosage by badge reading measurement.
Any information on isotope ingestion of NTVs compared to the control group.
Information on endocrine deaths and by classification code breakdown by specific condition compared to the control group.
Information on NTVs killed as a result of accidents compared to the control group.
Cause of death and number of NTVs killed or died at the nuclear tests by test and service.
Deaths caused by classification codes under brain injury specifications S06 to S09 compared to the control group.
Deaths caused under specific COPD classification breakdowns compared to the control group.
Deaths by parasitic diseases compared to the control group by decade.
Deaths by respiratory failure with an immediate respiratory cause but an underlying degenerative condition (such as Parkinson’s disease) under diseases of the nervous system compared with the control group.
Deaths by diseases of the digestive system and breakdown compared to the control group.
Deaths by pneumoconiosis due to asbestos and other mineral fibres compared to the control group.
Breakdown of deaths by cerebrovascular/circulatory causes by condition compared to the control group.
Breakdown of deaths by radiation sickness (T66) compared to the control group?

Cerebrovascular diseases include diseases that affect blood flow to the brain, with the major condition being stroke. This set of diseases also include aneurysms, thrombosis, stenosis and embolism - clots, blockages, narrowings' and ruptures in blood flow. Questions arise surrounding these diseases, and my initial guess would be a mixture of biopsychosocial variables instigated by service experiences, but I could not prove this necessarily. Any view of this would need to be examined on a case by case basis. The study conclusion states,

"For the first time, there was some evidence that participants had higher mortality rates from cerebrovascular diseases than did the controls and this was particularly clear in the additional follow-up period. It may be significant that for both CML and cerebrovascular diseases, associations have been observed between long-term disease rates and chronic low-doses of radiation in large pooled nuclear workers studies."

We established with Public Health England last year that there was a v ery high level of intentional self-harm, accidents and violence which resulted in death within the nuclear test veteran cohort compared to the control group in the early years after the men returned from the tests. For instance, the following reveals statistical significance for nuclear test veterans:

Accidents and violence - NTVs - p=0.013 compared to the control group p=0.241.
Accidents - NTVs - p=0.016 compared to the control group p=0.115.

Richard wrote,

"We have examined a specific category of deaths which we call intentional self-harm -.as defined by the international classification of diseases (ICD9 : 950-959 and ICD10: X60-X84, Y87.0)."

One tragic nugget that the BNTVA is pleased to see included is p=0.005 compared to the control group of p=0.116 under "intentional self-harm." Unfortunately, this significant statistic is made up of suicide by a variety of means as per the classification codes (however we would not necessarily know about drug dependent prescription-abuse unless this was an outright cause of death and discovered by a post mortem examination). This is chilling in a cohort of men who had participated in "testing" by one's own side; unfortunately, due to the data set we are unable to see who was involved in military operations and combat in addition to the testing within these figures. The question is therefore raised as to why so many participants in the nuclear tests took their own lives and that we look at this as an extreme end to a sad scale - how many men have or are suffering with conditions such as depressive disorders or the inability to cope over the years but have not taken their own life? Only ten days ago, we heard from a suicidal nuclear test veteran, who we have assisted and signposted to their primary care provider.

This would fit with a snapshot of a letter our Curator, Wesley, has in his possession. Note that these words are written by a nuclear test veteran from Operation Hurricane in 1952 to his wife prior to the test rehearsal . To set the context, at this point, the Commonwealth had never previously tested an atomic bomb, and the only film of bomb testing that this veteran would have been aware of would have been the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The veteran writes,

"We had another new lunatic case today, also an acute appendicitis, making the roll up to 3 attempted suicides, 6 appendicitis cases and 10 lunatic cases, by that my love you can just about guess what it is like here."

As an aside, I've never known of contagious appendicitis, so what were these poor guys suffering from at the time? This opens a massive ethical void concerning the nuclear testing, and what the study data is drawn out from - the personal experiences and health journeys of those who participated in witnessing and feeling these blasts through the very fabric of their being. The argument shouldn't be solely about radioactive exposure and cancer incidence but far more than this - the moral injury and breach of every ethical boundary that these men encountered.

I had a lively discussion with a medical ethicist/toxicologist yesterday who reinforced the moral injury that these men encountered; his own father had taken part in the cure for the common cold, ie., sarin, at Porton Down whilst serving in the RAF and is suffering an undiagnosed neurological injury. Moral injury is similar in nature to PTSD but is a life-changing event that influences the way that one views the world due to betrayal by an authority.

My own father didn't say a word about the tests until 1986 due to his signing of the Official Secrets' Act. What I have found on looking at his service records is that on his return to the UK in 1957 after Operations Buffalo, Antler and preparation for Grapple, he constantly went to the RAF Medical Officer to tell him he thought he had cancer. No visits of this nature are noted in his records before his time at the atomic trials in Australia. He is just one of the figures above, and I know that there is regret for many including attributing these tests in destroying family, relationships and lives. I frequently attend funerals of nuclear test veterans where life-long PTSD subsequent to the atmospheric tests is mentioned concerning the deceased - from national servicemen to Naval Commanders and Squadron Leaders.

The mere thought that men blame their infertility on the testing, even in their eighties, that experiencing their own diseases or those of their descendants, brings back constant thoughts and rumination of these atmospheric trials they endured to gain the nuclear deterrent for the Commonwealth. Something is dreadfully wrong, and moral injury seeps through the cracks of this quantitative study seventy years after the first atomic test off North West Australia. The BNTVA will place a qualitative emphasis to the Ministry of Defence to complement this study, with an emphasis of the moral injury endured en masse by veterans, wives, widows and descendants, and the welfare issues that constantly occur due to this atmospheric testing these six to seven decades ago.

The data in this study is extremely useful for the BNTVA in helping individual veterans and their widows pursue war pensions. Specifically, as Richard had related to me in October,

"Dose monitoring records were available for 23% of the participants, of whom 64% had zero recorded dose."

It is clear that dosage and situation do not correlate to types of cancer or incidence, and this would make sense in context of scientific evidence the BNTVA included in the 2021 medal application. Clinical changes are recorded with a very small dose of radiation, and an accumulative level builds up in the body rather than dissipates. The film badges that the MOD has relied on are not fit for purpose, particularly at Christmas Island. The humidity which increased the yield and wield of the thermonuclear bombs due to the Wilson Cloud (Chamber) effect, wore off the emulsive layer of the badges. This phenomenon was known at Bikini Atoll in 1946. OPERATION CROSSROADS BOMB TESTS - 1946 (radiochemistry.org) . In fact, on representation of a nuclear test veteran at the request of an Adjournment at Fox Court last week, the Judge asked me about his film badge reading. I was desperately hoping this paper would be published before his next hearing so I can boldly state that he was never issued with a film badge, along with thousands of other men.

Letter from the Prime Minister

Wed, 23 Feb 2022 11:13:07 GMT

Response to the Joint Statement by the BNTVA and the NCCF

On 22 November 2021, Tony Jeffrey, Chairman of the NCCF, sent the attached Joint Statement to Prime Minister Boris Johnson on behalf of the BNTVA and NCCF.

Both charities are pleased to report that the Prime Minister personally responded to Tony with the following,

"Dear Tony,

Thank you for your letter of 22 November, enclosing a joint statement from the British Nuclear Test Veterans Association and the Nuclear Community Charity.

I would also like to thank you for your kind words of support. The Government is extremely grateful to all who participated in the nuclear testing programme. I want to be clear that their contribution will not be forgotten.

Due to the importance of the issue, I have asked the Ministry of Defence to take this forward.

Thank you, once again, for writing to me on this important matter.

Best wishes,

Boris Johnson."

We have been in touch with the Secretary of State for Defence about this matter and the imminent release of the research study results. We will inform our members as and when we hear more.

Vexatious Correspondence

Tue, 01 Feb 2022 16:46:00 GMT

We have been contacted by a BNTVA member this afternoon, who has recently been classed as a vexatious correspondent by the Ministry of Defence. He has requested further information concerning the "vexatious" term, and has received the following reply from the MOD relating to their security review of the nation's nuclear-related archive material.

"Thank you for your email of 16 January regarding the use of Section 14 (Vexatious) of the Freedom of Information Act (the Act) to respond to requests related to British nuclear tests. The Defence Nuclear Organisation has been asked to respond as the area of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) responsible for some of the information related to the UK’s historic atmospheric nuclear test programme.

You have questioned the MOD’s use of the description ‘vexatious’ when responding to requests for

information related to British nuclear tests and whether the Department’s position is being reviewed.

We would firstly like to explain that the description ‘vexatious’ is the wording used in Section 14(1)

of the Act and is therefore used in responses where that section of the Act is applied. Section 14(1)

is designed to allow public authorities to refuse any requests which would cause a disproportionate

or unjustified level of disruption, irritation or distress. We can assure you requests under the Act

are always considered on a case by case basis and there is no MOD policy to apply Section 14(1)

to all cases related to British nuclear tests.

Whilst it is not clear to us which particular requests you feel have been incorrectly deemed

vexatious, it may be that the requests you are referring to received a ‘vexatious’ response because

processing these requests fully would impose a disproportionate burden on the MOD due to the

impact on an ongoing wider security review that is underway.

The MOD is currently conducting a review of historic files relating to the United Kingdom’s Nuclear

Weapons programme that are held in The National Archives (TNA). While this activity is ongoing, a

number of the files held at TNA have been withdrawn from general access until that assessment is

complete. The MOD has subsequently received an unprecedented number of requests under the

Act for the material that is under review, placing disproportionate burden on the Department given

the public interest in the completion of the review. Therefore, these requests have been considered

against the burden criteria under Section 14(1) of the Act. The application of Section 14(1) of the

Act in these particular circumstances remains under continuous assessment and evaluation by

MOD during the file review process, to evaluate the impact of examining the contents of the

withdrawn files which have been requested and the level of burden placed upon the Department.

Further information relating to the ongoing security review and the current assessment process,

can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-nuclear-archive-records.

We hope this helps to clarify the situation.

Yours sincerely,

Defence Nuclear Organisation Secretariat"

Click here for more information concerning section 14(1) CN9: Vexatious & repeated requests - Initial handling of requests for information (publishing.service.gov.uk)

BNTVA Christmas Message

Mon, 20 Dec 2021 16:35:32 GMT

It's Christmas Week

Mon, 20 Dec 2021 12:25:55 GMT

I attach an email written in October 2021 by a British nuclear test veteran who has sadly passed away. He will travel on his final journey on 22 December.

The turkey is in the freezer but for us as a family, Christmas preparations are currently on hold, as we attend the funerals of two of our brave nuclear test veterans on 21st and 22nd December along the South Coast on behalf of the Association.

Our Chaplain, the Very Rev Nicholas Frayling is taking the services.

Both men had requested the BNTVA coffin drape for their final journeys.

Both men were in the RAF and served their country at Maralinga in 1956-57.

Both men were hopeful that more formal recognition would happen in their lifetimes.

Both men sadly didn't see this happen.

One rose to the rank of Squadron Leader, yet, as a young man of 18 years old at Maralinga, suffered from anxiety, flashbacks, depression and nightmares after witnessing Operation Buffalo - sure signs of PTSD and his torment is verified by his widow. She wanted to have "atomic radiation-related injuries" put on his death certificate but was refused. He had spent his final years in a care home, suffered indignities in his health, finally passing away in his wife's arms from a very rare form of heart failure at the beginning of the month.

It will be an honour to spend time with his widow, a lovely lady who regularly contacts the BNTVA, which we reciprocate and have done since the initial lockdowns.

At the second funeral, we will also say farewell to a man who shared many memories with my father at RAAF Edinburgh Field as they were in the same group of close friends. After the RAF they lost contact, but were in neighbouring counties. We had hoped to meet him in person on our way to the Squadron Leader's funeral, but, alas, this never happened in person.

The first time we spoke was in July 2020, when I received an email saying, "What the bloody hell is going on?" Ironically, this was the same question Prime Minister Robert Menzies asked of Winston Churchill when the fallout from Britain's first atomic bomb which was detonated in the HMS Plym blew over northwest Australia and beyond.

We spoke at length and emailed many times, which will be the subject for another blog post around the Christmas period, as he filled in the Australian gaps in my father's flight log. He said he knew a Mick Marsh who travelled back on a Comet with him, and, after being asked, I nervously sent a photograph to see if he recognised Dad. I was so nervous opening his reply, with the flood of emotion that can happen when you find links with real living people from the nuclear testing. They were at Operation Buffalo and pre-Antler together, and prepared for Grapple X.

He suffered from tumours over his back which appeared a few years after returning from Maralinga, convinced that removing his shirt on orders and turning away from the bomb caused these injuries. However, he still couldn't convince the MOD to award him a War Pension.

I attach the excerpt of an email above which he wrote to me in October 2021 with his poignant words. This was at a time that he was preparing for his own mortality in many ways, had spoken to us about this, but had not told his family.

This happens quite a bit by veterans who use the BNTVA as an outlet to relay worries and concerns, without informing their nearest and dearest; this is what makes the BNTVA special and is a solemn reminder of part of our reason for existing.

RIP Cold War heroes.

RBL Support for the BNTVA

Sat, 18 Dec 2021 16:15:51 GMT

The start of great things?

Growing support for the British Nuclear Test Veterans' Association by the Royal British Legion.

During the summer, the BNTVA was approached by Ian Marshall, who, at the time, was Chairman of his local Royal British Legion branch. He is currently the Vice President.

Ian, as an ex-serviceman, was frankly frustrated at the struggle of the British nuclear test veterans for continuing recognition by the British government, and approached the BNTVA.

He was keen to become involved in the constant struggle with the British government concerning forms of recognition for the British nuclear test veterans, and decided to garner support at his Royal British Legion branch in Lyme Regis.

The RBL branch in Lyme Regis accepted the following motion to actively support the BNTVA, which they are taking to Dorset County in January 2022, to vote on lending their support at county level.

We urge our supporters to take this motion to their local RBL branches

and at county level for this to become bigger and act as a catalyst for

positive change for the British nuclear test veterans.

Ian's original motion will be presented at the 2022 RBL Annual Conference for the Royal British Legion to support the British nuclear test veterans on a national scale, in a similar way to lending successful support to achieving Gurkha rights within the UK. After successful campaigning, the RBL, along with Poppy Scotland, achieved success in adding a question concerning service in the Armed Forces for the UK Census 2021.

On hearing about the AMSC's rejection earlier this week for a medal award to Britain's brave heroes who attended the Commonwealth atmospheric testing and clean ups, Ian said, "Really dismayed that your bid for a medal has been rebuffed by Her Majesty's Government."

For our members who have joined their local Royal British Legion branch, we would be grateful if you could bring the following motion to your fellow members as soon as possible, particularly after the news once again of the nuclear test veterans being refused a medal for their "novel and challenging situation" by the Advisory Military Sub-Committee.

It is easy to join your local Royal British Legion, and you do not have to have served in the Armed Forces to do so. Membership FAQs| Charity Membership | Royal British Legion

 MOTION OF SUPPORT FOR THE BRITISH NUCLEAR TEST VETERANS' ASSOCIATION

Title:  That the Royal British Legion should engage directly and formally with the British Nuclear Test Veterans Association (BNTVA) to assist them in their quest to obtain greater engagement with Her Majesty’s Government particularly in securing better pension rights for survivors and their dependents and for granting an appropriate campaign medal to recognise their service and sacrifice.

Reason for inclusion:  This branch believes that the BNTVA has been unfairly treated by successive governments over the past 75 years when other national governments have recognised and compensated their test veterans and their dependants appropriately.

Effect if passed: BNTVA will have the support of the national veteran’s charity in securing better recognition of their case by HM Government.

Main argument:  The RBL has been a great campaigner for other recent veteran’s matters such as recognition for Gurkha rights, bringing the appropriate question regarding veteran service to the national census so this is a just cause which this branch believes the RBL should embrace and assist the BNTVA in its campaign endeavours.

Ian Marshall

Branch Vice President/BCS Representative

Lyme Regis Branch

T  07584 993 955

E  i.marshall@btinternet.com

Royal British Legion, Haig House, 199 Borough High Street, London SE1 1AA

rbl.org.uk

Brunel CHRC & Secondary Schools' Education

Thu, 02 Dec 2021 18:25:42 GMT

Secondary schools' STEM pilot education project announcement from Brunel University CHRC, NCCF & BNTVA - "Military Veterans for Nuclear Testing Programmes."

CHRC and Secondary Schools’ Education

The BNTVA attaches the Nuclear Community Charity Fund article regarding ‘Military Veterans for nuclear testing programmes'.

CHRC and secondary schools’ education • Exposure Magazine

Update on War Pension Applications & PTSD

Tue, 30 Nov 2021 14:06:06 GMT

The BNTVA is becoming recognised by caseworkers from other service charities, including the Royal British Legion, as more capable to take War Pension claims forward for British nuclear test veterans due to our expertise in proving radiation and fallout-linked injuries.

We attach the link for our nuclear test veterans who have not yet applied for a War Pension. The BNTVA is working hard for multiple veterans who have come to us to represent and advocate for them in their War Pension Tribunals.

Gaining a War Pension is a major step towards individual recognition of service at the nuclear tests, and we are representing nuclear test veterans at their appeals. We would like to see all British nuclear test veterans awarded a War Pension as part of recognition of their service.

How to apply for a War Pension.

The links (which can be copied and pasted) for the War Pension forms is below.

You should give as much information or evidence that you can to support your claim. Even so, there are certain pieces of information the government will need to know to process an accurate claim. The AFCS/WPS001 form provides extra guidance notes on the type of information needed.

For example, the assessors will need to know certain facts about the injury or illness that you are claiming for, such as:

The total area that a wound or injury covers (including internal disease such as cancers).
Whether it affects only one side of your body (or both).
The date that the injury occurred or when you first noticed symptoms of the illness.

They will also gather information about any incident or exposure that you feel caused the injury or illness. This may include questions about:

What were you were doing when the incident occurred?
Did the injury occur during a journey? If so, please give the details and reason for the journey.
Did the incident happen while you were participating in a sporting activity? If so:
Were you representing your unit or regiment?
Was it during an organised Physical Training (PT) session?
Was it in your own time?
Why do you feel that it was your Service that caused the injury?

Note: Providing copies of any supporting documentation including service records https://www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-service-records/apply-for-someone-elses-records (e.g. reports from your Medical Officer, accident reports) will help them deal with your claim more quickly. The link to access your service records is attached below.

Please note that BOTH forms (4-page Nuclear Test Priority Claim Form and the 22-page War Pensions' Form) need to be completed by the claimant to apply for the pension. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/war-pension-scheme-wps

Currently, there are delays with War Pension applications, and the BNTVA is waiting for a reply from the Office of Veterans' Affairs concerning the unexplained hold ups.

How to retrieve information to apply for a War Pension.

It is a good idea to be prepared by submitting a Subject Access Request at the outset of your claim by contacting ALL health authority/Clinical Commissioning Groups where you have received treatment or outpatients' appointments, as well as a request to your primary-care GP practice for your records. If you are online, the email address of your local health authority is generally under a quick google search for medical records at your particular health authority.

Specific information will only be released to the subject of the application unless another individual has written permission from the claimant for the documents to be released.

Please make sure you tick all boxes to receive as much information as possible regarding scans, x-rays and any procedure or outcome.

The BNTVA can help you with your application or appeal, subject to the belief that your injury is as a result of military service, otherwise known as a military-attributable injury.

Who will see your claim?

Medical advisors (doctors) consider the medical aspects of War Pension claims and appeals. Lay officers make the final decisions on claims. Lay officers take advice from the medical advisors based on legislation and policy, or act on certificates provided by medical advisors.

Radiation film badges.

The BNTVA has recently acquired specialist information concerning the specific distribution of radiation film badges to British nuclear test veterans. Not possessing a film badge at a nuclear test or clean-up operation is proven to be common, and should have no detrimental bearing on any War Pension claim. The MoD are working on a non-scientific approach of likelihoods and assumptions, which is erroneous and the flaws in this can be proven with little effort on a case by case basis.

Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

If you believe that you suffer from PTSD as a result of service by witnessing an atomic bomb or radiation incident, or by partaking in radiation clean-ups, then, in the first instance, please see your GP.

PTSD, despite being labelled as a mental condition, is NOT seen as a stigma in present society. The BNTVA has heard from high profile GPs and specialists who believe that the majority of British nuclear test veterans suffer with aspects of PTSD.

Did you know that PTSD can aggravate or cause physical conditions such as Type 2 Diabetes? The link to Brian's story below shows that sometimes this link can be proven, culminating in the award of a War Pension History of PTSD and Trauma Diagnoses - Shell shock to the DSM (traumadissociation.com) .

There are mixed views about PTSD and nuclear test veterans by test veterans' themselves. Some nuclear test veterans are very open about their experience of PTSD, whilst others may not suffer from PTSD. Each individual's experience and perception is unique, and the BNTVA is not saying by any means that all nuclear test veterans suffer from PTSD.

However, there are clear stories and relayed experiences of PTSD from some nuclear test veterans, particularly of veterans who witnessed an atomic or hydrogen bomb blast. PTSD has come under differing labels over the years, from shell shock, irritable heart, psychic trauma to post traumatic neurosis as explained in the Trauma Dissociation link below.

On examining past War Pension claims by British nuclear test veterans, our Curator, Wesley, has come across some successful War Pension applications submitted in the 1980s based on psychic neurosis, so PTSD is a recognised condition for an award for nuclear test veterans. The chart (courtesy of PTSD Support | Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 1122 ) shows symptoms of PTSD. You are not expected to experience every symptom, but an overlap of symptoms from each category.

Next steps.

If you would like to talk to the BNTVA in confidence about any of the points raised, then please contact via the website, info@bntva.com or 0208 144 3080. If you are unable to print War Pension forms, then we can send you a copy to complete or help you complete them if that is what you require.

Brian's story of PTSD influencing his Type 2 diabetes.

https://weareadvocate.org.uk/Brians-story.html

Link to war pension forms (4 pages and 22 pages)

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/war-pension-scheme-wps

https://www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-service-records/apply-for-someone-elses-records

http://traumadissociation.com/ptsd/history-of-post-traumatic-stress-disorder.html

Joint Statement from the BNTVA & NCCF

Wed, 24 Nov 2021 16:15:22 GMT

‘Exposure worry’ study reveals nature of psychological impact on British nuclear test veterans

Wed, 24 Nov 2021 10:32:37 GMT

Men involved in the British nuclear weapons testing programme in the 1950s and 60s are more anxious than would be expected of older men, according to a new study. And although they’re not so worried about their own health, some are particularly worried about health effects in their grandchildren, and feel responsible for conditions their family members have, leading to feelings of guilt.

Previous studies elsewhere had revealed the psychological impact on Japanese atomic bomb survivors and those affected by nuclear power plant accidents such as Chernobyl and Fukushima. But the new study, by academics at Brunel University London and supported by the Nuclear Community Charity Fund (NCCF), was the first to focus on the exposure worry and potential psychological impact felt by those who had served in the British armed forces in locations such as Christmas Island and the Australian outback when the tests took place there.

Eighty-nine British nuclear test veterans completed an anxiety screening questionnaire, specifically designed for use in older adults, which showed that 1 in 3 (34%) of them met the criteria for clinically relevant anxiety – more than double the figure, from an earlier study, of 1 in 7 (15%) for older men who aren't veterans. The average anxiety score for these veterans also appeared relatively high compared to that of older adults elsewhere using the same scale.

Of the 89 study participants, 19 were then interviewed in depth by the researchers, which uncovered that the psychological impact of the nuclear testing programme was mixed.

"The interviewees generally reported not being worried or anxious about their exposure in the context of future adverse health effects in themselves," said George Collett, who led the study, now published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health . "Indeed, most of these veterans were not particularly worried about the future adverse health effects in their family members, since most of those with a health condition had been effectively managed.

"However, there were some instances where worry persisted, particularly regarding their grandchildren – but the severity of the worry varied across those interviewed."

While the psychological impact was generally limited in veterans who believed their children or grandchildren had not been adversely affected, there was a perceived self-responsibility accompanied with guilt in those who thought that their exposure had affected family members. "This notion of responsibility was evident in those who had descendants surviving with serious health conditions, but also applied to their wives with health conditions," said Collett. "Such otherwise normal negative life events would be psychologically distressing, regardless of ionising radiation exposure. But there could be further psychological impact, on top of what might be normally expected, resulting from the veterans’ perceived responsibility and subsequent guilt relating to their family members' health conditions."

The study found that veterans regarded their descendants' or wives' conditions as having been caused by the veterans themselves, despite attributing responsibility for the nuclear test events to 'the powers that be'. Indeed, five out of the 19 veterans interviewed expressed strong feelings of anger and frustration about the perceived role of authorities.

But the interviews demonstrated that these perceptions had developed over the life course of the veterans. When they had been at nuclear test sites as young men, they hadn't been worried about any potential consequences; some veterans described the anticipation and excitement leading up to a detonation.

Importantly, any psychological impact experience was primarily influenced by health-related life events, primarily in family members, and the awareness of reported radiation health effects. "This awareness appeared to be partly facilitated by the formation of veteran associations," Collett explained. "The 1980s appeared to be a central period marked by a change in perceptions as a result of access to radiation-related information at veteran association meetings, the emergence of media reports about nuclear testing effects, interactions with other veterans, and the birth and health development of children and grandchildren. This period appears to be the onset of any psychological impact related to the British nuclear testing programme."

Collett added that veteran associations may also serve as an effective coping system, especially for individuals who perceived their descendants to have been adversely affected.

The most widely reported topic across the interviews was that of the need for recognition, such as gratitude for having participated in the testing programme – not necessarily through a physical medal, but through the appreciation it would symbolise.

Dr Rhona Anderson, the Director of Brunel's CHRC – the Centre for Health Effects of Radiological and Chemical Agents, in which this study was conducted – added: "The sense of responsibility for family health and subsequent guilt must be considered in other exposed populations elsewhere in the world, since health conditions do occur naturally, regardless of exposure to radiological or chemical agents."

CHRC's other research into British nuclear test veterans includes a genetic and cytogenetic study of whether a heritable genetic legacy could exist due to historical participation in these military operations – whether there is evidence in the veterans' chromosomes of historical exposure to ionising radiation, and whether there are chromosomal and/or DNA alterations in the veterans' children. The results of these studies are expected to be finalised and published in early 2022.

Notes to editor

'Exposure worry: the psychological impact of perceived ionizing radiation exposure in British nuclear test veterans', by George Collett, William Young, Wendy Martin and Rhona Anderson, is published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health : https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182212188

Please direct any questions for George Collett or Dr Rhona Anderson by email to Joe Buchanunn, Brunel University London's Senior Media and Engagement Manager: joe.buchanunn@brunel.ac.uk

The Centre for Health Effects of Radiological and Chemical Agents (CHRC), based at Brunel University London and with Dr Rhona Anderson as its Director, has an extensive website, https://chrc4veterans.uk/ , which details the aims of all of its research and, through its knowledge hub, explains genetic and cytogenetic concepts and previous research associated with nuclear test veterans.

John William Francis, Christmas Island

Fri, 19 Nov 2021 00:42:46 GMT

Royal Engineers', Christmas Island, Pacific Ocean

Picture of underneath the BNTVA memorial, Risca, which was laid November 14, 2021. Photo kindly taken by Michael Aubrey.

Today was a sad day; a day of paying respects to a nuclear test veteran who had recently passed away, looking at the picture of a man with a friendly face, and meeting his grieving family. It's just a shame we didn't meet in life despite the BNTVA meaning a great deal to him.

John and Roger were twins, both sent to Christmas Island whilst conscripted into National Service, 1957, where they witnessed Operation Grapple X. The witnessing of this hydrogen bomb which was developed and detonated by their own side was a life-changing experience, never forgotten and influential throughout subsequent decades.

Like so many others who were "volunteered" to participate in the nuclear tests, John and Roger had no say in witnessing the British-led Commonwealth thermonuclear bomb.

Roger sadly passed away in 2019.

John, who lived in Risca, with his wife, Margaret, from Gloucester, had three children - one of whom passed away from suffering a rare cancer three years ago. John blamed himself for his son's passing due to his own time on Christmas Island exposed to radiation.

John loved his family dearly.

Despite what the British government says, and the actualities of life, the sheer thought of being exposed to a nuclear bomb - visually, mentally and physically, has an impact that not many can understand. It influences thought patterns, one's outlook on life and fears, as well as the lives of family members. John lived with these thoughts until the end of his days.

John's family had contacted the BNTVA to request for someone to attend his funeral, and I was only too glad to be present. I contacted my good friend, Mike Aubrey, President of Risca Royal British Legion, and Operation Dominic clean-up veteran, who I had the honour of marching through the streets of Risca with last Sunday, home of the Wales National Standard. We laid wreaths in honour of the British nuclear test veterans, as in the days that Neil Kinnock, Leader of the Labour Party, would march with the nuclear test veterans and their families in the same Sirhowy valley town to honour their service and remember their sacrifice and suffering.

It was powerful to see the BNTVA coffin drape, and all that it represents, on John's final journey to Sirhowy Valley Crematorium.

The pastor led a Christian funeral and eulogy, focusing on John moving from Worcester to Wales at the age of 16 with his brother and parents, experiences at Christmas Island as a Sapper, meeting and marrying his lovely wife, Margaret, his self-employed work as a bricklayer throughout his working life, and the love he had for his family.

John was a good man.

John had been chair-bound for the past couple of years, with two benign brain tumours, which, according to the consultant, don't appear together in one person. This leads back to the worry that potential exposure to the fallout of Grapple X influenced his health condition.

We prayed, listened to a Psalm and the following passage from Revelation 21 to give hope,

" A New Heaven and a New Earth

21 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.

2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.

7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.”"

RIP John. Until we meet again.

#WeWillRememberThem #MoralInjury #NuclearTestVeterans

A Homily to Honour the Life of Joseph Pasquini

Sun, 14 Nov 2021 00:26:10 GMT

The following is a beautiful homily to honour the life of Joseph Pasquini by

the Rev Marek P Zabriskie, Rector of Christ Church, Greenwich, Connecticut, USA,

delivered on 11 November, 2021.

Joseph Pasquini January 30, 1933 - August 6, 2021.

"My grandfather flew a biplane in World War. As a boy I grew up listening to his stories and have been fascinated ever since by aviators and their escapades. I was also a journalist before becoming a priest and developed a love for listening to people’s stories. So, when I first met Joe, I was deeply fascinated to learn about his life and the journey that Roberta and he had taken together. It was a bigger than life story – something that you might depict in a movie.

I pulled into the driveway of Joe and Roberta’s cozy home one afternoon and left marvelling over the tragic tale of Joe being ordered to fly a jet through a mushroom cloud rising from the 1958 Grapple Y nuclear test. I had not expected to hear such a tale. It sounded almost like science fiction. Grapple Y was the largest nuclear explosion ever created by the British. Joe’s job was to fly through the hydrogen cloud after the detonation and to gain samples of radioactive isotopes and gas samples that existed after each explosion for scientists.

Ever since, Joe suffered nearly a dozen bouts with cancer as have his children. All of this has been blamed on exposure to nuclear radiation. Sadly, unlike the United States government, the British have never acknowledged that the veterans of the nuclear tests are at elevated risk of cancer. The government actually lied about the radiation levels and falsified the official logs. Joe, however, had carefully kept his own logs. He noted, “I didn’t say anything for 50 years because I was sworn to secrecy by the Official Secrets Acts.” Not even Roberta knew about all that Joe knew. “But people need to know the truth about what happened,” he added.

Joe and Roberta’s story made me think of William Lindsay White’s 1942 book that was made into a movie in 1945 starring Robert Montgomery, John Wayne and Donna Reed. It was entitled They Were Expendable. The book and the movie recount the episodes of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three in World War II and the introduction of PT boats into battle following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. PT boats proved to be a great fighting tool, but the crews were viewed as expendable. Clearly, Joe and his colleagues were viewed as expendable to some leaders in their own nation.

Joe was the navigator of “Sniff Boss” – a modified Canberra bomber – which was outfitted to serve as the air control aircraft used for the sampling missions. He was serving in the RAF’s 76 Squadron, which took measurements during the nuclear blast at Christmas Island in the Pacific. The nuclear device exploded at 8,000 feet. Joe wrote a small book about the events that transpired that day – April 28, 1958 – the day that changed his life. Joe noted, “We had our eyes closed, but even with our eyes closed we could see the light through our eyelids. It took 49 seconds for the light to stop. As soon as that happened, we immediately turned back. Fortunately being in the navigating position, I had a little window and I watched the whole thing develop and spread and then start climbing.”

His aircraft circled above the balls of super-heated magma and he witnessed a sight that only a handful of humans have ever seen. He found himself flying between two suns – one 94 million miles above him and a new sun never seen before just eight miles below him. Observers on the ground at Christmas Island watched the nuclear detonation and witnessed an enormous white ball of super-hot liquid radioactive magma, more than two miles across. They said that it looked like a “second sun in the sky,” hanging low over the southern horizon, while the real sun hovered much higher over the eastern sky.

“I think that I saw the face of God for the first time,” recalled Joe. “It was just incredible. It blew our minds away. These were things that had never been seen before, certainly not by English people. After the mushroom cloud passed over them, Joe looked out the window and had yet another surprise. There was radioactive rain. “It’s the only time that I’ve experienced rain at 46,000 feet,” he recalled. It’s almost impossible to fathom that the blast that occurred on that day was nearly a hundred times bigger than the atomic bomb dropped by the United States on Hiroshima in 1945.

The process of developing nuclear weapons was fraught with danger and veiled in secrecy. It was part of an arms race that followed World War II. Little was known at the time of the dangers of radiation and radioactive material. Sadly, all of the rules and regulations for protecting personnel were cast aside and ignored.

Radiation cannot be seen, smelt, touched, tasted or felt. It is an invisible form of evil and utterly deadly. It can not only kill and damage the person handling radioactive substances, but also their children, their children’s children and beyond. Many of the people involved in the UK testing program have descendants who have suffered from illnesses and cancers that can now be traced back to Grapple Y and other testing events. For all that they have suffered and endured, none of the flyers received so much as a tin medal to pin on their chest.

I suppose each one of us has a defining day or moment, that if we look back and think carefully we realize on this particular day in this particular place at this particular moment in time our life was forever changed. April 28, 1958 was that day for Joe. The nuclear test known as Grapple Y was something that he would have to grapple with for the next 63 years of his life as the exposure to radiation took a severe toll upon his body, his life and his family.

Most of us would like to think that our country would do the right thing by its own people, but sadly that is not always the case. We may have a lover’s quarrel with our country at times, but Joe and over a thousand of his colleagues and their family members had to sue their own government for what was done to them. They were like laboratory rats exposed to something that no human should ever have had to undergo. Miraculously, Joe outlived almost all of his fellow flyers who perished after suffering from painful and debilitating cancers that robbed them of much of the fullness of life.

Joe told his story in a book he wrote in 2020 entitled The Curse of the Nuclear Cloud Flyers. It’s cover jacket notes that it’s “a story to make your blood boil.” The book came out of a fateful

reunion, where the few remaining survivors of the 76 Squadron Nuclear Cloud Flyers met at the RAF Club in London. During the years following Grapple Y in 1958, the flyers had scattered around the globe and followed a wide variety of careers. Most of the stories that they told at their reunion seemed too outlandish to be true, but after reading a variety of documents related to the nuclear explosion, it became obvious that all of the flyers were telling the truth. Joe’s book was just a compendium of a few of the investigative reports into the event and the barbarism unleashed by the British government on its own military personnel.

The Bible is called God’s “revelation” to us, and revelation comes from a Greek word “alethia” which means to “uncover something” or to take something out of the dark and bring it into the light. This is what Joe’s book did. It was a form of revelation or revealing of the truth so that there would no longer be any secrets. This life-changing event was no longer shrouded in dark secrecy but was brought out into the light of day. The Bible tells us that nothing is hidden that will not one day become known. But it takes someone with courage and conviction to bring things to the light. Joe’s book was the first and only “unauthorized” account of the Nuclear Cloud Sampling operation conducted by the 76 Squadron RAF. It was an act of courage and determination to set the record straight.

The Greek word “paraclete” means “advocate.” It is the word in the Bible that we translate as “the Holy Spirit.” Jesus promised to send us an “advocate” or Holy Spirit to argue our case in the courts of heaven before God and to bring us comfort and guidance on earth. Joe was an advocate for over a thousand flyers and their families who suffered from nuclear fallout. Perhaps one day they will make a movie about that day and the forces unleashed on those unfortunate flyers and their families.

My colleagues and I visited Joe often in the hospital or at Nathaniel Witherell. He had a wonderful dry sense of humour. One day, shortly after entering Joe’s room, I told him that he looked like Don Quijote from The Man of La Mancha. Joe looked perplexed. I meant it as a compliment. He looked like one of the apostles painted by El Greco, the Greek painter who spent his life painting mystical paintings in Toledo, Spain. Most of the apostles produced by El Greco had narrow faces with jaunty cheekbones, wispy beards and penetrating eyes.

Joe’s eyes sparkled. His sense of humour was delightful. I have never seen a man come so close to death, rebound so many times. His wife and daughter were braced for the end only to see Joe emerge from the hospital like Lazarus rising from the dead. If cats have nine lives, Joe had nine resurrections. He was a man of enormous resilience. Each of you gathered here today gave him reason to return from the brink of death time and time again.

And when he surrendered the great gift of life, it was only after contributing much to this world. I imagine that when he began that journey to the next stage of life beyond life that we call paradise, Joe heard God call his name and saw a blazing light and the face of God and a host of flyers from the 76 Squadron along with friends and family who had gone before welcoming him on that distant shore.

“In my Father’s house are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you, and whither I go and where I go, ye know the way.”

Thanks be to God for Joe’s life on earth and the prospect of eternal life and our abiding hope in that glad reunion that awaits all of us who live in God’s love, knowing that we shall be reunited with those whom we have loved and lost. Those who lie and die in Christ Jesus never say goodbye for the final time. We shall see each other again.

Thanks be to God. Amen."

The BNTVA would like to thank Joe's daughter, Simone, for sharing this homily with the British nuclear test veterans and their families.

The Grapple Y 3 megaton Commonwealth thermonuclear bomb, detonated on April 28, 1958 .

Remembering the British Nuclear Test Veterans who have gone before us

Sat, 13 Nov 2021 13:03:08 GMT

Today is a day of preparation for the solemnity of the Remembrance Sunday marches and the laying of wreaths up and down the UK. Even the preparation for such an annual event has a solemnity of its own.

The British Nuclear Test Veterans' Association is one of only two UK charities who represent the UK's nuclear test veterans and their families who took part in the Commonwealth atmospheric testing and clean-ups in the 1950s-1960s.

Our sister charity, the Nuclear Community Charity Fund (NCCF) was set up to distribute individual welfare and wellbeing grants to the veterans and their families through its Care, Wellbeing & Inclusion Fund (www.nccf.org), to advance research into the health effects of the nuclear testing, which it has done through the formation and current funding of the Centre of Health Effects of Radiological and Chemical Agents (chrc4veterans.uk), in addition to maintaining the memorials of the BNTVA.

The BNTVA and the NCCF are the only two charitable organisations in the UK who fulfil these specialist functions, representing and providing these services to British nuclear test veterans and their families.

Both charities take the memorialisation of the participants of the Commonwealth nuclear tests very seriously. Now that lockdowns have ended in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, we are able to attend memorials further afield where the NCCF carries out works where necessary.

Shelly Grigg, David Bostwick and his son Zed, Ed McGrath, Ron Watson and Don James (Operation Grapple) will be attending the London Cenotaph, along with others, to lay a wreath from the British Nuclear Test Veterans' Association to formally remember those who have passed away since the nuclear tests.

Risca

Note that the black granite BNTVA plaque is placed on the wall on the right of the picture. Neil Kinnock requested for this to happen as he was concerned that the memorial would be damaged in its original position on the ground.

Ceri and John McDade will be marching at the home of the Welsh national standard in Risca with Mike Aubrey (Operation Dominic) and the Royal British Legion who always give a special Welsh 'hiraeth' welcome. When lockdown eased last year, Mike and Steve from the RBL met with Ceri and John to open St Mary's Church and show the BNTVA's laid-up standard and memorial plaques, which Neil Kinnock, whilst leader of the Labour Party was keen to place. This will be a time of feelings of pride combined with feelings of loss, marching the same route as nuclear test veterans have for decades, as well as their wives, widows and descendants in years past with the Wales Standard alongside the Right Hon The Lord Neil Kinnock PC.

Liverpool

Wesley Perriman and Martin Blackburn, whose fathers participated in nuclear testing at Maralinga and Christmas Island respectively, will be attending the BNTVA memorial at St John's Gardens, Liverpool. It is wonderful to see the coming together of trustees of both charities - BNTVA and NCCF - tied by the bond of friendship and service to the British nuclear test veterans past and present.

The NCCF is currently looking at repairing the Birmingham Memorial as the corner has been subject to some damage.

John Lax (Operation Dominic) will be laying a BNTVA wreath at the Falkirk War Memorial.

David (Operation Dominic) and Veronica Taunt will be laying a BNTVA wreath at the Swindon War Memorial.

John Ward (Operation Grapple) will be laying a BNTVA wreath at the Whitwell War Memorial.

Which memorial will you be laying a wreath at in memory to the British nuclear test veterans?

Also, we think of those who are unable to attend their local War Memorial or BNTVA Memorial due to ill health or other circumstances. Please, if you require any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the BNTVA on 0208 14 3080 or info@bntva.com.

The full list of BNTVA Memorials and where to find them is in last year's Campaign.

Lest we forget

Thu, 11 Nov 2021 20:06:01 GMT

The BNTVA is very keen to preserve the legacy of the British/Commonwealth nuclear testing.

At this time of Remembrance, we want to record the names of nuclear test veterans (test participants from any period of British nuclear testing or British intelligence at French or Russian testing) who have passed away in the years after the testing.

We know that some men have died from effects of mental and physical conditions, and others of old age.

Regardless of the cause of death and when the date was, the BNTVA wishes to have a wall of remembrance after this was removed from the website in recent years. If you would like your nuclear test veteran added, please contact 0208 144 3030, info@bntva.com or place your veteran's name below.

The BNTVA would never just post a roll of honour without the blessing of individuals who would like their veteran remembered.

The Association places crosses of dearly departed nuclear test veterans at the Garden of Remembrance by Westminster Abbey, London annually, and we are grateful for the help given by Ron Watson, Don James and others who make this happen. Not all of our remembrance takes place online.

We will contact you when the online wall of remembrance is ready to launch, and are happy for you to post a message of your veteran and photos.

"Abide with me; fast falls the eventide
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide
When other helpers fail and comforts flee
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day
Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away
Change and decay in all around I see
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy Cross before my closing eyes
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies
Heav'n's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me."

"Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you wake in the morning hush,
I am the swift, uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft starlight at night.

Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there, I do not sleep.
(Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there, I did not die!)"

Obituary of a British Nuclear Test Veteran - Flight Lieutenant Renzo Joseph Pasquini

Tue, 09 Nov 2021 21:37:28 GMT

Simone, Joe's daughter, has kindly sent her father's obituary. Joe was in contact with the BNTVA before he sadly passed away earlier this year. In September, Ceri McDade, Wesley Perriman, Michelle Harding and Don James had the pleasure of meeting Simone, Christopher Donne's (cloud flyer) widow and Dai Williams at the RAF Club, Piccadilly, London, to toast Joe's life and remember his passing.

Renzo Joseph Pasquini has moved, at the age of 88, to a higher plane joining his ancestors. He is the son of the late Cavaliere Menotti Pasquini of Tuscany, Italy. His great grandfather Vincenzo fought with Garibaldi to unite Italy as one of ‘Il Mille’ and later went on to become a founding member of the Croce Verde (the Italian equivalent at the time to the Red Cross organization).

A very private and stoic man, his formative years were spent in London dodging bombs during The Blitz. He once told the tale of how he and his Italian family would seek refuge in the local air raid shelter during the day. However, this changed the first evening when the night bombings started as the locals would not allow them into the shelter as they were ‘Italian’ and hence ‘the enemy’. That evening he and his family sheltered around the kitchen table with only a candle for company and 2 English neighbors who were pacifists. The next morning at first light they discovered the air raid shelter where they were refused entry during the night had unfortunately taken a direct hit.

To meet him, you would say that Joseph (as he went on to be more commonly known) was quintessentially the English gentlemen – often causing his daughters to giggle when their friends called and upon hearing his voice asked if the family had a butler. We say quintessential as well as no cup of tea could be served in the house without first warming up the cup!

We should stress that he was actually a true Officer and a Gentleman as he proudly served his birth country as a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force – serving for a number of years and also acting as an instructor for the RAF Bomber Command.

However, his military legacy is very much of important historic note as he was one of a handful of survivors who flew through the mushroom cloud of a nuclear bomb (more than once) for research purposes during Operations Grapple and Yankee – part of the British Nuclear Testing program in the 1950s.

In his words, “At the time we didn’t know why, and we didn’t want to know. We were far too busy preparing for our main event. Within ten minutes we would be flying through Grapple Yankee. We would be the first aircraft to fly into the nuclear cloud. We knew we would be flying in. But, we didn’t know if we would be flying out”.

Joseph spent the later years of his life campaigning for recognition of not only his fellow servicemen involved in the nuclear tests but also their families – working with organizations such as the BNTVA (the British Nuclear Test Veterans Association), LabRats International and Fission Online as well as being an expert witness with his first-hand knowledge and experience. A year before passing he published a book documenting his knowledge and experience of the events of that time.

A Memorial Service will be held at Christ Church in Greenwich, Connecticut on Veterans Day - Thursday November 11th 2021 at 11am (New York) – A fitting time for an honorable officer and a gentleman of military lineage.

For those who would like to participate from overseas the service can also be viewed live here: https://events.locallive.tv/events/63448

RIP Joe #wewillrememberthem

Operation Grapple X - 140 times the size of the Hiroshima bomb

Mon, 08 Nov 2021 17:07:30 GMT

Operation Grapple X, 8 November 1957, Christmas Island.

In 1955 Sir Anthony Eden approached New Zealand’s Prime Minister with a request to use the Kermadec Islands as a testing site on the principle of the Commonwealth defence effort.

He hoped that “in the interest of our common defence effort and the importance of the deterrent for Commonwealth Strategy, you will find it possible to agree”.

We now know that the New Zealand government did not agree and Operation Grapple was held at Malden and Christmas Islands.

Today at 17.47 GMT marks the sixty-fourth anniversary of Round ‘C’ in the nine-part Grapple X series over Christmas Island and Malden Island.

It was an air drop by a Squadron RAF Valiant XD824 at 2250m which followed the underperforming Short Granite and Purple Granite.

A two staged design gave a yield of 1.8 MT, 140 times the size of the Hiroshima bomb.

The anticipated yield was underestimated by a whopping 80%, the shock wave damage was thus greater than expected and demolished buildings, equipment and infrastructure.

All bombs were dropped from the air either by RAF Valiant or tethered to barrage balloons and so produced high fallout.

Grapple thermonuclear designs were never put into service but were used to announce Britain’s thermonuclear status to the world which duly led to the UK-US Mutual Defense Agreement (1958) and ensured that the USA and the UK would once again work in tandem amidst fears of an imminent Test ban.

I have read many descriptions of Christmas Island...

Air Vice Marshal Wilfred Oulton CB CBE DSO DFC describes Christmas Island in his book, "Christmas Cracker", as the “largest coral island in the world”.

Group Captain Kenneth Hubbard (1985) describes an idyllic scene in his book, "Dropping Britain's First H- bomb: Story of Operation Grapple 1957", “The sun was still at a low angle producing a glittering effect on the clear blue Pacific”, which very quickly evolves into, “The clear air over an uninhabited island would be shattered by man’s scientific and technological ability” (page 93).

As Round C provides, “A sight of such majesty and grotesque beauty that …....... defies adequate description”; “The pride of AWRE culmination, the sense of occasion, Awe-inspiring" (Page 96).

Hubbard recalls the tangible sense of excitement and the euphoria of success.

Servicemen are described as guinea pigs as they moved around the island consuming fruits and fish which were swimming in the same contaminated lagoon as the men themselves and ingesting fallout dust (Baron 2008).

Ken McGinley, in his book, "No Risk Involved", describes killing injured birds, some still blindly flying around at the end of his duty.

I often wonder what was the average experience and the sensations felt by the Serviceman?

We can get a flavour of that in "Just Testing" by Derek Robinson (1985), “It was rather frightening when they set the bomb off, like, you know I’d never seen an explosion before, or heard one. And it was rather frightening. We’d got no protective clothing as such. Just shorts, and short-sleeved shirts, that’s all we had, and a pair of sunglasses"; “It took us completely by surprise because we didn’t expect this”. “Even then it wasn’t frightening to me, we were only boys, we were adventurous, I mean why should we be frightened at 21 and 22?”

“Twas absolutely tremendous. We had one of the best twelve months I’ve ever had as a boy...”

However, all the reading shows a total dichotomy of experience; we are human and react in different ways and that is perfectly alright. Different people have different impressions and recall of what happened that day and other test days. Your recall is valid, even if it is totally different to that of the man standing on the deck next to you, or decontaminating an aircraft.

As oral historian for the BNTVA, I hear many different accounts from many people including veterans and descendants; the man who has so much pride in his part in the tests, the family who is so proud of their relative or the men who cried and shouted in fear. All these experiences are valid and I do not judge people in any way for recounting their memories and experiences – it is an absolute privilege and honour for me to record your “stories”. I would be most happy to hear your account and different memories provide a fuller picture of your personal memory of the British Atomic Testing. If you would like to do this, please don’t hesitate to contact me either on social media or by email ( m.harding@bntva.com ).

It is also coming up to Remembrance Day, I’ll be honest I find this time of year hard, anniversaries are and it has been just a year since I lost both my parents. If you need someone to chat with, the BNTVA phone is on for Remembrance Day, please feel free to telephone if you need someone to chat with then or on any day. The BNTVA is here for you now and in the future whether you are a veteran, partner or descendant.

What exactly did the Commonwealth countries test at the atomic trials in Australia?

Tue, 02 Nov 2021 18:40:34 GMT

The following presentation was written by Ceri McDade and Wesley Perriman, and delivered by Wesley, BNTVA Curator, at the 'Rose Garden Conference', 23 October 2021.

Introduction & Context

British service personnel, government scientists and civilians participated in nuclear tests and associated radiation clean-ups between 1952-1967. These operations involved at least 21,357 British service personnel from the Royal Air Force, Army, Royal Navy, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (AWRE) and the UK Atomic Energy Authority (Public Health England 2021).

The tests and clean-ups took place at the Montebello Islands, Maralinga and Emu Field, Australia, Christmas and Malden Islands. On 31 December 2017, 7,301 of these British nuclear test participants were alive and living in the UK (Public Health England 2021). We believe this figure to be around 4-5,000 at the current time.

The British Nuclear Test Veterans’ Association (BNTVA) was formed in 1983 by British nuclear test veterans and exists as the UK charity to provide welfare and wellbeing support for nuclear test veterans and their families, promote and conduct research into the health effects of ionizing radiation, and preserve the legacy of the nuclear tests. The Trustees are often informed of British nuclear test participants passing away, and regularly loan the BNTVA coffin drapes for veterans’ funerals at the request of their families.

The Commonwealth nuclear testing was led by the UK government, involving thousands of serving personnel from the Combined Services, AWRE scientists, Canadian, New Zealand, Fijian and Australian service personnel and civilians. In military terms, the adversary was the Soviet Union, yet the fighting was not arm-to-arm combat. The race was on to develop the nuclear deterrent and prepare for a new and mighty once-and-for-all psychological, dramatic and global method of warfare which had been introduced at Hiroshima as a result of the Manhattan Project.

Britain’s first atomic bomb was based on the Nagasaki “fat man” bomb and would be ready for testing in 1952 as part of Operation Hurricane. It was decided that a shipborne bomb would be of interest to the Americans but a request to use the US proving grounds was turned down, so other sites were considered including seven in Canada. The decision was made to use the remote Montebello islands off North-western Australia; a survey team was sent in late 1950.

On the 3 October 1952 Britain detonated its first atomic Bomb inside HMS Plym, thus becoming the third country to possess the A-Bomb. This was shortly eclipsed by the American detonation of Ivy Mike which was the first full-scale test of a thermonuclear device, on 1 November 1952. It would be another 4 ½ years before Britain would test a thermonuclear device at Operation Grapple; this shows the speed at which the British were working in the race for the nuclear deterrent.

Operation Totem

This document reveals that ground staff who serviced the Lincoln bombers “may have ingested radioactive fission products. This could have occurred in the few days after Totem One before strict health control measures were introduced at Woomera... Nevertheless, the danger did exist.”

Personnel took risks to personal safety by participating in operations before strict health and safety measures were introduced. The question asked is why were strict health and safety measures not in operation before Operation Totem One? Totem One was preceded by three British extremely risky “Kitten” tests, which used polonium-210, beryllium and natural uranium to test neutron initiators. Totem One was a scheduled detonation of 3 kilotons of TNT, which Penney then estimated to be around 10 kilotons of TNT after detonation. For the personnel involved the lack of strict health and safety measures would have contributed to the risk and rigour that they experienced.

The British introduced cloud flying and sampling from the time of Operation Totem. Geoffrey Dhenin and his crew received greater amounts of radiation than anticipated. Cloud flying continued throughout the Commonwealth testing, and involved the Australian military in addition to the British. The filter papers used to collect samples left a lot to be desired, and it remained a risky business throughout the tests. John Robinson, who flew Canberra's, was told to take out specific insurance before he arrived in Australia.

HMS Diana

The HMS Diana, a daring class destroyer, was tasked with sailing through the radiation plumes at Operation Mosaic G1 and G2 bombs. Many of the crew were teenage National Servicemen who were volunteered for the task. They had no option to decline the task ahead, and were shut down below deck in their normal clothing. They experienced fatigue, faintness, headaches, respiratory distress, abdominal pain and claustrophobia.

Captain John Gower felt abandoned and betrayed by the British government at the prospect of carrying out these orders; even the scientists would not come aboard the ship as they said this was outside their terms of reference.

Captain Gower stated, “ The purpose of all our tests at that time was to show Washington (and Moscow) that we were a full member of the nuclear club. Time was running out before a worldwide ban was imposed and Britain wanted the Hydrogen bomb. Perfection of an operational trigger device was a matter of great urgency and this task had to be completed at Monte Bello in 1956 to ensure satisfactory detonation of the H-bomb at Christmas Island in 1957. Mosaic 1 and 2 were organised with great urgency...Unknown to me at the time, since 1953 the Chiefs of Staff had wanted to know what effect an atomic explosion would have on ships, their contents, equipment and men. How much radioactivity could a ship stand?”

G2 was heard 200 miles away on mainland Australia. It was at this point, when the radioactive plume drifted over Australia that Menzies phoned Eden and said, "What the bloody hell is going on? The cloud is drifting over the mainland".

Indoctrinee Force

As in the US tests, the UK were keen to test the endurance, immediate response and fighting capabilities of the test "observers". There were reports in the Australian press before Operation Buffalo of plans to use "human guinea pigs" in the forward area "as part of a 'Save Yourselves' programme". This was denied heavily yet the key factor was to experiment with how the men would fight in a conventional way in atomic warfare conditions with them experiencing flash, heat and blast effects of the radioactive bombs.

The Canadian Radiation Detection Unit (1RDU) comprised of 24 men who had already cleaned up the Chalk River nuclear reactor disaster, and been present at Apple II, Nevada in 1955. The belief was that they would build immunity to radiation through higher exposure than other men. The Health Physics Advisor gave signed off prescriptions of radiation from 10 roentgens to 25 roentgens. A dose of 25 roentgens, even over an accumulated dose, is the point where clinically observable blood changes occur in the human body.

E Drake-Seager led the Indoctrinee Force of a few hundred men. However, the Canadian Radiation Detection Unit (1RDU) were given a "special" function of being situated 3,200 yards (1.82 miles) from the detonation at Marcoo to experience the ground shock, leave their dug outs and move forward on their stomachs in shorts and long socks.

(Appendix 2 of AB & ORS v Ministry of Defence ( AB & Ors v Ministry of Defence [2009] EWHC 1225 (QB) (05 June 2009) (bailii.org) states,

"Operation BUFFALO

Operation BUFFALO 1 was carried out on 27 September 1956 at One Tree on the Maralinga Range. This tested the 'Red Beard' warhead using a 15 kiloton, 31-metre tower-mounted detonation.

The Indoctrinee Force (see paragraphs 39-44 below) was present at this detonation. Air sampling was carried out by Varsity aircraft and Whirlwind helicopters. On 4 October 1956 Operation BUFFALO 2 took place at Marcoo on the Maralinga Range. This tested the 'Blue Danube' 4 kiloton warhead with a low yield (1.5 kilotons) Mark 1 enriched Uranium core. The device was placed in a shallow pit and exploded. The Indoctrinee Force was present at this detonation. Operation BUFFALO 3 took place on 11 October and was an airburst bomb dropped by the RAF over the Kite range at Maralinga. It exploded at about 500 feet above ground. The yield was approximately 3 kilotons. Operation BUFFALO 4 was a tower burst detonated at the Breakaway site on the Maralinga Range. The yield was approximately 10 kilotons. The Ministry of Defence says that Operation BUFFALO was designed primarily to advance research and development AND to carry out "proof tests" of atomic weapons. The first two tests were required to test prototype service warheads. The third test was fired partly to obtain scientific data AND partly to obtain data on weapon effects . It also provided the RAF with the opportunity to drop a nuclear bomb. The fourth test was the test of a service weapon.")

Testing Civilians and the Australian Environment

Not only did the scientists test the personnel and equipment involved at the test sites, but they tested the Australian terrain and population too, as fallout drifted around the land.

Frank Walker, in his book "Maralinga", describes that the British chose to turn "the whole of Australia into one giant nuclear laboratory. They wanted to use the Australian population as human guinea pigs for decades to come".

Ernest Titterton of the Atomic Safety Committee achieved this by:

•Collecting soil samples from pasture regions around Perth, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide.

•Testing vegetation on a regular basis.

•Removal of sheep thyroids for testing

•Testing the dairy cows' milk twice a year for strontium-90, as it is absorbed into bone easily and is a significant marker for radioactive fallout.

•Testing femur bones from stillborn and young children to send to the US and UK for analysis.

Operation Mosaic and Operation Buffalo

A report by the Defence Research Policy committee states that, “The Navy requires information on effects of various types of atomic explosions on ships and their contents and equipment.... The Army must discover the detailed effects of various types of explosion on equipment, stores and men with and without various types of protection”.

Serving personnel were ordered to take risks to obtain information of value to the military, including a number of personnel not being handed any form of protection to perform their duty at these unique and potentially dangerous tests. These men were open to the unnatural elements with no defence as a result of the atom bomb, effectively unarmed against invisible radiation, which is something unheard of within the military.

What is Moral Injury?

Moral Injury is used in frontline healthcare, particularly as a result of the lack of PPE at the beginning of the COVID-pandemic. It is also used in some military combat scenarios, however, the BNTVA believes that MI describes the experiences of the vast majority, if not all people who were involved in the Commonwealth testing – both military and civilians.

Keeping in mind that moral injury is not a formal diagnosis or a medical condition... There is no reason why a very close bond between someone who suffered a potentially morally injurious event could not lead to a [vicarious] MI in that the person close to them. MI changes a person's whole outlook, perception and thought process in life, attributed to the significant event of betrayal.

The forget-me-not

Long history of being associated with remembrance, this was adopted as the emblem for the National Atomic Veterans Awareness Day (NAVAD) in 2010, and has been a trademark of the BNTVA since 2011 along with the main crest, so we never forget the nuclear test veterans.

NAVAD occurs on the 3rd October anniversary of Britain's first Nuclear test at Operation Hurricane 1952.

A Thousand Sons by Jamie Sefton

Fri, 24 Sep 2021 09:19:10 GMT

Jamie has performed "A Thousand Sons" in Frome and Camden over Summer 2021. We are so grateful for Jamie's unrelenting passion and fundraising for the British nuclear test veterans and for interpreting their experiences at the Commonwealth and American testing from 1952-1962. Thank you Jamie for the donations you have made to the BNTVA - this is much appreciated by all of our supporters and beneficiaries.

The following review was sent to the BNTVA by Gordon Murray, Senior Lecturer in Drama at the University of Winchester. Gordon has previously worked with British nuclear test veterans and descendants, and produced "After the Fallout" on BBC 4 BBC Radio 4 - Archive on 4, After The Fallo ut Gordon attended Jamie's performance of "A Thousand Sons" at the Etcetera Theatre, Camden in August 2021.

How do you tell a story that is too big, too complex, too horrific and too long? Even if you could find a way to tell it, how would you get anyone to listen? This is the conundrum that has faced Nuclear Test Veterans since the formation of the BNTVA.

There is something of Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner in A Thousand Sons, a one person play written and performed by Jamie Sefton. However, where Coleridge’s’ sailor, bound to tell and retell his story, fixes the listener with a ‘glittering eye’ and forces the tale upon him, Sefton’s Bertie, a Christmas Island veteran, charms and beguiles, humbly letting his story weave itself out through a 45-minute monologue.

The story will be familiar to all veterans and their families drawn as it is from testimonies of BNTVA members; the initial excitement of the trip to the other side of the world, the signing of the Official Secrets Act, the fun and games and the gradual realisation that something darker is on the horizon. The moment of detonation is described in understated detail because Sefton realises that this is the really beginning of a story; not a crescendo just a prelude to a slow pedestrian decay.

And so, Bertie returns home to start a family and face the realisation that the blasts he witnessed are taking a toll on his health and, oh so tragically, that of his children. In the tradition of travelling storytellers, Sefton’s stagecraft is simple and subtle.

Bertie uses a white marker pen to write notable years on the floor to help us through the story. Over the course of the play however these years become more obscure as they are written with more desperation and the need to tell the story obscures the story being told. The pen also marks out the skeleton of Bertie’s hand as he carries with him that X –ray memory shared by so many veterans. It is also a pen pointed at him by a strange figure on his doorstep reminding him of his signature on the Official Secrets Act all those years ago that convinces Bertie that darker forces are at play and that the loyalty and service aren’t necessarily rewarded. The salutes that begin in respectful earnest to superior officers turn into involuntary spasms which punctuate the play giving moments in which official narratives contradict the lived experience of the veterans. Despite the content this is actually a joyful 45 minutes in the presence of a brilliant performer and his semi fictional creation.

Coleridge’s guest came away from the Ancient Mariner ‘sadder and wiser’, Sefton’s audience left in much the same way.

The Medieval Dragon has Breathed across the Surface of the Earth - Operation Grapple Z

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 19:03:47 GMT

Operation Grapple Z - the race for a new nuclear deterrent

Even before Britain’s biggest hydrogen bomb detonation at Operation Grapple Y off Christmas Island on 28 April 1958, planning had been made for a series of four Grapple Z tests to follow shortly after, with work beginning in 1957. The Ministry of Defence and government scientists at Aldermaston were interested in refining the hydrogen bomb and making use of limited time to test the nuclear bombs before the Test Ban Treaty came into operation in 1963. It had been anticipated that the Test Ban Treaty could come into force as early as September 1958, however, the other reason for speed was to be ready for the 1958 US-UK Mutual Defence Agreement. President Eisenhower agreed that the United States would halt nuclear testing for a year if the Soviet Union and the UK would do so too. Test ban negotiations commenced in Geneva on 31 October 1958. All three powers held nuclear tests in September and October 1958.

Grapple Z realised Britain’s final experiments with the hydrogen bomb and took the form of two Valiant air drops off Christmas Island and two balloon tests on the Island itself:

22 August Grapple Z.1 Pendant – balloon - 24kt

The device was raised 1,500 feet into the air. 10 minutes before detonation time the men were told to turn their backs away from the balloon; at minus 40 seconds they were told to close eyes and cover them with their hands. Almost immediately after the blast, the plume spread to 1,300 ft in diameter. Two Canberra aircraft collected samples from the cloud at 18 and 30 minutes after detonation, and both aircraft received a great deal of contamination. On reflection after examining the fallout, the physicist EP Hicks stated that ground zero should have been staged at the south-west of Christmas Island, so fallout went seawards rather than landwards. Having said this, Burgee was detonated at the exact same point as Pendant.

2 September Z.2 Flagpole – air drop Valiant XD822 – 1.21mt

After the scientists considered hypothetical incidents, Flagpole was detonated at 9,440 feet; the fireball stretched to 8,500 feet. Three electric Canberra B-6 bombers sampled the radioactive cloud, with the final crew spending 11 minutes within the cloud at 53,700 feet. This particular Canberra had experienced an unknown instrument failure which was fixed before Burgee and the crew received a gamma radiation dose of above 100 milliSieverts.

Joe Pasquini, cloud sampler, flew in this Canberra, and in a document, Flagpole 1, which he produced for the BNTVA, Joe stated, “I was to fly as the observer; the ‘guinea pig’ crew member. Cloud Sampling only required a two-man crew. But the Ministry of Defence insisted that full bomber crews were needed to fly the sampling missions. As a result, during all the nuclear tests, more than 400 Observers were unnecessarily exposed to high energy ionizing radiation. These would be the ‘guinea pigs’ needed to monitor short term and long-term effects of radiation on the human body. The purpose being to see if in the event of a nuclear war, a bomber crew irradiated with high intensity gamma radiation, would be fit enough to fly on more than one nuclear mission.

Climbing up to our predetermined height, and position, we started flying our holding pattern on a racecourse circuit. Listening in for the final bombing run, and bomb release, we quickly turned away to put as much distance between us and the detonating cauldron of nuclear magma. After the flash subsided, we flew back to our holding station, fifty miles away from Ground Zero, and continued flying the racecourse pattern. Until we were called in by Sniff Boss to make the first deep penetration of the mushroom cloud. We listened on the secret operational radio frequency, as Sniff Boss made two narrow cuts through the cloud and were very intent on hearing the radiation readings that they broadcast during their passage through the cloud.

This would provide us with a reference point to what we could expect, when we flew into the Zulu Flagpole cloud. The radiation readings Sniff Boss broadcast were on the high side, but there was still 10 minutes before we would be called in to enter the cloud. The Observer did not have a window, except for the skylight, it was impossible to see what was happening outside the aircraft.

We were ordered in to make the first pass, and the aircraft straightened up for a deep penetration into the cloud. With the Observers ejection seat being on the right-hand side of the aircraft, my right elbow was only 3 inches away from the skin of the aircraft. On the intercom radio we used for internal communications, the Pilot called out “Here we go"! The black sky in the sky light window above my head, changed to white, as we penetrated the centre of the cloud. Right at that very moment………….. My right elbow ‘exploded’! The pain was excruciating. The pain shot up my arm, across my body, up to my head and down to my feet. I was paralyzed and was unable to move for almost two minutes. Two events had happened simultaneously.

We entered the nuclear cloud; the radiation instruments went crazy – at the very same time my right elbow exploded. It could only have been the shock of high energy ionizing radiation, which had triggered an unbelievable attack of the ‘bends’. Attempting to describe what had happened, and documenting it during de-briefing, was impossible. No one was interested, they just did not want to know. They had their own personal stories to tell and were not interested in listening to anyone else’s.”

11 September Z.3 Halliard – air drop Valiant ZD827 – 800kt

Halliard arrived in three parts to Christmas Island for the weapons’ assembly team to construct inside a Blue Danube weapon casing, which had been used previously at Operation Buffalo Kite, Maralinga, Australia in 1956, albeit this time with thermonuclear components. Its yield was predicted as 0.75 megaton, the device was dropped at 46,000 feet, with the fireball reaching 8,000 feet in diameter. On this occasion, four Canberra's were used for cloud sampling, with one Canberra sniffer aircraft remaining in the cloud for 12 minutes, piloted by Christopher Donne. Nic McLellan reports in his book, Grappling with the Bomb, that Christopher Donne had entered a “cut” in the cloud as the Canberra rose. His navigator panicked and expressed his opinion to abandon the cloud, but they were unable to leave due to the turbulence, and with the instruments resting against their maximum stops. On landing, the crew were decontaminated and Donne was told to return to the UK due to receiving an excessive level of radiation. He searched for data over his next decades through Freedom of Information requests, regarding the exposure his crew had encountered, but was unsuccessful in his endeavours.

23 September Z.4 Burgee – balloon – 25kt.

Burgee used a tritium gas generator, called Daffodil. Four balloons were linked and hoisted to the correct height and with final assembly of the weapon. 500 observers witnessed the test, wearing normal clothing, rather than protective clothing. 28 minutes before detonation, the Daffodil generator started to produce tritium gas, then at zero minutes a flash occurred followed by a momentary heat pulse and a yellow glare witnessed through closed eyes. At this point, the tannoy commanded all to turn to witness the fireball rising into the air.

William RJ Cook took up the position of Deputy Head of the Weapons Group of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), and Britain developed the hydrogen bomb under his leadership. Lorna Arnold states in her book, Britain and the H Bomb, that, “Cook had defined the essential purpose of Grapple Z as early as October 1957, in a paper on megaton warhead development. It was to produce the promised 1-ton, 1-megaton warhead, which also had to be 'immune' - invulnerable to radiation damage, or the so-called RI effect.”

A major problem in this Cold War era of fast-paced scientific development was that Britain and the Commonwealth’s bombs could potentially be disabled caused by a prior detonation by the Soviets due to their plutonium core. A prior detonation could render the bombs useless by enemy action using nuclear fission, as neutron or x-ray penetration of a warhead may reduce yield, disrupt fissile components, impede the weapon’s electronic systems, and prevent detonation. At this time, the Russians had already developed an immune ballistic missile warhead, whereas the British had not, and, despite testing since 1952, the Commonwealth bombs had lost their value as a suitable nuclear deterrent due to this development.

The scientists at Aldermaston were busy building a large ballistic missile with a range of around 1,500-2,000 nautical miles – the de Havilland Propellers Blue Streak - which was later fired from the Woomera rocket range in South Australia in 1964, yet never entered full production. The scientists were working on ballistic missile rockets as the new nuclear deterrent which could withstand a 1 megaton blast due to their underground launchers. These missiles were designed to ultimately replace the V-bombers (Valiant, Victor and Vulcan) by 1965, however, this did not happen.

A strictly secret project, “R”, was created to analyse processes involved in designing high-yield fission boosted warheads. The question was, how could this be realised? Lorna Arnold states that the science behind this was “used to reduce the size and fissile content of a warhead while maintaining or even improving the yield”. In essence, the bombs became lighter, not heavier, and this ticked boxes due to the economic implications for the Commonwealth. External neutron initiators were used, to kickstart the core's chain reaction; these had previously been tested on Orange Herald. Cook was not keen on using gaseous tritium or layers of thermonuclear material to trigger the reaction, yet these methods and components were tested successfully at Grapple Z in both balloon bursts.

The balloon burst method had been tested at Operation Antler, Taranaki, on 9 October 1957, so the decision was made to detonate a boosted fission bomb at Grapple Z in a similar way. Balloon crews arrived at Christmas Island after training at RAF Cardington in early 1958. The crews included health and safety personnel and men to decontaminate equipment; their camp was set up close to ground zero.

Following my desire to gain a three-dimensional approach to Grapple Z, I watched a series of seven Imperial War Museum films of Grapple Z, linked at GRAPPLE 'Z' [Main Title] | Imperial War Museums (iwm.org.uk ) IWM AWE 1. The films were written and narrated by Barrie Pitt and show arrivals of the main players, such as Noah Pearce from Aldermaston and Roy Pilgrim, Scientific Director for Grapple Y and Z. Barrie saw active service in WW2, became a sergeant post-war in 21 SAS prior to becoming Information Officer at the Atomic Energy Authority at Aldermaston, the hub of British nuclear testing. His role was to turn scientific information into readable prose, and the commentary for this series of films was created by him.

The first film begins with “Official Secrets Act” on the screen, and then Barrie sets the scene of life on Christmas Island for the Islanders and the servicemen. He peppers in touches, above mood inducing music, such as relating that the Gilbertese Islander children’s swings were made by the Royal Engineers’. Within his in-depth commentary over such a visual platform of film, he describes the setting of the scene for the balloon testing in a powerful way, “And now during the night the balloons go up, silver against the midnight sky, the weapon neatly cased below; It is D Day.”

After the detonation of Halliard, the camera focuses on the wrecked accommodation tents of the balloon unit from RAF Hunstanton, caused by the shockwave that ripped through. Pitt’s descriptive words can be spine-chilling, “Checks have been made… the sand’s run out…”, then after detonation, “As if some medieval dragon had breathed across the surface of the earth.”

There is a lot to learn from the official films made for the Commonwealth testing, including the use of language from the time and how the Ministry had wanted to portray the nuclear testing. Within the prose is the official line of men working, and it is clear that a number of men were given roles that they would not have performed on a daily basis outside of the tests.

Of particular importance is the narrative around “Captain Freddie Flit”, who flew the converted Auster crop sprayer daily throughout the Grapple and Dominic test series to shower parts of Christmas Island with dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT). Pitt states, “There are two Austers on the Island, and if it weren’t for their unending toil, the health and comfort of Task Force Grapple might not be by many means as high a standard as it is. This little plane is the Medical Officer’s first line of defence against sickness. Now she carries a fuselage tank full of DDT dissolved in liquid paraffin, and from nozzles beneath her wings, the insecticide is sprayed over the habitable areas of the Island. 5000 gallons of the fluid is pumped out every week and in keeping down the flies alone in saving time and temper affected is incalculable. Other means used to keep down the spread of sickness include the continual spraying of shallow lagoons where mosquitoes can breed. The native Gilbertese help here under direction of service personnel. Out of this swing fog machine comes DDT powder into the shrubs and vegetation dumps, especially around the kitchen areas, smoking out nests of flies, bees and dragonflies.”

This constant spraying of DDT on the men and close to food, shown in film footage of the time, to alleviate insect problems has to be weighed up in the long-term, knowing what we now know regarding the topic of carcinogenic pesticides. Sadly, we are learning the negative health implications caused by DDT, which is a topic focused on in the new BNTVA medal application to the Advisory Military Sub-Committee. This will be the subject of a later blog to consider the further epigenetic effects of DDT through the family line by its interruption with histone retention site alterations, through the lens of the Commonwealth and US testing at Christmas Island between 1957-1962.

Britain’s Nuclear Deterrent Development – Part Three

Sun, 01 Aug 2021 16:12:10 GMT

(A sign outside the Manhattan Project building in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, in 1943)

The BNTVA have been allowed to use this blog with kind permission from the Vulcan to the Sky Trust www.vulcantothesky.org

(J.R. Oppenheimer’s Los Alamos ID photo c.1943)

Julius Robert Oppenheimer was an American theoretical physicist and is among those who are credited with being the “father of the atomic bomb”. He was the head of the Los Alamos Laboratory, which was to be the Manhattan Project’s secret weapons laboratory. Oppenheimer was selected for the role by Brigadier General Leslie R. Groves, Jr., the director of the Manhattan Project.

For security, Oppenheimer and Groves needed a centralised, secret research laboratory in a remote location. The site chosen by them was a private boys’ school called the Los Alamos Ranch School. In November 1942 the school and surrounding land were bought by the United States Army’s Manhattan Engineering District, and converted into the secret nuclear research campus also known as Project Y.

In early 1943, after an assessment of developments, Oppenheimer determined that two projects should proceed forwards. He chose the ‘Thin Man’ project (plutonium gun) and the ‘Fat Man’ project (plutonium implosion). The gun-type weapon was to receive the bulk of the research effort, as it was the project with the least uncertainty.

The code names were created by Robert Serber, a former student of Oppenheimer’s who worked on the Manhattan Project. He chose them based on their design shapes. The ‘Thin Man’ would be a very long device, and the ‘Fat Man’ bomb would be round and fat. It’s also suggested that the shapes mirrored the US President Roosevelt (Thin Man) and the UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill (Fat Man).

The Hanford site in south-central Washington was established in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project. The site was to be home to the B Reactor, which began functioning in September 1944 and was the first full-scale plutonium production reactor in the world. The reactor was to produce plutonium-239 by neutron activation. Plutonium-239 would be used for the production of the nuclear weapons.

19 August 1943 – The Quebec Agreement stipulated that the United Kingdom and the US would pool resources to develop nuclear weapons. The agreement merged the British Tube Alloys project with the American Manhattan Project, and created the Combined Policy Committee to control the joint project.

After the signing of the Agreement, James Chadwick and the team of prominent British scientists who had been working on the Tube Alloys project, transferred to the United States to contribute to the Manhattan Project. The scientists included William Penney, Rudolf Peierls, Klaus Fuchs and Mark Oliphant.

Brigadier General Leslie R. Groves, Jr. originally disapproved of the collaboration. He put the British scientists in limited roles to restrict their access to complete information. The text of the Quebec Agreement was vague in places, with loopholes that Groves could exploit to enforce this compartmentalisation.

Chadwick, Peierls and Oliphant were important enough that the bomb design team at the Los Alamos Laboratory needed them. Chadwick was in no doubt that the first duty of the British was to assist the Americans with their project and abandon all ideas of a wartime project in England. Before the end of 1943 the three had taken up indefinite residence in America.

In September 1943, Groves and Oppenheimer revealed the existence of the Los Alamos Laboratory to the three British. Oppenheimer wanted all three to proceed to Los Alamos as soon as possible, but it was decided that Oliphant would go to Berkeley to work on the electromagnetic process and Peierls would go to New York to work on the gaseous diffusion process.

Chadwick began a tour of the Manhattan Project facilities in November 1943, except for the Hanford Site where plutonium was produced, which he was not allowed to see. He became the only man apart from Groves and Oppenheimer to have access to all the American research and production facilities for the uranium bomb.

Observing the work on the K-25 gaseous diffusion facility at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Chadwick realised how wrong he had been about building the plant in wartime Britain. The enormous structure could never have been concealed from the Luftwaffe.

Over the next two years, the Combined Policy Committee met only eight times. The first meeting on 8 September 1943, established a Technical Subcommittee. James Chadwick, the head of the British Mission to the Los Alamos Laboratory, was nominated to be a part of the Subcommittee along with Groves’ scientific advisor, Richard C. Tolman. It was agreed that the Technical Committee could act without consulting the Combined Policy Committee whenever its decision was unanimous.

Chadwick ensured that British participation in the Manhattan Project was complete and wholehearted. With Churchill’s backing, he attempted to ensure that every request from Groves for assistance was honoured. James Chadwick surprised everyone by earning the almost-complete trust of project director Groves, Jr.

Chadwick endeavoured to place British scientists in as many parts of the project as possible in order to facilitate a post-war British nuclear weapons project to which Chadwick was committed. Requests were made by Groves, via Chadwick, for particular scientists to support the project. The British scientists arriving in America accelerated in the early months of 1944. The British team was going to be critical to the Project’s success.

Chadwick arranged for Niels Bohr to visit the US in December 1943. Bohr didn’t remain at Los Alamos. He made a number of extended visits over the next two years, but his contribution was enough for Robert Oppenheimer to credit him with acting “as a scientific father figure to the younger men”. Oppenheimer also gave Bohr credit for an important contribution to the work on modulated neutron initiators. “This device remained a stubborn puzzle,” Oppenheimer noted, “but in early February 1945 Niels Bohr clarified what had to be done.”

Bohr recognised early that nuclear weapons would change international relations. In April 1944, he received a letter from Peter Kapitza, a leading Soviet physicist, inviting him to come to the Soviet Union. The letter convinced Bohr that the Soviets were aware of the Anglo-American project, and would strive to catch up. He sent Kapitza a non-committal response, which he showed to the authorities in Britain before posting.

Bohr met Churchill on 16 May 1944, but found that they were not of the same minds. In a letter to Winston Churchill, Niels Bohr describes the immensity and success of the Manhattan Project in the US. Bohr also conveys to Churchill that British and American scientists were working together harmoniously to produce an atomic weapon. Finally, Bohr warns of the future change that could occur in international relations and competition due to the creation of nuclear weapons.

Churchill disagreed with the idea of openness towards the Russians to the point that he wrote in a letter: “It seems to me Bohr ought to be confined or at any rate made to see that he is very near the edge of mortal crimes.”

Oppenheimer suggested that Bohr visit President Franklin D. Roosevelt to convince him that the Manhattan Project should be shared with the Soviets in the hope of speeding up its results. Bohr’s friend, Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, informed Roosevelt of Bohr’s opinions, and a meeting between them took place on 26 August 1944. President Roosevelt suggested that he should return to the UK to gain British approval.

In September 1944, a second wartime conference was held in Quebec to discuss plans for the final assault on Germany and Japan. The conference was codenamed OCTAGON. After the conference, Churchill spent some time with Roosevelt at his estate in Hyde Park, New York. They discussed post-war collaboration on nuclear weapons. On 19 September they signed the Hyde Park Aide-Mémoire. The details of the agreement included the line – “Full collaboration between the United States and the British Government in developing Tube Alloys for military and commercial purposes should continue after the defeat of Japan unless and until terminated by joint agreement”. It also detailed the plan to use the bomb against Japan, and Churchill’s distrust of Niels Bohr.

Leahy knew of this secret wartime agreement. Leahy never believed that the atomic bomb would work, and was perhaps not paying much attention to the meeting, had only a muddled recollection of what had been said. When the Hyde Park Aide-Mémoire was raised in a Combined Policy Committee meeting in June 1945, the American copy could not be found. The UK sent a photocopy on 18 July. Even then, Groves questioned the document’s authenticity until the American copy was located many years later in the papers of Vice Admiral Wilson Brown, Jr., Roosevelt’s naval aide. The document was apparently misfiled in Roosevelt’s Hyde Park papers by someone unaware of what Tube Alloys was. They thought it had something to do with naval guns or boiler tubes.

In June 1950, Bohr addressed an “Open Letter” to the United Nations calling for international cooperation on nuclear energy. In the 1950s, after the Soviet Union’s first nuclear weapon test, the International Atomic Energy Agency was created along the lines of Bohr’s suggestion, and in 1957 he received the first ever Atoms for Peace Award.

Back at Los Alamos, 17 July 1944 – a meeting was held and it was agreed a gun-type bomb using plutonium was impractical. A few months earlier it was discovered the plutonium-239 produced by the Hanford reactors had too high a level of background neutron radiation. If such plutonium were used in a gun-type design, the chain reaction would start in the split second before the critical mass was fully assembled causing the weapon to pre-detonate and blow itself apart in what is known as a fizzle. The ‘Thin Man’ wasn’t to be.

High priority and almost all of the research at the Los Alamos Laboratory was moved to the development of the plutonium based ‘Fat Man’ bomb – the implosion-type weapon. This was a far more difficult engineering task.

All gun-type work in the Manhattan Project was directed at the ‘Little Boy’ bomb. ‘Little Boy’ was a development and simplification of the ‘Thin Man’. Like the ‘Thin Man’ bomb, it was to be a gun-type fission weapon. The difference was its explosive power was produced from the nuclear fission of uranium-235, whereas ‘Thin Man’ was based on fission of plutonium-239.

In late 1944, Los Alamos started to move from research to development and bomb production. Increased production at Oak Ridge and Hanford showed promise of enough plutonium and enriched uranium for the bombs.

With the successful Allied landings in France on D-Day, 6 June 1944, the war in Europe appeared to be entering its final phase. Germany was no longer the intended primary target. Intelligence indicated that the German atomic program had not gone beyond the research phase. General Groves and his advisers turned their sights to Japan. The challenge was on, to complete the atomic bomb in time to end the war in the Pacific.

The David Hunter Chronicles part 1- Tales of an Aldbrough lad; where do I go from here in life?

Sun, 01 Aug 2021 14:59:19 GMT

With thanks to David Hunter, British nuclear test veteran and present at Operation Antler, for his series of posts about life in the RAF from 1956.

(The ex Airship Hangers at RAF Cardington, they were used as kitting out centres for we new recruits)

Times in Britain in 1956 were vastly different than they are in this day and age, but they were changing rapidly.

I was making slow, but steady progress within the small Middlesbrough Police force, but I could foresee problems in making my career in that worthy service.

We only had an establishment for 140 Constables, the Beat Bobbies were split between two divisions, Headquarters and South Division, which covered the new Council built estates to the south of the town. Others were involved in Road Traffic, CID, the Control of Aliens and Administration. There were about 25 Sergeants, supervised by Ten Inspectors, five Chief Inspectors and one Superintendents plus our Chief Constable Alf Edwards.

We had Durham County, which included Stockton and was a separate force South of the River Tees. Surrounding us we had the North Riding of Yorkshire, which included Redcar and South Bank to the East and Thornaby and Yarm to the West.

Never the three would mix.

I remember one incident very well, illustrating the disorganised state the service was in. I got a nine-double-nine call about a coal lorry, being stolen from its depot in Newport Road in Middlesbrough. I despatched “car eight”, a Vauxhall Wyvern to investigate the incident.

The driver radioed in on M2XZ that he was chasing the lorry, spilling its coal load along the Wilderness towards Thornaby, he needed to get permission to go into the North Riding area of Thornaby.

I telephoned Thornaby Police office, to get consent to enter their area, by this time “car eight” was going over Victoria Bridge and needed permission to go into Co. Durham’s area.

I then telephoned Stockton, but by this time “car eight” had radioed in to say that the stolen lorry had hit the traffic bollards at the end of Parliament Streetin Stockton. Chase over, the drunken driver was brought back to Middlesbrough Central and subsequently charged with all the paper work involved. How times have changed!

In those days, before Computers had been invented, all reports that the service depended on, had to be typed on manual typewriters. It was decided that as part of my training, I should be allowed day release to attend Constantine College to learn to operate a typewriter properly.

Here, being an eligible and handsome young man, I was soon fixed up with a blind date, with a young Middlesbrough lass, who was also at the college doing a secretarial course. Her dad was a Traffic Foreman in the Steelworks and her Uncle was a rising Star in North Yorkshire Police.

One of the difficulties I foresaw was that of possible promotion through the ranks.

Following the war years, many ex servicemen had joined Police Forces though-ought the British Empire. Many were now returning with ‘Colonial’ ranks, earned in Hong Kong, the African Colonies and the West Indies, this blocked any chances of many local junior officers.

National Service was still of course compulsory for all young fit men under 26, except those employed in exempted occupations. Now that I was ‘Courting Strong’ I had to make a decision, Should I stay in the Police Force and risk promotion being blocked?.

This carried the risk, that If I had subsequently left before the age of 26, I would still have it to do, not a bright prospect, in view of the fact that we were thinking about marriage by the time we were in our early twenties.

I quite enjoyed the work in the Police Force, except that while I was working within the CID, I realised that in many respects, they were ‘a law unto themselves’ many suspects exhibiting signs of brutal questioning – not for me, having been brought up in the calm of Aldbrough by God fearing parents.

When I got my National Service ‘Call up’ papers I therefore took the plunge.

I went to the local Royal Air Force recruiting office again and saw the Flight Lieutenant in charge who had guided me though the unsuccessful attempt to become Commissioned Aircrew.

“I want to come in the Air Force” I proclaimed, “for five or eight years” he asked,

“no just for my National Service, I have got the call up papers” – “We aren’t taking lads for National Service, you will have to go in the Army – You have no choice”. “I have”, I responded, “I have an employment exemption” He looked me straight in the eye, “I like your spirit lad, leave it with me and I will see what I can do”. Two days later he rang me at the CID office “ I’ve got you in , you will be hearing from the Air Ministry later on”.

I put in my resignation to Middlesbrough Police, they had an obligation to take me back after the two years absence if I re-applied.

I enrol in the ‘University of life’

August 13th 1956 dawned bright and sunny and I was up early in my home in Stainton in Cleveland.

I was about to undertake a journey through a part of my life, that after the learning process of the previous eighteen years, was a great opportunity to mark out my path for the rest of my time on this earth.

Ever since my early childhood, on the farm at Aldbrough St John , I had enjoyed an interest in aircraft.

The radio news was however, full of talk of war again. A tripartite force was being organised by Anthony Eden against Nasser’s Egypt, who had arbitrarily nationalised the Suez Canal. This was seen as being against Britain’s essential interests, as it was a key element in our communications with the Empire in India and the East.

On this fine August 1956 morning, I said good-by to my parents and brothers and took the bus from Stainton to Acklam to visit my girl friends family. Later we re-boarded a bus to the Railway Station, bound for Darlington and my journey south to Royal Air Force Cardington in Bedfordshire, the reception and kitting out centre for all new recruits at the time.

Darlington Bank Top Station was in chaos, full of anxious men, all reservists, who were being recalled for the impending invasion of Egypt.

I had been on a weeks finishing leave from the Police force. My girlfriend also had leave from the finance company for which she worked. At Darlington we met her boss.. Dapper as ever, in military uniform was “Major Elliott”, bank manager turned Reservist Army Officer. He had had two days notice of a recall, such was the urgency of the situation.

On the way south to Sandy for a change of train to the Bedford line, the carriages were full of drunken hairy armed Scottish reservist, drowning their fears for the future. Not a good start for an innocent lad!

At Bedford Station I had a culture shock. Volunteers for longer service were separated from National Service conscripts. Volunteers were being loaded onto coaches, the rest of us, into covered Bedford trucks, with wooden benches for the three mile journey to Cardington.

The trucks pulled up on the parade ground in front of the massive Hangers, once used to house Airships.

Corporals invited regulars to get out of the coaches, and then they banged on the sides of the trucks, carrying us conscripted men, with their batons.

“Out – Out – Out you “Bs” they shouted, all in an effort to show us that we should sign on for longer periods than our two years, for an easier life!.

We were separated into different billet huts, next morning we were paraded, a motley shower of spotty faced youths and mother’s boys being addressed by a fierce drill sergeant with belt, stamping boots and a swagger stick.

“Those who want to sign on, to the left”,” - “those who want two years of hell, to the right” - I stayed to the right.

Then it was into the cavernous hanger and great queues at the kitting out counters, ill fitting blue serge uniforms, hats, boots, regulation underwear, a mug and an airman’s best friend, his housewife (a sewing kit) being issued.

After two days, the pressure was eased. Whatever our service plans, we were all loaded into the trucks again to the Station. Then a hundred of us made the long journey to RAF Bridgnorth near Wolverhampton, which was to be our home for the next six weeks for our basic training ‘square bashing’.

Although the training was hard and the living accommodation and food were Spartan, I quite enjoyed it. At least I had some idea about self sufficiency, my Boy Scout training standing me in good stead.

We drilled every day, washed in communal ablutions, and had weapon training on 303 rifles and Bren Guns. More drill, meals in the mess, marching down with our issue mugs and cutlery held behind our backs in our left hand. In the afternoon, more drill, “left – left, left - right - left”. The evenings were spent spit and polishing our rough leather studded boots till you could see your face in them.

I knew the ropes and tried my best, as a result after two weeks, I was appointed to “Right Marker” and issued with a white belt to signify my rank over the shambling but rapidly improving “erks”.

This brought privilege, I was in charge of the twenty man billet, having to supervise and organise its daily “bull session”. I had to make sure that all were ready for our 06.30 call to the parade ground.

Once on the parade ground I had to get the men into basic order. When the puttee and boot wearing Drill Corporal gave the order “”Right Dress” they all had to line up on me – a very important person!

What a grand bunch they turned out to be, from many backgrounds. The lad in the next bed to me was a West Indian, straight off the boat from tiny St. Kitts Nevis Island, quite unused to modern western ways, the Surrey lad on the other side was Public School educated from the wealthy Gillett family, makers of razor blades to the world, but we all soon gelled together in adversity.

That’s all for this episode, next time, I learn my trade and put it into practice.

Britain’s Nuclear Deterrent Development – Part Two

Sun, 01 Aug 2021 13:48:27 GMT

Photograph taken from a Japanese plane during the torpedo attack on ships moored on both sides of Ford Island shortly after the beginning of the Pearl Harbor attack. View looks about east, with the supply depot, submarine base and fuel tank farm in the right centre distance.

With thanks to the Vulcan to the Sky Trust www.vulcantothesky.org for kind permission to republish this series of blogs.

On 2 August 1939, the US President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, received a letter written by Leó Szilárd, a Hungarian-German-American physicist and inventor who conceived the nuclear chain reaction in 1933 and patented the idea of a non-fission nuclear reactor in 1934. The letter was signed by Albert Einstein, and warned that Germany might develop atomic bombs and suggested that the United States should start its own nuclear program.

The Einstein–Szilárd letter prompted action by Roosevelt. He called on Lyman Briggs to head the Advisory Committee on Uranium to investigate the fission of uranium. Briggs was an American engineer, physicist and administrator, and was a director of the National Bureau of Standards during the Great Depression of the 1930’s. Briggs was aged 65, when he was called into action for his new role as Chairman of the Uranium Committee.

Despite his influence, Einstein didn’t go on to work on the American nuclear programme. In July 1940, he was denied the work clearance needed, with the reasoning that his pacifist leanings and celebrity made him a security risk. It’s reported that Einstein later regretted signing the letter because it led to the development and use of the atomic bomb in combat. Einstein had justified his decision at the time because of the greater danger that Nazi Germany would develop the bomb first. In 1947 Einstein told Newsweek magazine that “had I known that the Germans would not succeed in developing an atomic bomb, I would have done nothing.”

The first meeting of the Advisory Committee on Uranium was held on 21 October 1939 and the committee reported to the President on 1 November 1939. While acknowledging that the science was unproven and that nuclear chain reaction was no more than a theoretical possibility, it foresaw that nuclear energy might be used as propulsion for submarines, and that an atomic bomb “would provide a possible source of bombs with a destructiveness vastly greater than anything now known.”

The Advisory Committee on Uranium was the beginning of the US government’s effort to develop an atomic bomb. Although the American President had sanctioned the project, progress was slow and was not directed exclusively towards military applications. Leó Szilárd believed that the project was delayed for a least a year by the short-sightedness and sluggishness of the authorities. At the time Briggs was not well and was due to undergo a serious operation. He was unable to take the energetic action that was often needed.

August 1941 – Some two months after the publication of the British MAUD report, Mark Oliphant, the man responsible for bringing the Otto Frisch and Rudolf Peierls paper to light, and an original member of the resulting MAUD committee, flew to the United States. The purpose of his visit was to supposedly discuss the radar programme, but he was actually assigned the task of finding out why the US was ignoring the MAUD Committee’s findings.

Oliphant reported that “The minutes and reports had been sent to Lyman Briggs, who was the Director of the Uranium Committee, and we were puzzled to receive virtually no comment. I called on Briggs in Washington, only to find out that this inarticulate and unimpressive man had put the reports in his safe and had not shown them to members of his committee. I was amazed and distressed.”

Oliphant then met with members of the Uranium Committee, William D. Coolidge, Samuel K. Allison, Ernest O. Lawrence, Enrico Fermi (who became the creator of the world’s first nuclear reactor) and James B. Conant to explain the urgency. He was also able to meet with Vannevar Bush, the director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development. In the meetings he spoke of an atomic bomb with forcefulness and certainty. Allison recalled that when Oliphant met with the committee, he “came to a meeting, and said ‘bomb’ in no uncertain terms. He told us we must concentrate every effort on the bomb and said we had no right to work on power plants or anything but the bomb. The bomb would cost $25 million, he said, and Britain did not have the money or the manpower, so it was up to us.” Allison was surprised that Briggs had kept the committee in the dark.

9 October 1941 – Vannevar Bush took the MAUD report directly to President Roosevelt and Vice-President Henry A. Wallace. They committed to an expanded and expedited American atomic bomb project. Two days later, Roosevelt sent a letter to Churchill in which he proposed that they exchange views “in order that any extended efforts may be coordinated or even jointly conducted.”

Leo Szilard later wrote, “if Congress knew the true history of the atomic energy project, I have no doubt but that it would create a special medal to be given to meddling foreigners for distinguished services, and that Dr Oliphant would be the first to receive one.”

Meanwhile, back in Britain the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research had already set up the Directorate of Tube Alloys to begin work on creating the Atomic Bomb. While Churchill’s response to Roosevelt’s letter assured him of a willingness to collaborate, there were concerns about the security of the American project. Britain also had concerns about what might happen after the war if the Americans embraced isolationism, as had occurred after the First World War, and Britain had to fight the Soviet Union alone. The British and American exchange of information was to continue but the programmes remained separate.

7 December 1941 – The Japanese attack on US naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, led to the United States entering World War II.

Funding now became available in significantly higher amounts than the year before. The American effort increased rapidly and soon outstripped the British, partly due to the American authorities’ reluctance to share details with their British counterparts. Several of the key British scientists visited the US early in 1942. They were given full access to all of the information available and were astounded at the momentum that the American atomic bomb project had gathered.

June 1942 – As the scale of the project became clearer in the US, the work of fission research was taken over by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, based in Manhattan. Brigadier General Leslie R. Groves, Jr. became the director of the Manhattan Project and attempted to tighten security through a policy of strict compartmentalisation similar to the one that the British had imposed on radar.

On 30 July 1942, Churchill was advised that Britain’s pioneering work was a dwindling asset and should be capitalised on quickly before all was lost. But, by the time Britain’s need for a merger was realised, the US decided that outside help for the Manhattan Project was no longer needed.

Summer 1942 – To combat the slow progress of the Tube Alloys project, Hans von Halban and his Cambridge team of scientists were transferred to Canada. Halban was to be the head of the research laboratories at the Montreal Laboratory. This group would later go on to develop one of the first heavy water reactors in the world, at Chalk River Laboratories.

In October 1942, Roosevelt was convinced by his team that the United States should independently develop the atomic bomb. Access was restricted to classified information which Britain could use to develop its atomic weapons programme, even if it slowed down the American efforts.

The Americans stopped sharing any information on heavy water production, the method of electromagnetic separation, the physical or chemical properties of plutonium, the details of bomb design, or the facts about fast neutron reactions. This hindered the work of the British and the Canadians, who were collaborating on heavy water production and several other aspects of the research programme at the Montreal Laboratory.

By 1943 Britain had stopped sending its scientists to the United States, which slowed down the pace of work there as they had relied on efforts led by British scientists. In March 1943 the US decided that Britain’s help would benefit some areas of the Manhattan Project. In particular James Chadwick, William Penney, Rudolf Peierls and Mark Oliphant were important enough that the bomb design team at the Los Alamos Laboratory needed them. Important enough to warrant the risk of revealing weapon design secrets.

Churchill raised the matter with Roosevelt at the Washington Conference (codenamed Trident) on 25 May 1943. The conference was a World War II strategic meeting between the UK and the US, but became an opportunity to address the situation of the sharing of information. They agreed that information interchange should be reviewed, and that the atomic bomb project should be a joint one.

Churchill proposed a five point agenda for collaboration:

a free exchange of information should occur between the two nations
an agreement to not use the bomb against each other
an agreement to not use the bomb against other nations without consent of both
an agreement not to share information with other parties without the consent of both
the United States could have full use of British commercial and industrial capacities.

Churchill had a profound influence on President Roosevelt, and despite resistance from United States advisors such as Vannevar Bush and James Conant, the two leaders agreed to collaborate.

On 19 August 1943, at the First Quebec Conference in Quebec City, Churchill and Roosevelt signed the Quebec Agreement. The Quebec Conference (codenamed Quadrant) was to discuss the invasion of France, but a speedy drafting process was achieved to complete the Quebec Agreement. The agreement adopted most of Churchill’s five point plan and merged the British Tube Alloys project with the American Manhattan Project. The agreement also established a Combined Policy Committee, with representatives from the US, the UK, and Canada to control the joint project. Importantly, the agreement gave the Manhattan Project the resources of British uranium, an established research centre in Montreal, and ensured the participation of British scientists.

The Quebec Agreement was a secret agreement. Its terms were known only to a few insiders, and its existence was not revealed to the United States Congress. The Joint Committee on Atomic Energy in the US was given an oral summary, but not until 12 May 1947. On 12 February 1951, Churchill wrote to the President at the time, Harry S. Truman, for permission to publish it. Truman declined and Churchill omitted it from his memoir, Closing the Ring. It remained a secret until Churchill read it out in the House of Commons on 5 April 1954, during debate on the hydrogen bomb.

After the signing of the Quebec Agreement, many prominent British scientists were soon transferred to the United States to work on the Manhattan Project. The head of the British Mission to the Los Alamos Laboratory, James Chadwick, led the team, which included Rudolf Peierls, Klaus Fuchs (later revealed to be a Soviet atomic spy), Mark Oliphant and William Penney. The Los Alamos Laboratory was also known as Project Y and was a secret laboratory established by the Manhattan Project.

Britain’s Nuclear Deterrent Development – Part One

Sat, 31 Jul 2021 21:19:25 GMT

(Sir Ernest Rutherford's laboratory)

The BNTVA would like to thank the Vulcan to the Sky Trust, www.vulcantothesky.org, for kind permission in allowing us to publish the "Nuclear Deterrent" series.

( MAUD Committee Report | Atomic Heritage Foundation )

The discovery of the neutron and its properties is central to the extraordinary developments that lead to the first atomic bomb in 1945, and the subsequent years of nuclear deterrent.

Britain could be considered the birthplace of atomic vision and scientific research. One of the first steps toward the advancement of atomic energy was the research of Ernest Rutherford, a New Zealand-born British physicist and recipient of the 1908 Nobel Prize in Chemistry “for his investigations into the disintegration of the elements, and the chemistry of radioactive substances”.

In 1917, Rutherford performed the first artificially induced nuclear reaction in experiments where nitrogen nuclei were bombarded with alpha particles. As a result, he discovered the emission of a subatomic particle, which he named the proton. Rutherford became Director of the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge in 1919. Rutherford became known as the father of nuclear physics.

Rutherford’s work would influence other nuclear physicists. Many of who would go on to work on the British atomic project named Tube Alloys, and the American Manhattan Project. These physicists included James Chadwick, Niels Bohr, and Mark Oliphant.

Neutrons were discovered by Rutherford’s colleague and former student James Chadwick in 1932, at the Cavendish University in Cambridge. Chadwick, unconvinced by other models and interpretations of the atom, performed a series of experiments that lead to the discovery of the neutron.

The year 1932 was later referred to as the “annus mirabilis” – “wonderful year” – for nuclear physics in the Cavendish Laboratory, with discoveries of the neutron, artificial nuclear disintegration by the Cockcroft–Walton particle accelerator, and the positron.

For his discovery of the neutron, James Chadwick was awarded the Hughes Medal by the Royal Society in 1932, the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1935, the Copley Medal in 1950 and the Franklin Medal in 1951.

The possibility of a nuclear weapon was acknowledged early in the Second World War. Alarmed by Hitler’s mention of a “secret weapon”, the British government began taking the bomb project much more seriously. Mark Oliphant reorganized research at Birmingham University, where he would bring together Otto Frisch and Rudolf Peierls. The two physicists were refugees from Nazi Germany working at the University. In 1940 they wrote the Frisch-Peierls memorandum. It was the first technical expression of a practical nuclear weapon. The importance of the Frisch-Peierls memorandum was recognised and led to the rapid formation of the MAUD Committee.

Robert Pleming notes:

“Professor Sir Rudolf Peierls was a frequent visitor to the Department of Nuclear Physics at Oxford whilst I was studying there for my doctorate in the mid-1970s. I remember being rather in awe of him.”

10 April 1940 – The MAUD Committee held its first meeting. The committee was a scientific working group that was established to perform research into the feasibility of an atomic bomb. They were to consider how to harness nuclear energy for weapons use and how to separate uranium-235 from natural uranium for use in a weapon. They proceeded in absolute secrecy. Despite their early contributions, Frisch and Peierls were not allowed to participate in the MAUD Committee. Only British-born scientists were considered. At a time of war, it was considered a security threat to have enemy aliens in charge of a sensitive project. In September 1940, a Technical Sub-Committee was formed, with Peierls and Frisch being allowed as members.

The chairman of the MAUD Committee was George Paget Thomson. The other original members were James Chadwick, John Cockcroft, Mark Oliphant and Philip Moon. At first the committee was named after its chairman and was called the Thomson Committee. This was soon changed for a more unassuming name, the MAUD Committee.

The name MAUD stems from a simple misunderstanding. Early in the war, while Niels Bohr, a Danish physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum theory, was still trapped in German-occupied Denmark, he sent a telegram to his old colleague Otto Robert Frisch. Bohr ended the telegram with instructions to pass his words along to “Cockroft and Maud Ray Kent.” This was mistakenly thought to be a cryptic reference for something atomic. One suggestion was to replace the “y” in “Maud Ray Kent” with an “i”, producing ‘radium taken’. MAUD was chosen as a codename for the committee. When Bohr returned to England in 1943, it was discovered that the message was addressed to John Cockroft and Bohr’s housekeeper Maud Ray, who was from Kent.

Research by the working group was split among four different universities – the University of Birmingham, University of Liverpool, University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford. Various means of uranium enrichment were examined, as was nuclear reactor design, the properties of uranium-235, the use of the then-hypothetical element plutonium, and theoretical aspects of nuclear weapon design.

July 1940 – Britain offered to give the United States access to its scientific research. At the time, the American project was smaller than the British, and not as far advanced.

July 1941 – After 15 months of work, the research culminated in two reports, “Use of Uranium for a Bomb” and “Use of Uranium as a Source of Power” – known collectively as the MAUD Report. The final draft of the report was written by James Chadwick, and it concluded and recommended:

The committee considers that the scheme for a uranium bomb is practicable and likely to lead to decisive results in the war.
It recommends that this work be continued on the highest priority and on the increasing scale necessary to obtain the weapon in the shortest possible time.
That the present collaboration with America should be continued and extended especially in the region of experimental work.

In response to the report, Prime Minister Winston Churchill made the decision that the bomb project should proceed before the official recommendations reached him. It was recognised that the project had to be set up on a more formal basis, and the Directorate of Tube Alloys, a title chosen as a cover name, was formed. Britain was beginning work on developing an atomic bomb – the first nation in the world to do so.

America had been in touch with the MAUD Committee since 1940. As part of the scientific exchange, the MAUD Report was made available to the United States. At the time there was still little urgency in the US nuclear project. Britain was at war with Hitler and the Nazis, and felt an atomic bomb was urgent and could win the war, but the US was not yet engaged in World War II. When America eventually took note of the contents of the report, it energised their efforts on their project.

On 9 October 1941, President Roosevelt approved the atomic program. He also agreed to coordinate the effort with the British project. On 11 October Roosevelt sent a message to Churchill, suggesting that they correspond on atomic matters. The MAUD Report helped to jump-start the American project. Without the help of the MAUD Committee the Manhattan Project would have started months behind. Instead they were able to begin thinking about how to create a bomb, not whether it was possible.

The MAUD Report was handed over to the Soviet Union by its atomic spies. It helped start the Soviet atomic bomb project. Any one of a number of spies could have handed over the critical information; Klaus Fuchs, a German theoretical physicist, was an assistant to Rudolf Peierls working on Tube Alloys and later went on to work on the Manhattan Project in the US; Alan Nunn May, a British physicist and Soviet spy, part of the Tube Alloys team that was merged into the American Manhattan Project; Melita Norwood, a British civil servant allegedly recruited by the KGB, was secretary to a head of department with access to Tube Alloys files. In a book titled The Mitrokhin Archive: The K.G.B. in Europe and the West, she is described as “both the most important British female agent in KGB history and the longest serving of all Soviet spies in Britain”.

Who knows how many more atomic spies there may have been in these years that led to an era of Cold War espionage!

OPERATION GRAPPLE CHRISTMAS ISLAND BY JOHN WARD - SHORTHAND TYPIST WITH 1325 DAKOTA FLIGHT.

Fri, 30 Jul 2021 20:50:29 GMT

An RAF "shiny arse" on a tropical island

As the giant constellation aircraft lifted from the runway at London Airport and begun to climb into the early morning sky I realised I would be truly reliant on my own actions for the next eighteen months or so.

I had joined the Royal Air Force twelve months earlier as a National Serviceman, but had signed on for an extra year in order to get my trade as Shorthand Typist to prepare me for a career in journalism.

A quick eighteen hours, including ten hours sleep, was all the time we had to look around New York. I realised this was a real chance for me to prove myself and grow up making my own decisions.

Three days after leaving England the DC8 aircraft belonging to United Airlines touched down in Honolulu International Airport, and all the servicemen were greeted with the formalities afforded to VIP passengers from a Red Carpet flight.

We were served first class meals and warmly welcomed. I know this would be the last touch of lusury for a long time.

At Pearl Harbour we saw the submerged “Arizona” shrine of 120 American seamen killed in the Japanese air attack, which brought America into the Second world war.

Café walls around the harbour still bore the scars of machine gun bullets fired from the Japanese aircraft. These served as a stark reminder of the event, which shattered the peace of that quiet Sunday evening on December 7th 1941.

“Hi fella, you English? The drawled question cam from a tall American standing in the doorway of a diner. When I said I was the guy took me inside the bar and got me a “screw driver” – Vodka Orange. He said it would blow my socks off and it really did.

Outside my new friend Steve, took me into town driving his long convertible. I spent the rest of the evening enjoying his hospitality whilst visiting several night clubs.

Steve warned me to be wary of the dancing girls. He told me that would roll me for every dollar I had and only shake hands for it. We made our way back to base. Tomorrow we would be on Christmas Island.

I studied the flight bulletin from the Captain which said we would be arriving at 16.00 hors and the temperature would be 110 deg.F. in the shade, outlook fine.

Looking through the window as the aircraft came in on its final run, the first impression I had was that the island had itself been hit by an H bomb.

Everything, as far as the eye could see was a white shining dust broken by the occasional palm tree, and the glare of the sun off the runway hit my eyes and made me squint in an attempt to see more of what was going to be my home for the next year or so.

I could see multi-coloured lagoons pass under the planes wings, and a dark rim around the coast of the island, where the sea deepened from a few feet to fathomless depths, all within a few yards.

This was the coral reef, to go beyond meant certain death, either being battered against the rock or being eaten by the ever present sharks.

Three Bedford lorries were waiting to meet the aircraft as it came to a lurching halt outside a large brown marquee marked “Air Movements”.

As I walked down the steps from the plane the intense brightness of sun reflecting off the bleached coral, made me squint. I clipped on my sun glasses to my spectacles.

The men loading the kit bags onto the lorries were wearing grimy shorts, rubber soled shoes, which fastened between their toes. Only one or two them wore hats.Their shoes made a kind of “flip flop” noise and were known by that name.

Their bodies were bronzed by the merciless sun beating down at an angle of 90 deg.

“Here come the Moonies” called one of the men, “Get some island time in” commented another.

The tall eagle-eyed sergeant in charge of the bedding store, consisting of three large marquees, looked at us new arrivals, and uttered a four letter word.. “What have I done to deserve this lot” he said out loud.

An hour later, after signing many forms I was given a foul smelling green mosquito net and a piece of canvas inside of which were four angled iron bars.

We were shown to a large marquee and told we would sleep in there for the night.

The light was just beginning to fade as the forty men worked out how to set up “kip” in the confined space.

When my bed was assembled it was no more than six inches off the floor; a slight movement and you would end up on the sandy floor.

After fastening the top of the mosquito net to the side wall of the tent I got between the sheets, that had become covered in gritty pieces of coral and sand, and tried to rest.

On the side wall of the tent were the words KOREA 1954’ and small squares were cut in them to form “windows”.

Before getting into bed I had put a torch and a short sharp Bowie knife under my pillow – just in case.

“What the hell – somethings crawled over my face” cried one of the men.

I snapped on the torch and came face to face with an evil looking land crab, complete with two giant pincers, telescopic eyes and eight hairy legs, not more than a few inches from my face.

A quick crack across the crab’s back with the heel of a heavy boot and it was dead.

Squashed to a pulp.

Creepy crawlies had not bothered me much back home, but these new creatures sent a shudder along my spine. One could not always see them, but could hear them sliding down the flysheet of the tent.

By the time morning came only the heavy sleepers felt ready to go. The majority of us had encountered the crabs and had stayed awake, or dozed off in a half sleep waiting for the next invasion.

Walking through the tent lines, passing the wooden washing troughs, where some were shaving two newly made friends and me made our way to the cookhouse for our first breakfast on the island.

I did not know it then but the cookhouse and island was to have a marked effect on my eating habits and powers of digestion when I returned to England.

After waiting twenty five minutes in a long queue I received a discoloured fried egg in my metal meal tray, and porridge. On the tables were large boxes of salt tablets which we were encouraged to take to replace the salt we had lost, because of the intense heat.

I could not eat all of it and went towards a big metal tank. originally filled with clean water, but had long ago turned to a thick brown coloured evil smelling syrup.

No wonder we had all those jabs, there must be a whole lot of diseases in the tank, I thought to myself as I “swilled” my tray and put it into my side bag.

As the days went by we got used to the flight overhead each evening so that the

small plane could spray clouds of liquid, which we were told would help

control the mosquito invasions.

Also I and my mates became more proficient at getting on and off the Bedford truck carrying your tray with a helping of breakfast. After several Journeys we managed to enjoy our breakfast, rather than it ending up on the floor of the lorry.

As we were getting used to the very hot weather we started to go For swims in the ocean, and seriously thought about kicking a ball about. After a little time we became used to the intense heat and hardly seemed to sweat when dashing around.

Not being very technical I got to learn about the various tasks the flight mechanics were doing. I was particularly interested in the Radio fitter who let me listen to the radio picking up programmes from England.

It was great one day I sat in on of the aircraft and listened to the English Cup Final. Without television this was a good source of news from home.

Someone in one of the tents started a rumour that we had tv in the lines. Within a few hours a minute search was undertaken to discover where it was. Needless to say we had no TV, but it was fun seeing the snowdrops checking out each tent.

One day the news came through that several service men had drowned when their small boat went over the reef. This resulted in a major inquiry involving senior officers from Army, Navy and RAF.

I was given the task of taking down the evidence as it was spoken. (they knew I did shorthand). At the end of each session I had to type it all up on an old typewriter. Massive job but I apparently did a good job and was commended for doing it. Guess it came in useful to prepare me for my wished for job of Journalist when I got out of the mob. I had signed on for the extra year to get my trade of shorthand typist.

As I worked with a senior officer I heard mention of dropping nuclear bombs to Test them out. We all then began to imagine what might happen. The tests were code-named “Operation ‘Grapple during late 1957/58.

As the weeks went by we were conscious of a build up of facilities, and additional aircraft, such as a V bomber and Canberras flying around.

Eventually the date was announced for the first A bomb test. We were assembled together, dressed in our normal shirt and shorts

A loudspeaker told us there was an aircraft flying overhead near the island and they would count down to when the bomb had been released. They told us to stand so that our backs were facing the direction of the bomb blast.

With out hands covering our eyes, we “saw” a huge flash and could see the bones in our hands as if they were being x-rayed. Then the sound wave swept over us at a tremendously high sound level; then came the wind and the heat wave swept over us.

Some of the guys were knocked over by the rush of wind and some just ran in all directions and stopped when they ran into a tree. To say you were not scared would have been lie or a pretence that you were brave.

I remember that the roof of the wooden building which was pay accounts was blown off and we later learned that many of the frigate birds and other winged creatures were killed instantly.

That night most of us went for a drink, if we could get one, and everyone was discussing the major explosion detonated not too far away from us. We were later told there were more to come.

One of the evening activities was going to the pictures in an outdoor roofless cinema without seats. To see the film one sat on the sand, maybe on top of a ground sheet. Several time your concentration on the film was broken by a couple of crabs trying to climb up your leg. As time went on we got used to this and got very good at anticipating their attacks. Some were massive. I have big hands but sometimes I found it difficult to stretch my hand across their backs to pick them up, or stamp on them. They had massive claws, one normally much bigger than the other.

Although we witnessed the A bomb tests dressed in our normal gear, we noticed the aircrew technicians wore extensive outfits to protect them against any heat or radiation.

Life in the tent went on smoothly, everyone getting to know each of us better. We all tried to keep the tent tidy and take our turns with the “domestic” jobs to keep life as well as could be expected.

But one of the members of the tend, lets call him Fred, was not too particular about his personal hygiene and we all kept on to him to have a thorough wash or even a shower.

Fred still continued in his unwashed state. Luckily for us recently a shower had been put up onto the concrete strip near to the tent line. Mentioning this to Fred we told him to get a shower. He did not.

So four of us got hold of him and took him out to the shower, armed with soap and large brushes. He had the cleanest wash he had ever had since coming to the island. After that he was a reformed character. If he seemed to want to miss a shower the four of us, with the brushes, would remind him and he took the wisest route to keeping clean.

One thing I am certain of is that being in a group as we were builds friendship and confidence, with everyone pulling his weight to solve problems affecting the group. I and the others learned key habits that I am sure made them better people after they returned to England.

Eating meals in the cookhouse became a routine even if we took our laden trays onto the lorries. One day one of the technical lads suggested we could cook what we want when we wanted, as food was available.

The technical lad decided to get hold of a biscuit tin, four cigarette cans and some sand. When the sand was saturated with Avgas (aeroplane fuel) it made a hot stove on which the “cooks” amongst us could prepare hot meals mainly meat based. The Avgas did not seem to interfere with the flavour.

Before I left England I had been to a holiday camp in Jersey. There I made friends with the owners. We always used to look forward to receiving post brought in on the aircraft from Hickam base in Honolulu.

One day just before Christmas I received a bag parcel, which was rather heavy. To my delight and that of my tent mates it contained several bottles, one of whiskey, one of Bristol cream sherry and one bottle of red wine.

The next few months saw the preparation for two further A bombs. To us it was routine, as we had already experienced one A bomb drop. The next two seemed quite routine, us knowing or thought we knew the general routine.

During the next two A bomb drops we were still dressed in our normal shirts and shorts with no protective clothing whatsoever. But we noticed all the senior scientists involved in setting up the bomb, wore heavy covering to protect them.

After these tests the talk and rumours started to circulate about us dropping an H bomb. We had no idea what to expect. Things seemed fairly routine. The day came we were directed to be a a certain point in groups and the count down began…”Bomb gone, thirty, twenty nine etc until it got to “one”.we had been instructed, as previously, to turn our back to the direction of the bomb Explosion, put our hands over our closed eyes and wait.

Although we had our eyes tightly closed with our hands over them we saw a blinding flash, followed by an extremely hot wave of air rushing over us; then the explosion followed by other waves of air.

Many of the servicemen panicked and ran towards the sea, some crashing into palm trees. I honestly believe most of us were frightened not knowing exactly what this force was going to do to us.

When things calmed down a little we were told that the blast had blown the roof off the pay account building, damaged a lot off tents and left hundreds of frigate birds blinded and killed. Compared to the A bomb this was a massive amount of force we had been exposed to, heaven knows how much radiation.

As time went on we learnt that a second H bomb was being assembled and would be tested soon. All we could gather is that it would be considerably more powerful that the previous one.

This time to our surprise we were issued with a cotton overall and a cotton balaclava. That was it, our protection against a bigger H bomb than last time.

Came the day and the bomb left the aircraft…Shortly afterwards there was the brightest flash I had ever seem through closed eyes covered by my hands. The enveloping heatwave, almost like boiling water and then the sound wave reached us. Similar to the previous H bomb BUT MUCH MORE POWERFUL.

It did a lot more damage to the island, the living creatures and really scared most of us. I now know that explosion put England into the premier league for dropping H bombs.

Shortly after the second H bomb explosion I was scheduled to go home. To our delight we were taken home in the Comet aircraft, with some Army guys who were not in the best insulated section of the aircraft.

Being signed on for the extra year to get my trade as shorthand typist I did not have long to serve my time in England. When I left the RAF I took up my lifelong career as a journalist.

The scientists and politicians have said those who took part in the test suffered no harm from the bombs. I have had cancer and our son and daughter have had illnesses you can attribute to my time on Christmas Island.

And still we get no recognition for our service. Tom Watson, former deputy leader of the Labour party had been running a campaign for get us a medal, and maybe compensation. Nothing has happened yet, although the majority of the nations partaking in nuclear tests have officially acknowledged their own servicemen who took part.

Today I believe I gained a lot from serving in the RAF and am certain it would not do the young people of today any harm to do the same.

BNTVA Conference 11 August 2021 at the Telford Hotel & Golf Resort

Mon, 19 Jul 2021 18:20:40 GMT

BNTVA Conference 2021 Agenda

The BNTVA Conference will be held on 11 August in the Coalport Suite at the Telford Hotel & Golf Resort from 9am-5pm, followed by a three-course Gala Dinner and entertainment starting at 7.30pm. The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Telford will be attending the Gala Dinner and the Very Rev Dr Nicholas Frayling KStJ, the BNTVA Chaplain will attend the Conference and Dinner.

Tickets for this event can be purchased from the BNTVA online store https://bntva-shop.myshopify.com/collections/conference/Conference or by contacting the BNTVA by email at info@bntva.com and asking for a booking form. Please note prices quoted are at a preferential rate for the current BNTVA Associate membership. Membership can also be purchased online at https://bntva-shop.myshopify.com/collections/membership/membership.

The Conference will be opened by David Taunt, a nuclear test veteran of the Operation Dominic series and BNTVA Ambassador. This will be followed by a short service led by Rev Frayling, greetings from nuclear test veterans and victims’ associations from around the world before Dr Elizabeth Tynan will join virtually via Microsoft Teams to talk about her new book, “The Secret of Emu Field”. Following a brief talk about what the Association has achieved and BNTVA projects by Ceri McDade, Chair, Dr Rhona Anderson from the University of Brunel Centre for Health Effects of Radiological and Chemical Agents will update delegates on the “Genetic and Cytogenetic Assessment of British Nuclear Test Veterans and their Families”, as well as other continuing studies within the CHRC.

A facilitated feedback session will follow for delegates to input about future work and focus points of the BNTVA, followed by a buffet lunch. The afternoon session will start with Dr Vici Williamson of King’s College London sharing her research on the topic of Moral Injury within the military, followed by Dr Matthew Wiseman of the University of Waterloo, Ottawa, who is keen to inform us about his research on the “Commonwealth Indoctrinee Force at Operation Buffalo, Maralinga”.

After a break, the RECA Expert Attorney, Rebecca Krafchek, will join us live from the US Department of Justice, Washington DC, to talk about the history and future of the RECA Scheme for British veterans of Operation Dominic. Michael Wycherley, Head of Regional Services at Deafblind UK will relate about the BNTVA/Deafblind UK partnership and what this means for veterans and their families who suffer from both sight and hearing loss. Dr Christoph Laucht will speak about “Christmas Island within the context of the test ban debate”.

Representatives of the NCCF Care, Wellbeing and Inclusion Fund, the RAF Benevolent Fund and Deafblind UK will man stands relating to their work and helping individuals.

For more information regarding BNTVA Cosford reunion Conference, or BNTVA Conference and Gala Dinner, please contact info@bntva.com or 0208 144 3080 by 25 July.

BNTVA Reunion at the RAF Museum, Cosford, 10 August 2021

Sun, 18 Jul 2021 16:09:12 GMT

BNTVA Reunion Agenda for 10 August 2021

The BNTVA is delighted to share the details of arguably the most exciting and jam-packed Reunion it has hosted for many years on 10 August at the RAF Museum, Cosford, Shropshire.

https://bntva-shop.myshopify.com/collections/conference/Conference

After arrival at the RAF Museum, tea/coffee and a cookie, the day will start with a guided tour of the Cold War Hangar. The British nuclear test veterans, their families and interested parties will meet Pete Sharp who restored the Vickers Valiant XD818 that dropped Britain’s first live H-bomb, Short Granite, on 15 May 1957 at Christmas Island. Some of these nuclear test veterans witnessed the bomb being dropped. XD818’s service at Christmas Island continued as she also orbited 50 miles from the drop position at Grapple Y (3-megaton device) on 28 April 1958, when the largest ever nuclear device was dropped by the British at Christmas Island. On 2 September 1958, XD818 acted as `grandstand' (observation) aircraft for the live drop at Grapple Z by Valiant XD822.

Following a buffet lunch, attendees will be welcomed by Wing Commander Mason from RAF Cosford and hear from Squadron Leader John Robinson AFC (ret’d) who was both a pilot and cloud sampler at Operation Buffalo, Maralinga, 1956, and Operation Grapple, Christmas Island, 1957.

Ian Sanders, creator, host and producer of the Cold War Conversations podcasts ( The Cold War Conversations History Podcast – Recording the stories of the Cold War before they are lost…) . will focus on the importance of hearing and recording Cold War stories. After a short break and refreshments, Jason Davidson and Pete Roch, directors of Squeaky Pedal ( Squeaky Pedal - Award-winning documentaries and audio visual content.) , award winning documentary and audio-visual film makers, will launch two short films which they have recently created for the BNTVA. These films focus on British nuclear test veterans’ oral histories after travelling around England and Scotland to carry out in-depth interviews with nuclear test veterans.

Representatives from the RAF Benevolent Fund, who have contributed towards funding ex-RAF personnel at the Reunion, will talk about the help and support they provide to RAF veterans and their families, after which Dr Christoph Laucht, Associate Professor of History at Swansea University, will expound upon “Events prior to British nuclear testing c.1945-1952, Klaus Fuchs and Atomic Espionage”.

Michelle Harding, BNTVA Secretary, enthusiastically carries out the BNTVA Living Histories’ Project and has collected many nuclear test veterans’ oral histories. Michelle will close the Reunion event by reading a chapter from John Folkes’, cloud sampler’s, upcoming book about his experiences at Maralinga followed by a short appeal for veterans’ oral histories.

If you would like to attend, contact info@bntva.com or 0208 144 3080 before 2nd August.

A demonstration of risk and rigour?

chairman@bntva.com — Wed, 14 Jul 2021 22:01:19 GMT

This blog has been created due to Dr Charles Winstanley's letter to the BNTVA outlining the decision of the Advisory Military Sub-Committee concerning the BNTVA application for a medal for British nuclear test veterans from 1952-1991, submitted in August 2019. There has been much debate within the British nuclear community about the risk and rigour demonstrated within the application. There have been three medal applications by the BNTVA - the first application in 2012 in the Jeff Liddiatt era, this application by Susie Boniface and Alan Owen, and the third application submitted on the 8 June 2021. In fact, risk had been demonstrated in 2013 according to the August minutes of the previous AMSC.

"Further Claims for Medallic Recognition

(Extract from the minutes of the meeting of the Advisory Military Sub-Committee of the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals held on 29 August 2013)

Jon Thompson – Permanent Secretary MOD – Chairman.

Vice-Admiral Bob Cooling – ex Royal Navy representative.

Major General Nick Cottam – ex Army representative.

Air Vice-Marshal Tony Stables – ex RAF representative.

Sir John Holmes – Adviser to the AMSC.

13. Claim from Servicemen who witnessed the Atmospheric Nuclear Tests in the Pacific in late 1950 and early 1960

This claim is for those servicemen who believe they were exposed to the risk of radiation when serving in the Pacific in the 1950s, when they were involved in helping set up and observe nuclear testing, without being advised properly or consulted.

Comment

There seems little doubt that the servicemen involved in the nuclear tests were not given a proper account of the risks they were running and therefore have a genuine grievance. However the other aspect of the criteria for medallic recognition i.e. rigour, was not there. It is not clear that medallic recognition is the right way for the Government to recognise this risk and there may be other ways for them to do so. Nevertheless there is a case for the review to take a closer look at this, since it is not clear how the issue will be tackled otherwise.

AMSC Recommendation:

Disagree – not for review. The sub-committee felt that this was not the type of operational duty that would normally be recognised by the award of a medal. The sub-committee was mindful that there were ongoing claims for compensation by some of this group of veterans and it would be inappropriate for any medal review to potentially impact upon that."

Below is the medal application written by Susie Boniface on behalf of the BNTVA:

The UK Nuclear Weapons Testing Programme was the biggest, most important and potentially deadly tri-service operation since the D-Day landings. More than 22,000 personnel, many of them on National Service, took part in preparing, detonating, measuring and witnessing the bombs.

This application does not rely on the well-known belief of many veterans that they were irradiated. It is irrelevant to the risk and rigour of their service and their argument for official recognition. But it is important to bear in mind these were experiments, and no-one at the time was sure they would be conducted with success. The chances of something going wrong of a mis-timed explosion, or badly made device, possibly claiming thousands of lives in an instant-were immense.

Such tests could and would never be conducted today. This is not just because of 21st century sensitivities about the environmental or humanitarian impact. Even at the time these tests were conducted, it was against a background of worldwide disapproval, impending testing bans, and the clear knowledge among scientists and the government that radiation carried dreadful risks, of not only death but also genetic mutation, as noted by the Medical Research Council in 1947(see notes). That is why the tests were conducted in the furthest

reaches of the British Empire, rather than in the UK. It is why we wanted such a weapon in the first place.

Indeed, many of the veterans report getting 'Dear John' letters from their girlfriends back at home, terrified any future children would be affected. Whether these fears were well-grounded or not, they existed. The constant peril of Soviet invasion from the Eastern bloc, and of international nuclear war with all the horrors that entailed, were part of the veterans' daily lives both in and out of service.

Despite those risks, and perhaps because of them, the 22,000 men stepped up to do their duty with a valour of a sort that has not been seen before or since. Single, married, in love or in hope of it, they all believed that their country needed them to engage with an invisible, and deadly, enemy. Even today the government insists the nuclear deterrent is necessary simply because of its horrifying ability to extinguish and damage all living things within a vast area. These men went did battle with it.

That is the challenge these men met, with discipline, good grace and willing sacrifice. It was no less risky because they were not being shot at - it was more risky, simply because they were fighting to ensure no-one ever fired such weapons at Britain.

Their service was not an easy one. Engineers built runways on shifting coral sands, maintained generators, built desalination plants. Sailors patrolled vast oceans, RAF mechanics maintained planes, signallers, scientists and officers worked around the clock to do what must be done. Many were not told of their mission before they left port, and many were told after being in theatre for a year that they would need to stay another year to get the job done. That is the job of any serviceman, but in the UK nuclear weapons testing programme it all took place 8,000 miles from home, on a deployment with little if any outside contact, under immense public, governmental and scientific pressure to produce a safe and certain thermonuclear weapon in a hurry. The scientists asked for, and received, extra pay because of the risks they were running. The military personnel did not. They completed their service, in some cases with only an inkling of the risks involved, while wearing most days only

cotton shorts and boots. AWE staff who worked alongside them, meanwhile, wore full radiation protection for the time.

A medal was never an option for work done in such immense secrecy, and which upon their return to the UK was considered by much of the public to be a shameful episode in the nation's history. But in recent years, hitherto unknown facts have emerged about the scale of the risks these men ran. At Monte Bello in 1952, sailors were ordered to sail through fallout to discover the effect on ships and men. They did so twice, for a total of 16 hours, and remained on board that ship – HMS Diana - for a year, diverted on its way back to the UK

in the Suez Crisis. Its captain, John Gower DSC, later said his vessel was still radioactive and asked publicly why it and his crew were never checked after their mission for what he believed would have been militarily - useful data.

At Emu Field and Maralinga the men worked and lived in areas which saw 700 'minor trials' of trigger devices. Eyewitnesses describe "jets of molten, burning plutonium extending hundreds of feet into the air". Op Hercules cleaned up Maralinga in 1964, only for it be done again in Op Brumby three years later when plutonium found on the surface was buried in 22 pits and covered in 650 tons of concrete. In the 1990s, the Australian Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency spent 5 years burying a further 200,000 cubic metres of topsoil after finding large amounts of plutonium - 239, which has a half - life of 24,000 years. The land was not considered safe enough to be returned to its Aboriginal owners until 2009; how it can therefore be considered to have been safe for thousands of servicemen during these trials, and during the latter, unsuccessful clean-ups, has never been explained.

At Christmas Island MoD records show safety measures observed at earlier, smaller tests were thrown out of the window in Op Grapple to get an H-Bomb before an imminent testing ban. The NRPB health studies report that while 96% of those men at Op Hurricane in 1952 had radiation dose badges, just 3% of those at Grapple Y in 1958 had any checks on their exposure (see notes). The men not only felt at risk, but those who had the responsibility for ensuring they were not exposed to unnecessary danger had stopped checking. There can therefore be no grounds to claim the risk was small or non-existent - no proper assessment was done at the time, and it is clear, from the common-sense perspective of history, the risks were great.

Archive documents have been released that show blood tests, and white blood cell counts, were taken before some of the explosions, but ministers have told Parliament it is not possible to provide the results. Many veterans report missing sections in their medical records. Parliament has heard how veterans told they had no dosimeter record because they did not work with radiation can produce photographs of them wearing such badges. At clean-up operations, and at US tests in Nevada for which British service personnel were provided, there is now clear evidence that officials were aware of risks that men were not adequately protected from, in some cases even by the standards of the day.

In 2009 the MoD admitted on the eve of a court case that around 10% of those who took part were possibly exposed - in sniff planes sent on cloud - sampling missions of both our own and other countries' atomic weapons; of maintenance crew; of Op Buffalo indoctrinees ordered to walk and crawl through fallout to test the ability of uniforms to hold the toxic particles; and on HMS Diana, to name just a few.

Ministry of Defence assertions that most of the men received no 'significant' exposure, and that rules were followed about safe dose limits, has long been made irrelevant by the view of the international scientific community that there is no safe dose for radiation. Any may carry a risk. Any may be significant, to an individual.

And regardless of exposure, the risks themselves carried a cost. Many veterans report symptoms of PTSD, and a University of Southampton study this year found that the many subsequent decades of uncertainty about what, if anything, they were exposed to has led to elevated rates of depression and anxiety not only in the veterans but in their wider families. The psychological damage done not just by the fearful environment, and terrifying explosions, in circumstances no serviceman would today be happy to serve in, has been made immeasurably worse by the long decades of denial and obfuscation by successive governments. This may have been necessary, in terms of national security - it is not, however, principled or humane. It is certainly against the spirit of the Military Covenant, which says that some veterans may deserve special treatment by the state in light of the nature of their service.

There has also been great moral damage done to the veterans, due to not just the valour they showed in the face of ineffable risks but the way in which that service was later considered unworthy of recognition. In 2013, following the Holmes review, their case for a medal was considered for the first time by the previous AMSC. It was decided they should not get a medal while there was ongoing litigation about the claims of ill health. Such litigation had ended a year earlier at the Supreme Court, with no chance of further appeal, which makes this reason for refusal invalid. The only other possibility of litigation would be ongoing war pension claims but as these will likely continue until the last veteran has died, the logic of the 2013 decision, if it hinged on this, would mean a medal would be considered only after no veteran is left alive to receive one.

That same AMSC agreed a medal for the Arctic Convoy veterans, on the basis that President Putin had conferred one on 47 British veterans. A medal of some sort for atomic veterans has been awarded by the governments of the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, France, China, and Canada. They have all, as well as the Isle of Man and Fiji, set up a system of either ex gratia payments, priority healthcare or war pensions for their test veterans. Some of them have even compensated British veterans who are refused such recognition in this country.

For the reasons laid out above, and using the AMSC’s published terms of reference, we submit that there is ample evidence that the issue was not considered properly in 2013. The decision taken was for reasons that had nothing to do with risk or rigour, but with an eye to possible litigation that has never been applied to other cases of medallic recognition. The decision was also inconsistent with recent decisions creating the Arctic Star, the Elizabeth Cross, the Bomber Command clasp, and the Ebola medal. We ask you to agree also that significant evidence has come to light that had not been considered previously. The facts relied upon in 2013 and earlier have now been proven unsound, both by archival documents, official statements, media investigation and scientific research. And there has been a manifestly unfair approach to this particular veteran community. As their service was utterly unique , and not reflected anywhere outside the atomic weapons tests, there can be no sound argument that to honour these veterans would create inconsistencies elsewhere. Indeed, the official treatment of this particular community to date has been to single it out for not being the ‘right’ sort of veteran: with stories people wanted to hear, or wounds people could see. To award them a medal would not only recognise their unquestionable bravery, but would end an inconsistency.

The UK is the last nuclear nation on Earth - with the possible exceptions of Israel and North Korea, about whose weapons programmes little is known - to refuse any form of official state recognition to its atomic veterans. Our request for a medal has long been supported by all political parties. In 2007 Gordon Brown said the country owed the test veterans a debt of honour. In 2011 Liam Fox said it was "time to be seen to do the right thing". Last year Gavin Williamson said it was time "for a fresh look". The chair of the Defence Select Committee, Dr Julian Lewis MP, has also backed our calls for a medal or clasp. Today our patron is Sir John Hayes, Conservative MP for South Holland and The Deepings, and our campaign in Parliament is led jointly by him and Tom Watson, deputy leader of the Labour Party. As a result of their efforts we have received the backing of more than 40 MPs and peers.

We have had immense and long - term support of our claims from the British media, in particular the Daily Mirror, which has reported on our case for 30 years. Last year we got more than 10,000 names backing a medal on an official government petition, and the Mirror produced a dedicated website called DAMNED which has brought us new support from around the world. There is clear public and Parliamentary support for medallic recognition.

A 2007 peer-reviewed genetic study found extensive evidence of DNA damage to test veterans compared to the rest of the population, and an extension to this work looking at whether their reported illnesses are linked to such damage is currently underway at Brunel University. Regardless of what this may prove, it is clear that the long-stated refusal to acknowledge the risk and rigour of the veterans' UK atomic weapons service is no longer a tenable position. The only issue left is whether they showed courage in the face of danger: a question best answered by each of us asking ourselves whether we would turn our faces to the same.

These servicemen played a uniquely dangerous role, unparalleled in UK military history, in creating the nuclear deterrent that has helped to keep the peace ever since. As a nation, we owe them respect and thanks, as well as remorse for their treatment to date. A medal does not in any way support contentious claims about radiation exposure. The risks these men ran existed whether they were exposed or not.

Honouring this truth is simply the decent thing to do. For many of those still struggling with their memories and ill health, most of whom are now in their 80s, a medal would be a dignified nod of thanks from the young Queen they were happy to risk everything for, a simple acknowledgement that what they did for their country is appreciated. It will be the order to finally stand at ease, and cease fighting the enemy they could never see.

NOTES:

ARPANSA report on Maralinga contamination: https://damned.mirror.co.uk/img/docs/maralinga.pdf

Ministerial statements on blood and urine tests:

https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons&member=1463&keywords=blood

HMS Diana:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1574676/HMS-Diana-the-ship-that-went-nuclear.html

Hansard report of Parliamentary debate: bit.ly/2HmH3Em

University of Southampton study: https://exposure.press/nuclear-families/

Rowland study: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/82b7/8b5961f6e58ba0eb055a50ac9f87c2a3636a.pdf

DAMNED: http://damned.mirror.co.uk/

Parliamentary support:

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/nuclear-veterans-campaign-jeremy-corbyn-12663472

Please see attached PDFs ‘Catcheside’ for Medical Research Council evidence from 1947

Please see pp 9-12 of attached NRPB analysis for data on dose badge distribution, service personnel, and number of tests served at.

There's just one question. Do you think that this application demonstrated enough risk and rigour to satisfy the AMSC?

A rose between two thorns? The lasting effect of the Atom Bomb Rose

Wed, 14 Jul 2021 10:19:04 GMT

The beautiful Rosa Floribunda Atom Bomb

The BNTVA were recently contacted by Warren Harper and Gabriella Hirst of the Old Waterworks, regarding the forced removal of Gabriella's artwork at Gunners Park, Shoeburyness, Essex. "An English Rose" consisted of a small rose garden containing Rosa Floribunda Atom Bomb, cultivated by Reimer Kordes in 1953, a row of white irises to symbolise the HMS Plym sailing for the first British atomic test, Operation Hurricane, at the Montebello Islands, past the white cliffs of Dover, park benches and a plaque concerning Operation Hurricane and the legacy of this British test on the people and landscape of Australia.

Councillors James Moyies and Councillor Derek Jarvis demanded the removal of the artwork stating, "It is not a thought-provoking piece…it is a direct far left-wing attack on our History, our People and our Democratically Elected Government, that has no place on Council leased land."

We attach the BNTVA statement.

A group of Conservative councillors have been accused of attempting to ‘whitewash’ history after ordering an artist to amend or remove a piece of artwork referring to Britain as a ‘colonial nuclear state’ from a former military site.

The English Garden installation at Gunners Park, Shoeburyness, Essex, features the rare Atom Bomb rose and plaques referencing Britain’s current nuclear arsenal and the devastating 1950s-60’s British nuclear tests in Australia.

But a small group of Southend-on-Sea Borough councillors objected to the work and threatened to ‘raise the issue in the media’ if their demands to remove or censor the work were not met within 48 hours.

Australian artist Gabriella Hirst said: “We were given a 48-hour ultimatum to remove the work before the council would intervene to censor the “offending” plaque, also promising to subject the work and associated arts communities to a national media campaign that would frame the work as ‘a direct far left-wing attack on our History, our People and our Democratically Elected Government’.

“An English Garden aimed to hold space for contemplation of British colonial legacy - an unavoidably complicated legacy which contains such seeming opposites as rose gardens and enduring nuclear violence. I am dismayed that this space has been shut down by those who wish to protect a white-washed, nationalist version of history.“

Warren Harper, curator and director of The Old Waterworks, which jointly commissioned the work as part of the Estuary Festival, said he was “shocked, dismayed and incredibly disappointed” by the demands made by Cllr James Moyies, Cllr Tony Cox and Cllr Derek James.

Warren said: “The councillors made a complaint regarding the content of one of the plaques contained within An English Garden, claiming that it is offensive and its content unpalatable.

“The councillors set unrealistic ultimatums and deadlines regarding the work’s removal, forcing decisions to be made in such a way that put unnecessary and unfair pressure on all those involved with the work’s production.

“A demand was made to alter the text contained in the plaque under supervision which undoubtedly would have changed the content and meaning of the artwork, shifting the work’s intentions and putting words into the artist’s mouth.

“History is not simply a celebratory fanfare, and it is everyone’s right to be able to explore the nuances of this shared history and how it has ongoing impacts today.

“There has been no positive engagement with the councillors who threatened to play out the dialogue across the media, bypassing all attempts of reasonable discussion.”

The work, which was installed with permission, had been in place for five weeks before its removal on June 23, with no complaints from local residents.

The site was chosen as the first British atomic device was assembled in 1952 at the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, just six miles away on Foulness Island.

A British nuclear test veteran who was present at 1956 Operation Mosaic Commonwealth atomic tests at the Montebello Islands led by the British said, “it is just facts that are quoted, and I think the Council are going over the top with their complaint in this respect. I love the garden and would like to have a rose if possible.”

Ceri McDade, chair of the British Nuclear Test Veterans Association, said the forced removal of the rose garden ‘horrified’ members of the BNTVA.

She said: “To us, the rose is relevant to the local area and its history as it is poignant to the 23,000 or so military personnel, scientists and civilians who participated in the atmospheric testing at the Montebello Islands, Emu Field, Maralinga, and Christmas Island.

“Participation in this testing and the quest for a nuclear deterrent is as relevant to our veterans and their families in 2021 as it was in 1952 and should not be swept under the carpet.

“As the UK charity for nuclear test veterans and their families, the BNTVA will ensure that this part of history is not forgotten or re-written.”

The Old Waterworks statement follows:

Monday 12 July 2021

Public Statement from The Old Waterworks Staff and Board of Trustees

Censorship of An English Garden

We have been shocked, dismayed and incredibly disappointed by the actions taken by members of Southend’s Conservative Group of Councillors regarding the censorship and ultimate removal of the An English Garden installation situated at Gunners Park, Shoeburyness, commissioned by The Old Waterworks and Metal for Estuary 2021 and due to remain in situ until 31 August 2021.

The councillors made a complaint regarding the content of one of the plaques contained within An English Garden, claiming that it is offensive and its content unpalatable. The councillors set unrealistic ultimatums and deadlines regarding the work’s removal, forcing decisions to be made in such a way that put unnecessary and unfair pressure on all those involved with the work’s production. A demand was made to alter the text contained in the plaque under supervision which undoubtedly would have changed the content and meaning of the artwork, shifting the work’s intentions and putting words into the artist’s mouth. History is not simply a celebratory fanfare and it is everyone’s right to be able to explore the nuances of this shared history and how it has ongoing impacts today.

There has been no positive engagement with the councillors who threatened to play out the dialogue across the media, bypassing all attempts of reasonable discussion. As a result, our co-commissioners, Metal, who hold the site agreement for the installation, ultimately decided that the artwork be removed earlier than anticipated. This was primarily due to ensuring the wellbeing of all those involved in the artwork’s installation and exhibition for Estuary 2021. TOW supports and understands Metal’s position in reaching this decision, however we must also acknowledge that the artist, Gabriella Hirst, disagrees entirely with this action but respects the responsibility Metal has to their staff and communities in these difficult situations.

How to Make a Bomb, the project of which An English Garden is a part, has been based at The Old Waterworks for nearly three years, during which extensive research has been carried out. The plaque has been informed by this research, additionally demonstrated in an artist book which accompanies the project. We invite Southend’s Conservative Group of Councillors and others to read this and to discuss the project, and its breadth and nuances with us. We have reserved a copy of the book for the group at The Old Waterworks to pick up free of charge.

It was of course not the intent of the work to cause any offence to anyone, particularly residents, but to encourage those that visit the garden to contemplate the complex history of Essex in the UK’s nuclear story, which is very complicated. We believe the comments within the statement sent by Councillor Moyies on behalf of Southend’s Conservative Group of Councillors on Wednesday 23 June grossly misinterpret the artwork and provide inadequate and vague justifications with no satisfactory evidence. Art is meant to spark debate, provoke thought and encourage new ways of seeing the world, it should not be shut down because what it proposes does not align with the views of individuals, particularly when based on extensive research and historical facts.

There have been no other negative responses throughout the duration of the installation that we are aware of with regards to An English Garden. TOW and our partners have welcomed the positive reaction and critical engagement from local residents and the visiting public.

Metal received all of the required permissions and followed all the necessary procedures for the work to be installed. An artwork should not be threatened with removal and censorship in the way that it was and a sensible, constructive and respectful discussion should have been possible. The Old Waterworks unequivocally stands by the work’s content and in due course will respond to the Southend Group of Conservative Councillors’ statement in detail in order to demonstrate its gaps and inadequacies.

The issues raised and histories evoked by the How to Make a Bomb project have been censored and silenced for so long, many people not even being aware of the extent of the nuclear tests in Australia to which the project refers. Therefore we will continue to seek further opportunities locally and in our public programming to discuss the issues the project raises.

Caelum Tuemur – We watch over the sky

Sat, 10 Jul 2021 14:56:34 GMT

A visit to the RAF Air Defence Radar Museum, Birds Lane, Neatishead, Norwich NR12 8YB

In the week of 7 June 2021, we had the pleasure of a short break in Norfolk. It was a pleasure when just getting out of the house in the last two years has been a joy in itself but particularly in one of the museums we visited whilst there!

Come with me on a trip to one of the best Cold War Museums I have had the pleasure to visit.

The above museum is well worth visiting if you are in the area and at a cost of £12, a ticket which lasts a year is, in my view, money well spent.

So then why should you go? Let me share my insight with you.

We arrived on a baking hot day the radiant blue sky illuminating the white Bloodhound missile mk2.3 outside the building. Those of you ‘in the know’ will recognise this as a missile which was widely tested on the rocket range at Woomera in Australia, temporarily Britain’s testing ground. Images of it depict a missile designed specifically to shoot down airplanes laden with nuclear warheads destined for the United Kingdom. The weapon used proximity fused warheads designed to fire a hoop of metal rods thus reducing the need for quite so much accuracy and worked from 150 to 65,000 feet. It accelerated from its launcher at 400 miles per hour within 25 seconds reached a speed of 720 miles per hour eventually to roughly 1800 mph. They were originally sited near the airfields at which the V-bombers (Vulcan, Victor and Valiant) were stationed with the aim of protecting them. The rather brilliant ex-teacher seemed to revel in giving us this information and proudly displayed his Airfix model of the missile on his table in the shade of a large tree still dwarfed by the size of the majestic shimmering white missile. A knowledgeable chap who totally knew his subject.

And so it continued.

There is a very good static display outside the building with examples of vehicles and various radar types including the Marconi Type-84 radar installed at Neatishead in 1963 which was designed as a part of the Linesman air defence system active until the early 1990s. This is the last freestanding structure of its kind and has been placed on the list of scheduled monuments (Cocroft 2004). There are also well-designed, informative plaques detailing the history of RAF Neatishead and the development of radar. Neatishead was the “longest continuously occupied radar station in Britain and probably the world.” (Historic England).

There is a café operated by volunteers supplying a good selection of food and drinks for every taste and a superb second-hand bookshop with a gift shop.

Whilst there are also exhibits including d-day displays and Douglas Bader ephemera along with such items as a Jaguar cockpit into which you can climb (Covid rules permitting of course) and an RAF Collingwood memorial room, the gem, the piece de resistance has to be the R30 operations room which is a Grade II listed building, an original electronic 'frontline' of the Cold War of international importance. It reflects the 'tripwire response' under the Linesman scheme to update Britain's radar defences.

According to Cocroft it is of outstanding architectural and historical interest.

The layout of the room has been preserved and retains the original Standby Local Early Warning and Control radar consoles and controller's cabins facing illuminated glass tote boards. It is divided into two sections by a glazed partition wall. On the north side are three rows of radar consoles, the rows facing and descending in height towards high- and low-level glass tote boards mounted on a partition. Behind this is the Air Movement Liaison Cell, equipped with the computerised Air Defence Notification System. Set at a high level above the steps is the RINGO alert panel which displays both Local and Zulu time and is triggered by the Ballistic Missile Early Warning system. My blood ran cold when this lit panel changed to ‘Survival 25 minutes’, the signal to scramble all aircraft to be used to retaliate against the attacker.

To the south of the glazed partition is the Master Controller and Sector Operations Centre. This is the senior executive level of the operations room and the sector operations room and is complete with original wall displays and a large quantity of original communications and computer equipment.

The volunteer who guided us around the room’s levels was in his halcyon days, the man in charge of this vital early warning system.

I would happily revisit this atmospheric room in the near future.

So, the staff were all brilliant and really knew their subjects, I have just two criticisms; they need a proper guidebook with photos - in my opinion they missed a trick there. Also, more importantly the operation rooms are sadly not accessible to those in wheelchairs although a video in a wheelchair-friendly room is. Alas I cannot comment on whether this is a sufficient replacement.

I am reasonably certain that like us, you will thoroughly enjoy this museum. We certainly spent more than the recommended three hours there very happily.

As for the bookshop and its contents, that is a story for the future with suitable book reviews!

Born in Oxford – Made in the Royal Navy (well, that’s what the TV advert says)

Sat, 10 Jul 2021 14:13:33 GMT

59 years after the penultimate day of Operation Dominic

Following a two-and-a-half-year stint on my first ship, HMS Puma, I was sent to Victory Barracks in Portsmouth to await my next draft posting with instructions to ensure that I check the Daily Orders notice board at least twice a day. By now, I’m an “Old Salt” at just 19 years old. Almost a month went by until it appeared...

D. Taunt M(E) report to the Regulating Office.

“Ah” says the RPO. “I hope you like the sunshine, come back in two weeks' time for your flight tickets!” Flight tickets? I’m in the Navy, not the b****y Air Force! “Where to?” I asked. With a smirk on his face, he proceeded to inform that I was going for a 12-month holiday in paradise called Christmas Island.

Not wanting to appear ignorant, I didn’t ask where the heck that was – I'll check the atlas! Sounds a bit cold with a name like that. Two weeks later at the tail end of September 1961, myself and an Able Seaman boarded a BOAC Boeing 707 at Heathrow for New York, Chicago, San Francisco and finally Honolulu. One night in Hickam Airbase followed home by the RAF bone shacking Hastings aircraft to Christmas Island.

Meanwhile, I’d heard about everyone sleeping in tents out there but, thanks to the army guys, they’d built some wooden huts by the time I arrived.

The guy to whom I was relieving took me by the hand to introduce me to my allocated job which turned out to be looking after, maintaining and ‘driving’ three LCM’s (landing craft) and an MFV. He left for the UK a few days later looking very bronzed and needless to say, very happy.

This was a tough and highly skilled duty, starting all engines each morning for an hour to keep the batteries charged, then find something else to do – time mainly taken up by studying the razor-sharp teeth attached to a 4-5ft long body swimming around underneath the jetty. I used to know a guy called Murray, but he certainly didn’t have the teeth like those eels.

This job, to say the least, was a little tedious except for the times we put to sea for the collection of stores from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary supply ship occasionally, and the odd trip out into the lagoon for a spot of scuba diving, shark fishing and chasing manta rays.

After a few weeks at that cushy number, I knew that the guy in the MT (Motor Transport) workshop was due to go home or so, and having an interest in cars I slapped in a Request Chitty to move jobs. This was granted and old buddy Pete Lambourne took my place on the boats as I started to service and maintain four Land Rovers, about 8 pushbikes and a Go Kart along with building a new Land Rover which had arrived in about 8 crates and had to be put together. Amazingly, with a few nuts and bolts left over, it worked!

I stand corrected, but I believe we were informed in February or March 1962 that a few gentlemen from the US of A were coming to the island to let off a few fireworks. Apparently, our government had loaned them the island for a period of 6 months along with the British servicemen to help out where necessary. Thankfully, Royal Navy personnel were not involved and we just carried on with our own daily routine

and duties.

OPERATION DOMINIC (aka BRIGADOON)

In early April someone came around to the living quarters issuing a pair of (very) high density dark glasses, of which I was grateful for as I had broken my sunglasses (these turned out to be useless for normal use as looking through them all was totally black) and a box of dangly things with a green blob on it. Verbal instructions were to report to the sick bay if the green blob turned red. No registration was made appertaining to any individuals, as far as I recall. What happened to them after the tests I know not.

A general instruction was made for all personnel to muster on the playing field to practice formalities in preparation for the testing of a series of nuclear bombs. Umm - sounds exciting.

“Sit on the ground, head between your knees, dark goggles on, hands over your eyes and with your back to the detonation. After the blast, stand and turn to watch the rising of a new sun! Be prepared for the shock wave.” Now we’re all getting a little nervous...

Later – An American gentleman had found the microphone that operated the tannoy system... This is Mahatma. One minute until release.... 5 4 3 2 1 Release. Bomb’s away.... One minute to detonation..... Fear sets in.... FLASH – BANG – WALLOP! We all know the rest, the horrendous heat, the thunderous, almighty bang followed by the shock wave that almost felt you had been run over by a train.

Frighteningly I was one of the very few British military to witness all 24 visible US nuclear tests in the proximity of Christmas Island between the 25th April and 11th July 1962.

Most of the tests took place in the early hours of the morning which most of our Brits thought this a little inconsiderate. Things became a little more complacent after the first few Big Bangs and many of us just stayed in bed with goggles on and a pillow over our heads, until someone took the microphone away from Mahatma, then it was time to get up anyway. The huge mushroom cloud almost became commonplace along with the downpour of rain that often followed. Being honest – it was petrifying but we survived, totally unaware of the consequences and health issues that were to evolve over the years that followed.

Entertainment? The NAAFI – swimming – diving – sailing – water skiing, kart racing, cinema. Being a little bit of a pop music freak, an additional pastime for me was two one hour slots a week presenting a pop music programme on Christmas Island Broadcasting Service (CIBS), to which I know I had at least one listener, an RAF guy called Kevin Wallin who was awaiting me to finish my slot and take over the broadcasting studio to present his programme.

Not all times were happy times in this paradise. Sadly, one of my mess-deck buddies, Brum Hailey, was

found dead in his bed one morning. Not a happy sight as I had never seen a dead body before. We buried him at sea a few days later and I was front pall bearer for the funeral, alongside our Commanding Officer. Unfortunately, I was next to go home and was “detailed” to take a photo album of his funeral to his parents on my return to the UK. That was not nice!

Did you know that you can squeeze four American interior sprung bed mattresses in a Land Rover? Four poor American soldiers left theirs unattended whilst they were at Chow (it wasn’t easy prizing them from under their tent). Well, we only had those awful MoD horsehair type mattresses, didn’t we? Four good night's sleep was had before being exposed by an envious senior rating... Off caps in front of our Commanding Officer who harshly awarded three days stoppage for stealing US military property. The grin on his face said it all – we weren’t going anywhere anyway... Back to the MoD horsehair type!

The trip home via civil airline in early October ‘62 was quite eventful. I travelled, in uniform of course, with an Able Seaman (who will remain nameless) who managed to consume most of the stock of champagne on the aircraft (bought by fellow passengers, I hasten to add – poor British sailors), collapse on the floor in the toilet and was out cold. Two flight attendants and I took half an hour to crush him enough to get the door open and drag him out. “He’s not with me Captain, honest!”

A couple of small beers in the NAAFI along with friendly banter (bordering on outright war) between the three services, somehow escalated into planning two weeks leave in Honolulu and Hawaii with John Lax (RAF) and two other guys. Dreams of Waikiki beach, surfing, scantily clad ladies to evaluate and mark out of 10. That perceived to be quite challenging after not setting eyes on that species for months on end. A short discussion and it was agreed to mark out of 5 to make such difficult assessments simpler.

Who says accommodation is expensive in ‘Lulu? Not when you fake (badly) an American accent when boldly walking past the huge US military police guarding Hickam Air Base and finding an empty bed each night for a week – and bluffing your way in for a gigantic American-type breakfast every morning.

Week two of our leave was spent in a US servicemen’s (and their families) holiday camp in Hawaii. Someone will recall the name of the place as that escapes me. A great time was had to say the least and I still can’t recall how we managed to sponge a free flight from Honolulu to Hawaii and back to the US Airforce. All I can remember is that it was in an ancient Dakota, in which we had to sit around the cargo that it was carrying.

That’s my higgledy piggledy (as they come to mind) memories of the paradise island. Unfortunately, I never did come across the RPO that gave me the draft ticket received in the post to join HMS Miner 111, a diver training ship operating out of Portsmouth and Falmouth for an 18-month stint.

Happy Days!

David Taunt, Royal Navy (12 years)

My thoughts are with those who didn’t make it this far and with families who also have had to suffer the consequences of our service to our country. R I P Brothers.

From pearl fishing to radionuclides – the effect of British atomic testing on the Montebello Islands.

Tue, 22 Jun 2021 18:07:36 GMT

A look at British and Australian newspaper articles regarding Operation Mosaic

Image of G2, 19 June 1956, taken from the BNTVA Stan Bowyer Collection.

Further to my last blog on the 65th anniversary of G1 which was detonated on Trimouille Island at the Montebello Islands, I have been looking through local newspapers of the time and how they reported the British atmospheric testing programme.

One story that grabbed my attention featured in the Bradford Observer, dated 17 May 1956. It was entitled, “Her Holiday Home was Montebello” (© Successor rightsholder unknown). The article is about Mrs JC Taylor of Parkerville, Western Australia, whose mother, Mrs Emma Withnell, an early European settler, was described as the “Lady of the North”, the “First Lady of the Pilbara” by the local Aboriginal community, and the “Mother of the Northwest”. Emma acquired these titles as the first pioneering woman to settle in Northwestern Australia. She and her husband were respected by the local Aboriginal tribes and given the titles of Boorong and Banaker, which allowed them to move around freely among tribes. Emma took on the roles of midwife, nurse, Christian minister leading services and also undertook vaccinations for local people during a smallpox epidemic.

Although Emma was born in Guildford, Australia, she and her husband, John, operated a pastoral lease at Mount Welcome Station in 1864, which later became the site of the first town in the Northwest region, Roebourne, in 1866. At the age of 79, Emma became a justice of the peace. Emma’s life is fascinating, and she raised a family through hardship, hurricanes and other arduous conditions.

Emma’s daughter, one of eleven children, Mrs Taylor, followed in the pioneering spirit of her mother. Mrs Taylor spent her holidays on the uninhabited Montebello Islands, 40-50 miles off Australia. She described the islands as the home of wild cats and black rats. The black rats came onto the islands as the result of a shipwreck in 1900. The wild cats fed on the wallabies until they died out. With no fresh water apart from rainfall, the islands would have put people off choosing the Montebello Islands as a holiday location. What is more concerning is that this article was written in 1956, and we have no idea if Mrs Taylor visited after the first British atom bomb on 3 October 1952 when the HMS Plym was vapourised at Tremouille Island.

If anyone could survive a holiday on the Montebello Islands, it was Mrs Taylor. She took fresh water with her, and described a typical meal as “turtle soup, oyster patties, turtle steak and eggs, together with crayfish and schnapper.”

What is striking from the article is her ecological description of these uninhabited islands,

“Far from being the dismal wastes you would imagine, the islands are picturesque, surrounded by clear water, lagoons and coral reefs. To drift over the reefs in a small boat and to look down into the water is a coral fairyland. The neighbouring sea abounds in huge schnapper, which is excellent eating. The reefs are encrusted with outsize oysters, while there are shoals of green back turtles – good for food – and hawksbill turtles – valuable for their shells... A great deal of pearling takes place off the coast of Tremouille, and during the hurricanes the luggers find perfectly secure anchorage in the lagoon of Hermite.”

On 19 June 1956, G2, the second atomic blast in less than a month, this time at Alpha Island, was detonated. This was recorded as a 98kt atomic bomb by the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (AWRE) despite the UK government recording the blast at 60kt Nuclear Testing - Montebello Islands Fishing . The colossal blast far outweighed what the UK had agreed with the Australian government, and Captain John Gower was ordered to sail his ship, the HMS Diana, and crew, through the radioactive plume.

Captain Gower was more than astonished to partake in this surreal activity with his crew, who were shut down below deck at the time. He described being in normal uniform and didn’t witness the blasts of G1 or G2 due to being below deck. He wrote an article, called the “Pierhead Jump – Some Jump”, where he described what happened aboard at these tests. Captain Gower had already experienced a remarkable Naval career, particularly during WW2, took part in the Arctic Convoys, assisted at the bombing of the German Tirpitz off Norway in 1944, shielded men at the Normandy Landings, amongst many other feats, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

However, what happened on the HMS Diana at Operation Mosaic stayed with Captain Gower. He writes, “How much radioactivity could a ship withstand and remain operational? HMS Diana and her crew was made available to provide the answers” and described the upcoming tests as an ordeal. As part of the 11-day training before the two tests, the crew were shown films of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and were given reassurances of safety by a young scientist, rather than the reality of what could go wrong.

The men were shut down below in two citadels – one of 207 men and one of 95. Captain Gower reported them as experiencing “fatigue, faintness, headache, respiratory distress, abdominal discomfort and claustrophobia.” On speaking to the Commodore of the Task Force 308, scientific staff stated that they could not “assume any direct responsibility for the radiological safety of the Diana as this is outside our terms of reference.”

For G2, the flash was observed at 1014, and the fireball climbed a lot faster than at G1. Diana went to action stations at 1220 at 97 miles away, ready to sail though fallout at 1330. Fallout was detected at 1325, and by 1440 over 10 milliroentgens was recorded which dropped to 0.4 milliroentgens by 1845. Pre-wetting was turned off at 2147, when monitoring in the darkness began. A pre-wetting hose was found to be faulty on the quarterdeck, still recording 10 milliroentgens so the area was sealed off. The same crew stayed on the HMS Diana for over a year after G2.

Six days following the G2 blast, The Argus published the following article entitled “Fear in the wind”,

“QUESTIONS that trouble the minds of ordinary Australians AND the atomic experts:

(1) How did the rain that fell in central Queensland on Friday become abnormally radio-active?

(2) What safeguards, if any, will prevent radio-active fall-out overpopulated areas after the forthcoming atomic tests at Maralinga, South Australia?

THE PLAN

The contaminated cloud from last Tuesday's "successful" atomic blast at Monte Bello, off the West Australian coast, was SUPPOSED to drift seaward. Instead, on Wednesday, it moved inland over Marble Bar - causing a Geiger count of 500 instead of the normal reading of 15.

On Thursday, a Government spokesman said the cloud had been last reported 100 miles off the north-west coast of Western Australia. NEXT DAY BROUGHT RADIOACTIVE RAINFALL (GEIGER COUNT 2,000) TO KURIDALA, QUEENSLAND.

This fall-out presumably travelled either 1,600 miles from Monte Bello - or 2,800 miles from Bikini Atoll, the site of the American H-bomb blast on May 21.

THE LESSONS

lt's obvious that nuclear scientists still have a lot to learn about high altitude weather formations - and that clouds can travel thousands of miles without losing a high concentration of radioactivity. An atomic bomb, said to be the size of the one dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, will be exploded in a few months at Maralinga - only 43 miles from the Transcontinental railway, and 550 miles from Adelaide.

A TERRIBLE RESPONSIBILITY RESTS ON THE AUTHORITIES CONCERNED TO MAKE SURE THE "CHARGED" CLOUDS DO NOT STRAY.”

In 1967, the West Australian Drilling Company abandoned their idea of exploring for oil on Tremouille Island. They were met with radioactive rats as big as cats, which scientists confirmed were very aggressive.

Returning to Mrs Taylor, the idyllic eco-system that she described was ripped apart in 1956 with the arrival of the Commonwealth forces from the UK, Australia and New Zealand for Operation Mosaic. The article ends, “Although it may be many years before Mrs Taylor can spend a holiday there again, she is the only woman who has ever explored the islands. The spirit of adventure is ingrained in her.”

I wouldn’t have thought that Mrs Taylor ever returned to the Montebello Islands to holiday again after Operations Hurricane and Mosaic. Recent scientific research has found that sea life still contains low levels of radionuclides from these atomic tests.

Radionuclides in sea turtles at the Montebello Islands former nuclear test sites: Current and historical dose rates for adults and embryos - ScienceDirect

Elevated traces of plutonium still exist in marine-to-terrestrial ecotopes at the islands, and visits to the islands are restricted due to levels of radiation . P lutonium and other radionuclides persist across marine-to-terrestrial ecotopes in the Montebello Islands sixty years after nuclear tests - ScienceDirect

BNTVA Collections & Archives

Sat, 15 May 2021 19:09:12 GMT

A look at the equipment of the BNTVA Collection & Archives team.

CZUR M3000 Pro Book Scanner

kaiser Copy stand

For more information or to offer collections to be digitised please contact us at,

curator@bntva.com,

0208 144 3080

Operation Grapple – Testing Britain’s first H-bomb Gp Capt Kenneth Hubbard and Michael Simmons

Sat, 15 May 2021 09:09:36 GMT

64 years ago today, Group Captain Hubbard flew the RAF Vickers Valiant that dropped a 1 megaton bomb 8,000 ft above Malden Island. The bomb was called 'Short Granite' and Michelle Harding has reviewed Hubbard's book recounting his experience of Operation Grapple.

There are two versions of this book, one published in 1985, which was subsequently reprinted in 2008. Any quotes I have used are taken from the first edition.

I started to read the book shortly after my father’s death in 2018. He served on HMS Narvik at the Grapple series of tests. I recommend it as an educational read.

Kenneth Hubbard was born in Norwich in 1920 and his application to join the RAF was turned down twice before being accepted in 1940. He was commissioned as a pilot in May 1941 and awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for low level attacks in Germany, Austria, Italy and Yugoslavia. In 1955 he joined the V bomber force and took command of 49 Squadron at RAF Wittering in 1956.

Despite the early setbacks of his RAF applications, he had an illustrious career rising to the rank of Gp Captain in seventeen years and was awarded an OBE in 1953.

On 15 May 1957 he and his crew carried out their official task of the first live drop of a British megaton yield weapon, for which they were awarded the Air Force Cross.

President of the Megaton Club, which was formed of members of 49 Squadron who participated in Grapple, he reportedly never missed a reunion.

I suspect Ken Hubbard would accept that he was not a writer but he was definitely an author and I hope I am not doing him a disservice here. The book is written from the perspective of an RAF officer who describes it as “a tribute to all members of No 49 Squadron who served under my command” (page 6).

A nice description of the Vickers Valiant, introduced in January 1955 and withdrawn from service in 1965 following the discovery of fatigue cracks in its wing spars, includes external plans of the plane and of the cockpit together with a plan of the cockpit and a photo, also a plan of the equipment in a ‘Grapple’ type Valiant cabin. Modifications were made specifically for the tests and included adaptations in navigational and bombing equipment, scientific instrumentation,

bomb bay cameras and metal anti-flash screens over the windows although Hubbard describes the two planes as basically the same.

On 11 October 1956 Valiant WZ366 from 49 Squadron was the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb during Operation Buffalo at Maralinga captained by Sqn Leader T Flavell.

The book contains a plan of Christmas Island and of the Grapple X, Y and Z bombing circuit (page 119) also a diagram of the escape manoeuvre after release of the thermonuclear weapon (page 78).

Photographs include RFA Fort Beauharnois, HMS Warrior and HMS Narvik and although written almost as an autobiography from an RAF perspective, the book also contains a brief description of the role of Navy, Army and Scientific task forces.

Particularly interesting is the inclusion of excerpts of the ‘Grapple’ type Valiant technical manual, also the route; RAF Wittering to Aldergrove (Northern Ireland) for a top up of fuel prior to crossing the Atlantic as the plane was not at that time fitted with the large fuel tanks, followed by Goose Bay (Newfoundland) to Namao then to Travis Airforce Base (California) onwards to Honolulu and finally to Christmas Island.

As I stated previously Hubbard is an author rather than a writer but at times descriptions such as the following do permeate the book and, in my view, are appreciated:

“As we approached the Newfoundland Coast, the panoramic view of lakes and huge forests covered in a mountain of snow really defied all description; it was a most beautiful picture” (page 63).

He also describes “a pleasant evening” (page 67).

The book also describes the use of Orford Ness bombing range with the “intense training” of the squadron.

Personal memories I have read suggest Group Captain Hubbard was by all accounts a humble man but that he would probably be pleased that his medals, logbooks and other items were acquired by RAF Museum Cosford after his death in 2004 where Valiant XD818 is now kept.

The book ends with the comparison that a one megaton H-bomb is seventy times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and the assertion that “Today Britain’s nuclear deterrent helps to maintain world peace”.

The right of Michelle Harding to be identified as the author of this article has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988

Cold War Moments: From Spy Planes to Nuclear Missiles

Fri, 07 May 2021 15:02:35 GMT

A personal experience of Frigate Bird, Operation Dominic, 6 May 1962

(Please see link 1 below for this patch taken from the collection of Wayne Shook)

The veteran, RT, who told me his story, followed in the footsteps of his grandfather who had served in the Royal Navy in 1893 for fifteen years. RT served in the US Navy from 1959 until 1963. His story is recorded within the BNTVA’s Living Histories Project Collection, part of the BNTVA Collections & Archives.

One of the interesting things for me personally is that on the island of Oahu, eight miles west of Honolulu, there is a big USAF base named Hickam Air force base. I was waiting to fly out and I saw President Johnson who was in a Lincoln Convertible with a driver, having left Airforce 1 and he drove right by me as I was standing on the sidewalk and looked me right in the eyes, as I did him. He must have been thinking back to his Navy days and it was kind of a magical moment. It was almost like I could read his mind like wow those were the days. Nowadays that would have been impossible as the president would be surrounded by Secret Service. He looked a lot like my father and I later discovered that he and his wife are cousins of mine.

Our sweep antenna was more than five times the length of theirs and what happened earlier according to the scuttlebutt (gossip) is that there had been some atomic tests where the same squadron had reported an area as clear and it had turned out that there was something like twenty or thirty Japanese fishing boats and approximately 400 Japanese fishermen died in small wooden boats which fished and transported the fish to a mothership for processing. These small fishing boats did not show up well on radar however we had watched them for years and recognized the signal from this sort of vessel.

We were on the island for four to five days.

We then left Christmas Island to head home, flying north to Oahu and Hawaiian chain.

They scheduled us to check on the sixth day that the DZ for the third ‘drop’, the only live test firing of a Polaris missile, Frigate Bird, was clear so we flew North to Johnson Island and did our searching around there and then we were in the area when the missile arrived within two miles of its target in the Christmas Island danger zone.

Links

1: https://www.navynucweps.com/Shook/Shooknuctest.htm

2. https://www.airvectors.net/avconnie.html#m4

3. https://hars.org.au/lockheed-p2h-p2v-7-neptune/

4. (a link to a magazine giving details of Operation Dominic as a whole)

https://www.airforcemag.com/PDF/MagazineArchive/Documents/2012/December%202012/1212bang.pdf

Frigate Bird: The Polaris Missile test at Operation Dominic, Christmas Island

Thu, 06 May 2021 06:15:02 GMT

Exploring the BNTVA Collections & Archives,
With Wesley Perriman, BNTVA Curator

At 1417 on 6 May 1962, the submarine, USS Ethan Allen (SSBN-608), launched the missile while submerged about 1,500 nmi (about 2,790 km) east-northeast of Christmas Island.

The warhead travelled about 1,020 nmi (1,890 km) toward the island, detonating as an airburst. This test was called Frigate Bird and was the only live proofing test of Polaris missile carrying a nuclear war head.

Before this operational test of the Polaris weapon system, there had been a number of Polaris underwater missile launch tests off Cape Canaveral downrange into the Atlantic ocean.
The first second-generation Polaris submarine, USS Ethan Allen, was commissioned in August 1961. Following five successful test missile launchings and immediately before going to its first patrol, Ethan Allen was ordered to the Pacific ocean to be the firing submarine in shot Frigate Bird, as a part of Operation Dominic.
It was on the 3rd March 1962, that the Polaris test was apparently added to the DOMINIC series. Under orders by the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the Chief of the Defence Atomic Support Agency (DASA). Date of the test 5th May 1962.

The safety plans for the test were as follows;

On 2 May the task force elements ran checks from test positions. Full rehearsals were conducted on 3rd and 4th May. Personnel, ships. and aircraft appeared ready. but adequate communications between Norton Sound and Head quarters of Joint Task Force 8 [JTF8] on Christmas Island could not be maintained. The communications problems had two major sources:
(1) electromagnetic propagation anomalies present in the test area during the planned predawn launch time and for several hours thereafter.
(2) interference from other Pacific Fleet transmissions.

While seeking a solution. The task group commander delayed the Polaris launch from 5th to 6th May. A two-part solution was worked out in which the launch was set for a later hour in the day and all Pacific Fleet transmissions on certain frequencies were halted, giving exclusive use to JTF 8.

Despite the prospect of marginal weather in both the launch and impact areas. the detonation was set for 1100 on the 6th May. About 1016, a 1-hour hold was ordered in anticipation of showers that could rain out radioactive material on fishermen near the nuclear hazard area. Search planes used the hold to further check on the fishermen's location and WB-50s continued charting the weather developments. Two 30-minute holds were caused by the same problem followed at 1124 and 1200, pushing the detonation back to 1300. Various minor technical problems aboard the submarine, the need to reposition sampler aircraft, and clouds in the launch area pushed back the launch further.
Finally local weather reconnaissance near the launch area indicated the at about 1417 a break in the clouds would occur for a launch and detonation downrange at about 1430. At the 1417:49 the missile was launched, and its warhead detonated in the air over the nuclear hazard area at 1430:16.

Reference: DNA6040F, Operation Dominic I, 1962, by the Defence Nuclear Agency as Executive Agency for the Department of Defence. United States of America

Operation Dominic Bomb Test List

Sun, 02 May 2021 09:42:10 GMT

This post has been written in response to queries regarding the number of detonated nuclear bombs during Operation Dominic by Joint Task Force 8 at Christmas Island.

This brief post covers the nuclear bombs detonated at Christmas Island during the Operation Series between April 25th and July 11th, 1962. The task force was led by Major General Alfred "Dodd" Starbird, who had previously been seconded to Joint Task Force 7, the force formed for Operation Sandstone nuclear tests at Enewetok Atoll in 1948.

On this day 59 years ago, Joint Task Force 8 exploded Arkansas, the third bomb of the Operation Dominic/Brigadoon series. This 1.09Mt parachute bomb was dropped by a B-52 off Christmas Island, which signified the biggest yield within the first 15 Dominic tests.

Starbird was awarded the "oak leaf cluster" for leading the Operation Dominic series, and his citation read,

"The success and productivity of this most complex and urgent program transcended all previous efforts in the history of United States nuclear testing and significantly enhanced the security of the nation and the free world".

A Tale of Two Sisters

Tue, 27 Apr 2021 23:03:49 GMT

Our BNTVA Ambassador, David Taunt, and Treasurer, Ron Watson, have been in regular contact with two marvellous sisters, Teeua and Terri, who grew up at the time of the British and American nuclear tests on Christmas Island. Terri lives in North West England, while Teeua remains in Kiritimati, and runs the Nuclear Bomb Tests’ Survivors Association.

This factual story is an exclusive article taken from the BNTVA Spring 2021 Campaign magazine.

This story is factual and harrowing about the effect of the British nuclear testing on the innocent indigenous Christmas Islanders and how they were caught up in the Cold War. The sisters experienced Operation Grapple and Operation Dominic in their homeland between 1957-1962; both test series have negatively impacted life and health of people on Kiritimati forever. Teeua was a toddler and Terri was only a few weeks old when Grapple Y took place. Life has never been the same since.

Following an anonymous yet generous £1000 donation to the BNTVA in October from a donor with historic links to Christmas Island, the Trustees purchased five laptops for Teeua and her volunteers to use to benefit those affected by the nuclear tests. We are unable to despatch the laptops at this time, as, due to Covid-19 regulations, as nothing is allowed into Christmas Island, and thankfully, the Island remains Covid-free.

TEEUA

“Greetings! My name is Teeua, my father’s name is Tekonau, my mother’s name is Taraem. I was born in 1955 on Tabiteuea Island in its village called Utiroa, in its sub-district called Taubukinkarawa.

When I was only a baby, my parents took me along with my sister and two brothers by ship to an island called Kiritimati in 1955. I don’t know the name of the ship we took as my parents didn’t tell me but they told me where I was born and when and how we got to Christmas Island.

The reason we came to Kiritimati was for my father to work here. This was the decision made by the UK government then, prior to Kiribati was granted its independence. As I was growing up and becoming more aware of what was going on, at the age of two plus, I believe my father used to go and work alongside the British soldiers who were already stationed here.

As time went on, I remembered being escorted with my family during the early hours to board a landing craft military (LCM) boat out to sea. I didn’t know the reason for the trip out at the time, but there were many other people with us. The LCM boat we boarded had fancy criss-cross wooden flooring with gaps and oily seawater underneath. It was still dark but after a long while out at sea, we returned to land at dawn. We arrived at the wharf at the end of the bay (NAAFI side) and everyone embarked and climbed up onto the wharf platform. I was distressed during the landing because my father let go of my hand to help my older siblings lifting them up onto the wharf and I fell through the flooring gaps into the oily seawater in the boat. However, thank God I was quickly lifted up, and met by Toonga’s wife, called Nei Tainang.

We were all scampering together towards the village, still early hours. When we got home, I was washed and changed, and I recalled my parents having an argument over my accident! During those times, I later learned that the boat trip we took out to sea, was the first time England tested its bomb. My father explained that we weren’t the only ones having to leave the island. There were some taken by aeroplane to Canton because they were too frightened of the first test. And there were others taken to Fanning Island, but everyone returned at the same time.

After a long while, I was over 3 years old, I remembered my father came home from work one day and told my mum that we ought to go to bed early because there would be another bomb testing in the early hours. When we heard this, we were all worried because our mum was crying not wanting to hear, but my father told us that there was nothing we could do about it as the decision was already made from England and that was the sole reason why the soldiers were here, to test their bombs. He reassured us that there was nothing to be frightened of as the test was perfectly safe as per the time, we were taken to safety out at sea. Nothing happened, no casualties, like nothing ever happened.

At midnight we were startled, as I was very sleepy but I was given no time to wake up properly, so feeling much like soldiers, we were ordered sternly to gather up our mat, a pillow and blanket and to hurry for it’s almost bomb blasting time! How miserably inconveniencing! I wasn’t very happy about my sleep being interrupted and besides, my father held my hand and hurriedly walking and forgetting my legs were only small, so I was going along at a running pace! He couldn’t carry me, as he had covers and stuff to carry too and my mum was also pregnant. When we got to the assembly point, others were already there, some were watching the film and some were just lounging whilst awaiting the bomb test.

We put our mats down and continued our sleep. But there was no way anyone could relax and rest for all the noisy other children running around and people collecting their delicious bread and having a midnight picnic! We had no choice but to join in and got our bread and had the picnic without a drink!

After a short while, the headcount started and people were put into smaller groups. My father was also given a group of people from two Gilbert islands to look after and everyone was instructed to keep calm and stay put for its almost time! Everyone was quiet as the clerk to the Kiribati government, Mr

Tiriboo, announced over the tannoy, telling everyone to pay attention and to listen and await for further instructions.

The speaker was on very loud and that petrified me even more as it’s a different setting to the first test and my father explained it’s the biggest English bomb ever to be tested! The clerk bellowed instructions through the loud speaker ordering the older people, “it’s time to put your dark glasses on and hold and cover your little ones’ eyes with your hands tightly and cover yourselves up with your supplied blankets.” “Ready for the brilliance lighting from the bomb ... “ and he started the countdown 5,4,3,2,1 and there it was! Brighter and so much hotter than the sun in daylight! After the brilliant light had occurred, the clerk announced instructions to everyone, “it’s now safe to remove your glasses and come out from undercover.”

When I surfaced, I was sweating for it was so hot, much like being in front of a hot oven with its door being opened! There were noisy children crying in protest, refusing to be held during the eyes blackening session and consequently, Aren Atiriano’s eyes were affected for she managed to get out from under her covers during the blast! I almost regretted the same fate for I was also protesting hard and wished to escape but I was thankful to my Papa for holding on to me tightly!

How inconveniencing and discomforting this exercise was for me! Falling into the oily seawater, being woken up from my sleep in the middle of the night, being rushed to the assembly place in the darkness of the night, the overbearing heat from the brilliance lighting resulting from the bomb blasting and so many more unfavourable related moments! If the tests had carried on much longer than they were, I felt, we would have all been in such sorry states!

It is regrettable for everyone involved and got exposed to those bomb tests because I witnessed and believed that we have all been affected. I wore the special dark glasses, I had my hands over my eyes and my Papa also covered my eyes with his hands and we were all covered up with layers of the provided army black blankets and I could still see the light from the blast and furthermore, the discomfort of the heat related to the bomb that I felt was extreme. I believe it was more extreme in comparison to the X-ray as three of my Mum’s children died during these tests.

My children and I have also been affected from during the tests up till nowadays and we have had various ailments that doctors have confirmed to have been tests’ related. My eldest daughter died from her cancer and the rest have ailments which our doctors have sadly confirmed, they have nothing they can help with. I’m not alone with my children, suffering from unexplained ailments but all the families that were here on the island during the tests are all suffering too in various forms. We have cases of leukaemia, and various other cancer related illnesses.

After the brilliance light of the bomb passed, night darkness was upon us once more. However, the bomb mushroom loomed above and floating in the air. I witnessed a rocket entering the bomb cloud and there was an explosion that shook the ground and I felt shaken a few times. I believed if the bomb had landed and reached the land, it would have turned into a fireball and burned the land. This happened at the later test and dropped to the south and burnt the strip of land near to Poland Village. Evidence exists till now of the burnt-out strip near Poland. I was very surprised to learn of the different colours that the bomb produced! I’ve also witnessed an aeroplane entering the bomb cloud. My Papa told me the aeroplane was sucking and collecting dust particles for further testing and to be buried because it is poisonous.

When we finally got back home after the test, I remembered the photo frames that were on the walls had been smashed and bottles of oils smashed as the result from the bomb test or the earthquake or tremor that just happened. I was just too happy to get back to bed and get warmed up again after being out in the cool night air! It was sad for the school children and copra cutters too not having enough sleep. The tests proved too disruptive and discomforting.

There were more than 20 bomb tests that I could remember. There were British tests followed by the Americans. It would have been better to send the islanders home to their home lands in the Gilberts Islands group but they just carried on with the tests regardless.

There had been University students who came to conduct their studies and investigations and explained they were scientists and expressed their concerns about the implications of the damages to the population resulting from being exposed to the bomb tests and the related radiation effects. It is sad that the governments responsible for poisoning our land are denying responsibility and denying the tests have anything to do with the unexplained illnesses now untreatable by our local hospital. We have an Association dedicated in trying to look for compensation from the British and American governments. We heard of the thousands of lives lost to the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK & America and that made us very sad and we pray cure is found. We sympathised those affected by Covid-19 and send our deepest condolences.

Our Association shall endeavour to seek help from our government too. If Britain and America could compensate, then medical help could be afforded for those affected here, for treatment abroad where advanced medical treatment may be available. Anyway, we shall endeavour to seek help. These are my on-going issues and a mission for me as a chairperson of our Association for the rest of us who were here during the British and American Nuclear Bomb Tests.

These are not isolated stories as there are many more tales of experiences from those who went out to sea and not stayed on land for the tests, being petrified of the bomb tests … to be continued.

Despite all the on-going ill-health issues and terrible experiences, I still wish to remain on Christmas Island for I’m getting old here and I love this island, with abundant wealth. It’s so easy to live off the land here with fish so easy to catch, etc.

My children also wish to stay here for this is their birth place.

People just arrived also fell in love with this island and wish to stay and live here forever. Life on Kiritimati (Christmas) Island is far better compared to life on other islands in the Kiribati (Gilberts) Islands!”

By Teeua Taukaro Teitiaki

Translated By Terri Teraabo Pollard

TERRI

“Greetings everyone. I’m Terri Teraabo Pollard. I was born on Christmas Island, Kiribati, in Central Pacific on the 28th March 1958.

My experience of the Nuclear Tests were very happy ones. I remembered the tests taking place during the nights time and being blindfolded and covered up under layers of the prickly black army blankets! �� Witnessing the giant mushroom rising up into the sky towering over us, then rolling and forming into a fireball and rolling away into the night sky, was all pretty exciting for me as a child. Running around and collecting sweet delicious fluffy bread during these tests' events were memorable episodes.

I remembered going to the soldier’s cinema and getting a whole huge bar of Cadbury’s chocolate and stuffing my face with that, and I remembered going to church at the Church of England soldier’s church. I remembered walking the lengths of the fuel pipelines and spending my time fishing and swimming in the lagoon. I loved my childhood memories on Christmas Island.

I left after my 11+ exam and went to boarding secondary school at King George V and Elaine Bernacchi on Tarawa, the capital island of Kiribati as the nation. I went back to Christmas Island at the end of 1973 for my school holiday, and my parents came away from Christmas Island then leaving my older sister, Teeua, who was married, and living in Poland village with her growing family.

I met my husband, Mark who went out to the islands as a VSO in 1978, the year before the Kiribati Independence from Britain. I went to Fiji for a further year’s Teacher Training in 1979, the year of the Kiribati Independence whilst Mark was stationed on my home island of Tabiteuea North. Mark and I taught together on three different islands, got married and we came to England in 1981 with the plan to go back when we retired!

We went back to Christmas Island in 2006 for our 25th Wedding Anniversary. Unfortunately, although I thoroughly enjoyed going out fishing every day, I found the Christmas Island I left is no longer the same. I still wish to go back to Kiribati one day but I would rather go back to my home land, Tabiteuea North, and hopefully I will organise for my sister, Teeua to go home to Tabiteuea with me too.

In support to my sister’s quest and to the many suffering British nuclear test veterans, I acknowledge I had childhood ailments from the age of 9 (a lump in my stomach) which got malignant when I was in secondary school. The doctor who operated to remove my appendix, admitted my appendix was

healthy to be the cause of my pains. Apparently I had internal growths hidden under my pelvic bones and so I had a major operation in 1978 resulting in the removal of the affected areas and I had my last operation in 1985 for the internal ulcers and I can only be thankful to have survived them all! ♥️♥️♥️”

Appeal for contact from Brian Tipper, Christmas Island, 1958

Tue, 27 Apr 2021 22:27:11 GMT

Brian is looking for colleagues from Christmas Island

M y name is Brian Tipper (Tip).

I am looking for some of my old comrades from Christmas Island.

We were the advance party of 20 Squadron 36 Cer Royal Engineers from Invicta Lines, Maidstone. We flew to Christmas Island in July 1958 to take part in Operation Grapple and returned on July 1959 .

Some of the men I am looking for ( I cannot remember all of the names):

Mick Baker from Maidstone

Ginger Merry and Spindly Hindley from Leicester

Swifty Swift from Stoke

Lanky Len from the West Country

Duckworth from Banstead, Surrey

Jock Findley

George Pirie from Fraserburgh

Pete Marshal from Bridlington

Big John from Wigan

Brummy

Taffy from Cardiff (rugby player) and many others.

I took my wife to the BNTVA AGM in 2019 to find some of you, but sadly found no one.

If you are a relation or know of these men please get in touch with me. Some of them might have passed away due to radiation or this pandemic. I would be glad to chat to anyone about these men.

My e-mail is btipper009@btinternet.com or phone 01903 816959.

Yours Sincerely,

Brian

Buckets of sunshine in a broken paradise – the Operation Dominic nuclear test series, 1962, Christmas Island.

Sun, 25 Apr 2021 16:17:51 GMT

To commemorate the 59th anniversary of Operation Dominic between 25th April-11 July 1962 at Christmas Island, the BNTVA will publish a series of articles over the next three months, concerning the personal experiences of service personnel from these tests.

John Lax, a 20-year-old newly qualified Air Wireless Mechanic, requested a posting to RAF Christmas Island in 1961. John’s father had been stationed at Christmas Island as a Lieutenant in the REME after Operation Grapple in 1959. John wanted to experience the sun, beautiful blue sea and scuba diving, as well as see where his father was stationed. John considered a posting to RAF Christmas Island to be a relaxed experience – how wrong could he be?

Although the living conditions had improved since Operation Grapple, with servicemen staying in huts rather than tents, when the Americans arrived two extra people joined each hut. John witnessed a series of 25 nuclear bomb tests in 77 days, out of a total of 36 nuclear test explosions within Operation Dominic in the Pacific Ocean (including the testing of a Polaris missile, “Frigate Bird”). The tests yielded a total of 38.1Mt and were the biggest series of nuclear tests ever carried out by the United States of America.

Joint Task Force 8, led by Major General Alfred Starbird, with the involvement of combined services, civilians from the Department of Defense, the Atomic Energy Commission, the US Public Health Service and private contractors at Operation Dominic, known to the British as Operation Brigadoon. Americans arrived on Christmas Island to commence nuclear testing between April and November 1962.

This Operation followed talks between Prime Minister Macmillan and President Kennedy. The Americans had agreed with the British to perform nuclear tests at Christmas Island, as the British Armed Forces were already based at the Island, and this cemented the US-UK alliance. The tests were quickly scheduled in response to the Soviet commencement of nuclear testing following the 1958-1961 moratorium, during a period of Cold War tension after the Cuban Bay of Pigs invasion.

John witnessed air drop tests between April 25th and July 11th, which were carried out by B-52 bombers. Twenty of these tests were performed to test new weapons’ designs, six to test weapons’ effects, and several shots to test the reliability of already existing weapons.

On 25 April 1962, the first test “Adobe” was carried out using an XW-50X1-Y2 warhead in a Mk-39 Mod-1 Type 3 drop case - a free fall air burst. The mushroom cloud rose to over 60,000 ft.

Test:

Adobe

Time:

15:45 25 April 1962 (GMT)

Location:

Christmas Island

Test Height and Type:

B-52 Airdrop, 2,900 Feet

Yield:

190kt

Device Diameter (inches):

15.4

Device Length (inches):

Device Weight (lb.):

409

Speed was of the essence for the Americans, and the next test, “Aztec”, on 27 April 1962, used an increased yield of 410kt. In his article, published in “Transmitting”, Summer 2020, John recalls,

“On a Wednesday in September 1961 I left a comfortable billet at RAF Hullavington to start my journey to a remote island in the Pacific Ocean called Christmas Island. This journey included stops in New York, San Francisco and Honolulu then on to my destination.

This was quite an adventure for a 20-year-old who had trained as an RAF Air Wireless Mechanic just one year ago. The final leg of the journey was in an RAF Hastings C2 aircraft, a four engine, propeller driven transport aircraft with no sound insulation which made the six-hour flight less than comfortable.

Christmas Island is a coral atoll, the highest point on the Island being just 5 feet above sea level and was to be my home for the next twelve months.

Once settled in, I started work in the Radio Bay at the airfield. The Radio Section consisted of just four people, a Corporal and a SAC Air Wireless, and a Corporal and a SAC Air Radar. The building was a thatched hut in a coconut plantation near the airfield. When we suffered any strong winds, the nuts would fall off the trees and damage the roof so we would not only repair/maintain Radio equipment but also became reasonable efficient thatchers.

I worked on the Hastings aircraft, which carried a high frequency (HF) communication set called STR 18 and VHF communication sets. In addition, there was a Radio Compass and a Radio Altimeter (never used) which was useless over the sea.

When an aircraft was going to Hawaii, we would carry out a “Route Before Flight Check”, which consisted of a functional check of all equipment. We would call the Tower on HF and VHF, the functional check for the Radio Compass would be to tune it to a radio station on Oahu called KORL Radio. This signal was in-line with the centre line of the runway at Hickam Field. It was easy for us to tune in to KORL because at 0600 the Ionosphere was sufficiently low for us to get a strong signal and then the Navigator could follow the signal and listen to music all the way to Hawaii. Landing at Honolulu was rather strange because the International Airport shared the runway with USAF Base Hickam so as you landed the left side was military aircraft of all sizes and the right side was the civilian airport.

Additional equipment on the Hastings aircraft consisted of a small intercom amplifier - a simple device which very rarely gave any trouble, so I was rather surprised when the Flight Engineer informed me that the intercom was intermittent. What also surprised me was that this gentleman had quite a severe stutter, and I wondered how he managed to become aircrew with such an impediment. Despite investigation I was unable to reproduce the alleged fault, then I was informed that the offending aircraft was to be air-tested for the investigation of an engine fault, so I invited myself on the flight. During the flight, the Radio Operator asked me what I was doing so I explained, he laughed and told me to ignore it as the Engineer who reported it had built-in intermittency!

As well as the large transport aircraft we also had Captain Flit, an Auster aircraft converted for spraying DDT over the Island to keep bugs at bay, hence the name. The pilot of this toy was the Station Adjutant who only had two ambitions: to spray DDT over the Army personnel as they walked from the Mess Servery to the Dining Hall and to remove the antenna that was erected by a Radio Ham. This aircraft had a VHF Radio on board but with just 3 crystals in it; the obligatory International Distress frequency, 121.5 Kilo cycles, and the two Tower frequencies and was never a problem as far as air Wireless was concerned.

Communication was, generally not a problem, the usual meteorological interferences sometimes caused a headache, but we coped. Then in 1962 the Americans arrived, en masse; their first two aircraft arrivals produced more personnel than we had in the three British Services combined.

This was the start of Operation Dominic, which we later discovered was to be a series of Nuclear Bomb Tests. The Americans were so well organised they forgot to send any Groundcrew for the first week, so we had to form two shifts to handle up to 10 aircraft each day, including weekends. In addition, we had to keep our own aircraft flying.

The build-up to the tests progressed, and we were issued with our Safety Equipment - a pair of very black goggles and a Radiation Dosage Film Badge. Our instructions were: at 10 minutes to detonation, we should assemble on the football pitch wearing long trousers and a long sleeve shirt and sit with our backs to the blast. When tests were scheduled for 0500, we would be roused from our slumbers by a very loud tannoy broadcast: “This is Mahatma, the time is T minus X minutes and counting”. The response this message got cannot be repeated but suffice it to say it was less than polite.

As it was always dark when the tests took place the fireball would change the sky to blue so in typical military humour this event became known as a “bucket of sunshine”.

A side effect of these events was the slight interruption in the signals traffic. Traffic was nominal as all the detonations were airbursts but at low level and about 30 miles away. The full programme of 25 tests, we are led to believe, caused little damage to the area but I believe fishing was not recommended in the area around the drop zone.

One test did, however, cause some disruption; this was a device known as a “Rainbow Bomb”. This was detonated on the edge of space and, apparently, ruptured the Van Allen Belt and disturbed the ionosphere thus making long range communication impossible and grounded all flights from Hawaii to Australia for a few days.

When the tests were completed and the Americans all went home, we settled back into our more relaxed ways. We played football and cricket, drank NAAFI beer and generally got on with our jobs.

A downside to all of this because our protective equipment was less than adequate, many British Servicemen have suffered debilitating ailments and are still suffering. The British Nuclear Test Veterans Association believes there are still 2500 Veterans who were involved in various tests, not just Christmas Island and are striving for their recognition by the UK government.

John L W Lax

Vice Chair BNTVA

A Tribute to our Australian and New Zealand ‘British Nuclear Test’ Veterans on ANZAC Day

Sun, 25 Apr 2021 09:10:58 GMT

On 25 April each year, Australia and New Zealand commemorate all Australians and New Zealanders “who served and died in all wars, and peacekeeping operations”. “The contribution and suffering of all those who have served” is also commemorated on this day, known as ANZAC Day.

ANZAC Day was originally devised to honour members of both Commonwealth Armed Forces who served at the Gallipoli Campaign during the First World War. As part of their service in “peacekeeping operations”, the British Nuclear Test Veterans’ Association remembers those who participated in the British nuclear tests at Operations Hurricane and Mosaic at the Montebello Islands, Operations Buffalo, Antler and Totem in Australia, and Operation Grapple during the 1950s and 60s.

The British atomic weapons programme commenced in 1947, and the British, reacting to competition from the USA, were ready to test the effects of a nuclear weapon. This initial test, Operation Hurricane, took four years of planning, and was designed to mimic an attack on a British harbour by detonating a 25-kiloton plutonium device in the hull of the frigate HMS Plym.

The HMAS Hawkesbury joined the British before Operation Hurricane at Fremantle, Western Australia, and ten Royal Australian Navy (RAN) warships carried out security patrols around the Montebello Islands. Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Lincoln bombers took off from Broome, Western Australia, to reinforce security patrols above and around the Montebello Islands and the Indian Ocean, as part of Task Force 4, alongside the British Armed Forces.

The detonation in the hull of the HMS Plym caused a crater of 6 metres deep and 300 metres wide on the ocean floor, with a mushroom cloud rising to 4.5 km into the atmosphere. The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), based at Whenuapai, assisted with the monitoring of radioactive fallout during Operation Hurricane; they conducted flights to the North and South of Auckland and a return flight to Suva. RNZAF personnel in Fiji collected rain-water samples for radioactive measurement, along with the Royal Air Force (RAF), who carried out a similar task at RNZAF Base Ohakea 2. The RAN continued regular patrols around the Montebello Islands until 1956.

In 1956, Australia and New Zealand continued to support the development of atomic and thermonuclear weapons by their allies, the USA and Great Britain. Both Armed Forces became involved in Operation Mosaic from the outset, at the Montebello Islands, Operation Buffalo at Maralinga, Australia, and Operation Grapple on Christmas Island. At the Montebello Islands, the HMAS Warrego and HMAS Karangi investigated moorings, surveying and marking operations before Operation Mosaic, and assisted the Royal Engineers and Royal Navy in site preparation work. This included the building of a shore camp, camera tower and weapons towers on Trimouille and Alpha Islands. Commodore Hugh Martell of the HMS Narvik took control of this designated Task Force 308, which included the HMAS Junee, Fremantle, MRL 252 and MWL 251. The RAAF performed cloud sampling through radioactive fallout with the RAF.

Eleven New Zealanders, taken from all three services, became part of the Indoctrinee Force (a British initiative). They were sent to gauge the effects of nuclear explosions orchestrated by Sir William Penney, leading British nuclear scientist who had previously worked with Robert Oppenheimer on The Manhattan Project in the US; Penney had led on choosing the geographical locations of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan in 1945. He chose both locations to cause maximum destructive impact on human life, as the areas were surrounded by hills. The New Zealanders were sent to these tests to pass information onto their colleagues regarding the impact of ionizing radiation.

The New Zealand Indoctrinee Force were ‘volunteered’ to visit the area around Ground Zero during nuclear testing at the Operation Buffalo tests in September and October 1956, and Operation Antler in 1957. On 27 September 1956 during Buffalo One Tree, the New Zealanders were told which apparel to wear, were told to stand at 8.2km from Ground Zero and turn to watch the blast two seconds after the bomb detonation. They tested the protective values of different types of clothing for military activities, weapons and equipment to pass on the information to colleagues. The officers who took part were put at a high risk of receiving a maximum dose of ionizing radiation directly after the explosion. Doses received are still a debatable subject, as the British scientists and government denied a harmful exposure to the men involved. As a response to public concern, the eleven men were followed up for health effects due to these activities in observing the effects of the nuclear tests – six were alive aged 71-87, five were ages 54, 59, 67, 71 and 81 at time of death. The New Zealand Ministry of Health concluded that the deaths weren’t linked to any observation at the nuclear tests despite retrieving a memo stating that these men would “be subject to radiation hazard”.

The Australian Prime Minister, Robert Menzies, was only too happy to oblige the British requests and volunteered Australian personnel to participate in the British nuclear tests on the Aboriginal sacred lands of South Australia. This followed the Maralinga Agreement in 1954, where Howard Beale wrote in a top-secret Cabinet document,

“Although (the) UK had intimated that she was prepared to meet the whole costs, Australia proposed that the principles of apportioning the expenses of the trial should be agreed whereby the cost of Australian personnel engaged on the preparation of the site, and of materials and equipment which could be recovered after the tests should fall to Australia’s account”.

On 27 September 1956 at Operation Buffalo One Tree, Maralinga, the atomic cloud which followed an air drop bomb rose 10,000 feet higher than predicted. This caused a plume of hazardous radioactive fallout to travel over the populated areas of East coast of Australia, including Queensland. Two Australian battalions and reconnaissance troops were ordered to carry out a full-scale brigade advance to ground zero shortly after impact, to test experimental radiation detection and monitoring equipment under design and development for use by soldiers, sailors, and aviators. The RAAF joined with the RAF cloud flyers to fly through radioactive fallout and take readings of radioactivity after the Operation Buffalo tests. These 'hot' aircraft were cleaned up by RAAF personnel; many died at a young age from cancers.

During 1957-58, the UK conducted Operation Grapple off Christmas Island and Malden Island in the Pacific, using air bursts. New Zealand Naval Loch-class frigates, the HMNZS Pukaki and HMNZS Rotoiti, left Auckland at 0900 hrs on 14 March 1957, equipped with radiation monitoring equipment. Both frigates were used as weather ships and were stationed for four tests off Malden Island during May and June 1957 (Pukaki and Rotoiti), one test at Christmas Island on 8 November 1957 (Pukaki and Rotoiti), and five tests off Christmas Island during August and September 1958 (Pukaki). Between the tests, the New Zealand crews spent time on Christmas Island with the British servicemen.

On 29 April 1958, HMNZS Pukaki sailed through surface zero the day after the Grapple Y test, a British bomb with the biggest yield ever tested. Crewmen were fitted with radiation badges, but the badges weren’t processed, supposedly due to problems with storing the chemicals needed to achieve this. A failure to process dosimeters (radiation film badges) was commonplace at the tests by all Armed Forces, with just verbal comments concerning the ‘minimal’ radiation dangers encountered by the men. Three New Zealanders witnessed Grapple tests from HMS Alert.

Additionally, from 1953-1963, a series of Minor Trials testing beryllium, plutonium and uranium took place on the Woomera Rocket Range in South Australia. Australian Army and RAAF personnel assisted at these tests, from the groundwork to cloud sampling.

As veterans and family members of the British nuclear tests, we are all victims of the irreversible events that we believe have affected our genetics, changed our thought processes, impacted inherent values, challenged our personal and social ethics, affected our trust of others, destroyed personal relationships and have made us question our governments. We remember the Australian and New Zealand servicemen who participated in these nuclear tests, many of whom suffered with cancers and passed away many years ago, or struggled with failing health for decades. We also remember their families. We thank the service personnel for their participation and remember their sacrifice this ANZAC Day and every day.

A Tribute to the Life of Prince Philip, HRH the Duke of Edinburgh, on behalf of the British Nuclear Test Veterans’ Association

Sat, 17 Apr 2021 17:46:24 GMT

During the Queen and Prince Philip, the HRH Duke of Edinburgh’s tour of the Commonwealth in 1953-1954, Prince Philip visited the Woomera Rocket Range in South Australia. The significance of the Woomera Range at this time, was that it included an area, called Emu Field, which was surveyed and chosen by the UK government and William Penney to perform neutron tests involving polonium, uranium and beryllium. This type of testing could not be achieved at the Montebello Islands, and the British had conducted Kitten trials, without having gained permission from the Australian government. Operation Totem followed in October 1953, which featured two tower-mounted tests using plutonium, causing a black mist to spread over a vast area. Prince Philip visited the Woomera Rocket Range shortly after this time, in 1954, where he ate at the Officer’s Mess.

Prince Philip’s first visit to Christmas Island was in 1957, during Operation Grapple, on his return from New Zealand. Prince Philip stopped briefly with the Queen’s private aeroplane on an unexpected visit for refuelling and servicing of the aeroplane. Ron Bostwick, an electrician with the Royal Engineers and a member of the British Nuclear Test Veterans’ Association remembers the Duke’s visit well. Ron said that Prince Philip walked down the aeroplane steps and exclaimed to the men who were standing still in their working clothes,

“Very good, very nice of you to do that, but haven’t you got anything else to do?!”

In April 1959, following Operation Grapple, the Duke of Edinburgh arrived at Christmas Island for an official four-day visit. He arrived on the Royal Yacht Britannia, which was anchored by 19-year-old Bryan Taylor from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The Royal Yacht was anchored next to the RFA ship, the Fort Constantine.

Prince Philip was greeted by a Guard of Honour of British nuclear test veterans on his arrival to the Island. Peter Frost, aged 22, was sent to Christmas Island as an apprentice Royal Engineers’ electrician attached to 73 Christmas Island Squadron. Peter relates,

“It wasn’t through choice that I was in the Guard of Honour for Prince Philip; I was conned into it! A few weeks beforehand, notices went up on boards requesting the servicemen to come forward to form an improvised band. We heard that the Prince would visit. They wanted volunteers, and I was volunteered into it. I faced the water, the sun was beating down, my eyes were watering and the sweat was pouring down me. We stood for half an hour like that, waiting for the Prince. As soon as he stepped from the landing craft, he said, ‘Whose silly idea is it for these men to stand out in this heat?’ He then asked for the men to be let go immediately, which we were more than grateful for.”

Bryan Taylor, later Captain Bryan Taylor RFA, recalls Prince Philip asking who caught the fish that he was eating. Young Bryan nervously raised his hand, and Prince Philip immediately asked to go fishing with him the next morning. They went fishing three times during his stay, and chatted at length. Bryan remarked at how down to earth the Duke was on his fishing trips. He took the Prince over 20 miles away from Christmas Island to a safe spot for fishing, away from radiation damage, and Prince Philip caught smaller tiger sharks as well as many other fish. He was eager to freeze some of his catch on the Royal Yacht Britannia for the return journey around South Africa. The Prince also related that he desired to put the crew through some tumultuous seas on the journey home to England, to give them a time they would not forget!

During the Duke of Edinburgh's Christmas Island visit, on 13 April 1959, Prince Philip planted a Pacific Pine tree. Many British nuclear test veterans and Gilbertese Islanders recall the Duke planting this tree, which has been referred to fondly since its planting on Christmas Island as the ‘Queen’s Tree’.

Bryan Taylor became Head of Fisheries at Lowestoft after he left the RFA, and met the Prince on four occasions altogether. Prince Philip always remembered Bryan and fondly spoke of his visit to Christmas Island on these occasions, without being prompted. Prince Philip returned to Christmas Island in October 1982, this time bringing the Queen with him on an official Royal Visit.

Ron Bostwick met Prince Philip in November 2019 at the Garden of Remembrance outside Westminster Abbey. Ron was representing British veterans from the nuclear tests and clean-ups in the Montebello Islands, Maralinga and Emu Field, and Christmas Island from 1952-1967. Prince Philip noticed that Ron was separated from the main group, as he was seated in his motorised scooter, and was unable to step over the short fence. The Duke walked over to Ron, shook his hand, and said,

“Do you know what? I could do with a little machine like that to go around the Palace”.

The BNTVA is grateful for the Duke’s life, service, humour and commitment to the British and Commonwealth Armed Forces throughout his life. May he rest in peace. I attach the BNTVA’s tribute in Prince Philip’s book of condolence.

We would also like to thank Colin McCabe and Michael Boon for allowing us to use these photographs of Prince Philip on Christmas Island in 1959.

A Christmas message...

Thu, 24 Dec 2020 20:31:50 GMT

A Christmas message from the BNTVA Chair following the funeral of Ken Miller, nuclear test veteran, at Swansea Crematorium.

Navy veteran told to watch as atom bombs detonated dies alone at Christmas

Wed, 23 Dec 2020 14:16:39 GMT

Navy veteran told to watch as atom bombs detonated dies alone at Christmas.

Ken Miller was never able to have children after being another forgotten hero of the Cold War nuclear tests in the South Pacific. He died days after the government refused him a medal.

To read more CLICK HERE .

Atomic veterans win review over medal snub after public outcry

Fri, 18 Dec 2020 14:01:20 GMT

Atomic heroes demand answers...

Survivors of Britain's Cold War nuclear experiments get fresh hope in the Mirror's medal campaign, reports Susie Boniface.

To read more CLICK HERE .

Atomic heroes demand answers as Veterans Minister agrees they don't deserve medal

Fri, 18 Dec 2020 14:00:12 GMT

Atomic heroes demand answers...

Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer says he understands why nuclear weapons trials were not deemed risky enough for a gong.

To read more CLICK HERE .

“Nuclear Tests are Good for You”

Fri, 18 Dec 2020 10:08:33 GMT

“Nuclear Tests are Good for You”

“The bomb has left the aircraft. Face away from ground zero, press the heel of your hands into your eye sockets and wait for the blast”.

The hoarse voice of the announcer crackled over the tannoy. We waited – and some of us shivered.

The twenty-eighth of April had started like any other that month. Reveille at some unearthly hour – was it 3 o’clock? - We were too dozed to tell. Despite being on the equator in mid Pacific, it was still cold, dark, ominous.

Breakfast from the camp’s canteen was a no-no. Who in hell’s name wants to eat slimy, half cooked eggs at three in the morning! - especially after countless cans of Tennants beer in the NAAFI the night before.

Still, I’m way before my time. Let’s go back four months – to Southampton docks and the troopship Dunera, a 12,000 ton unstabilised roller, if ever there was one.

Maddox and I had volunteered. Had we? Were we not encouraged, cajoled, press-ganged, even into leaving a cosy camp at Long Marston, near Stratford-on-Avon, for the ‘honour’ of being part of Great Britain’s 73 Christmas Island Squadron?

For what? To be irradiated with nuclear fallout so that many of us ‘volunteers’ would die prematurely of cancers, would father (if some of us could still raise an erection – for some lads now can’t) children whose own kids, years later, would be born malformed.

But that comes later too.

Go back to boarding that boat with our kitbags filled with OGs issued by automaton storekeepers at Ripon Barracks. Let the wives and girlfriends' wave and the band of the Royal Marines play us out of the harbour and into the English Channel that eve of the new year 1958.

That first night far below deck was to live with me forever. New Year’s Eve, damn it, and we were sailing for the Atlantic at the start of a six-week voyage to God’s forgotten rock of an island 1200 miles south of Hawaii.

Army lads – we weren’t just Army we were Royal Engineers and bloody proud to be so – are a mixed bunch. I hadn’t known Maddox for long, simply met up with him at Ripon as we ‘volunteers’ gathered at the Yorkshire holding camp.

He seemed quite cultured. Slight of appearance, almost feline – but later would dispel any notion of being unmanly. Just the reverse.

Midnight and 1958 crept in to Dunera’s bowels without hardly an ‘all night best, mate’. Too many hearts were tuned in, not to the dispassionate drone wishing us Happy New Year over the intercom, but to the lovers, sweethearts and mothers we’d left behind.

And then Maddox started singing. His voice was thin, almost feminine, and high as a choirboy. He stood there, one arm on the upright of his hammock, steadying himself from the roll of the ship as she ploughed her way down channel towards the mouth of Biscay.

He, too, was a Geordie – though his accent belied it – and from his mouth, from deep inside him came the haunting melody and gut-crunching words of The Waters of Tyne.

You didn’t have to be from Tyneside to touch the moment, to stop all you were doing, to listen and feel the lump in your throat rising so that any second it might choke your breath away.

I didn’t dare cry but my tears are welling up even as I remember the poignancy.

When Maddox’s voice finally tailed off, no-one uttered a word whilst minutes passed silently. OK we were young and could hardly be said to be really mature, but for grown men to nearly weep that night deep inside the tomb of a vessel will be forever branded onto our souls.

…..................................

Dunera lurched heavily from port to starboard, back to port and back again to starboard as she ledged closer and closer to the frightening, fifty-foot Biscay waves. It was more than Corporal Skinner could bear.

Skinner was what the Army calls ‘an old lag.’ Certainly 30ish, probably much older. A full corporal, a two striper, he had the dubious honour of being duty Guard Commander, in charge of six of us whose misfortune it was to guard the 500 men (and women) on the ship that night.

Guard! Guard from what, for Heaven’s sake?! What possible harm could befall us – other than tearing muscles by reeching sickness from the bowels of our seasick stomachs?

“For what, for God’s sake Corporal”, I bemoaned, “we’re in the middle of the English Channel!”

It was no use grumbling, of course. We had sone the same thirteen months earlier, guarding wretched refugees at Aldershot camp after the Hungarian Uprising. What in Hell’s use was a bullet in the breech when all those poor buggers wanted was food and shelter?

But the anonymous “boffins” who give the orders move in strange ways – as we were later to find out, very much to our cost.

By the time Dunera had crested the worst of Biscay, Corporal Skinner was no longer Guard Commander. The poor wretch had given up the upper set of his false teeth to Neptune beneath the heaving, scary walls of waves that engulfed the bobbing cork of Dunera that night. As junior GC, Joe Soup had taken temporary charge.

It’s always a source of comfort to feel the sun’s warming rise in the early morn, not least to those of us still recovering from seasickness and lack of sleep the night before. Sergeant Straw seemed especially eager to be up and about that second day.

The sarge wasn’t usually as warming to me, one of his pet, one-stripe lancejacks. His squint eye seemed to have not one but two twinkles as he buttonholed me.

“I want a favour from you Corporal”, he began. “It’s between you and me, of course,” he whispered.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The upright paragon of Army virtue wanted me to raffle his ‘trannie’ radio so that he could romance - ‘bed’ is a better word – any of the women sailing with us.

Women on board! That was news to me. Straw seemed well clued up, however. He let slip (‘on the quiet’, he kept repeating) that some women were billeted aft and on their way to meet husbands whom they hadn’t seen for a year or more. These were the men we were to replace on ‘the rock’.

He got his money, though any female would have to be truly sex-starved to have fancied the leering layabout.

Reeling and lurching over the Atlantic beyond Biscay to the calm of the Caribbean, in less than two weeks we berthed briefly at Willemstad the capital of Curacao. How Maddox sent it our I’ll never know but, without pausing for our land legs, we piled into a 1937 Austin banger as a taxi destined for Campo Allegro on the far side of the Dutch-owned island.

Dubious women housed beyond the fenced enclosure beckoned us excitedly. We never got farther than the steel gates.

Two US Marines – how come they were there? Persuaded us with a show of truncheons and holstered pistols that entry wasn’t for us. “It’s in your best interest guys, so turn around and beat it”. We did.

Panama City was different. The canal’s magic had kept s glued to Dunera’s rails for hours but now the expectation of twenty-four hours shore leave welled up in our starched green squaddies’ underpants. I looked to Maddox for guidance.

He must have had an inbuilt gyroscope in his wiry, young frame. No sooner had the gangplank clanged down on the metallic concrete of the dock’s quay than he had commandeered a knowing taxi driver for the short hop to the whore home.

…................................................

It would be another three weeks before land was sighted, three weeks of showers and mutual inspections of genitals finally dispelling the lingering doubts and shame of those miniscule minutes of Panama passion.

Land, did I say? A trillion myriad of plankton had fused together to create the flat coral mass substituting for a tropical island one degree above the Equator.

Palm trees, not lush with towering greenery as the holiday brochures would have you believe, but knurled and brown, somehow survived the parched excuse for earth between patches of the cutting coral core.

Monster land crabs and vulnerable, pink hermits carrying their shells on their backs scuttled noisily like disturbed rats among the decaying undergrowth left by the fallen palm branches.

Christmas Island, your discoverer Captain Cook and the fable of his epic 18 ^th century voyage, you can keep. You are nothing but a barren outcrop of crustaceans welded together so that manic men can stop on it and practice ending the World with their toys of nuclear fission.

Practice – that's a laugh. No-one is going to convince those who crouched in apprehension and fear under a nuclear holocaust 240 times more powerful than that which decimated Hiroshima (the British Ministry of Defence written admission, not mine) that this was practice. This was for real.

The countdown tannoyed over the clearing. Forty seconds to detonation, 20 seconds, 10.....

The announcer’s voice hesitated as it reached zero. The surge of penetrating heat burning through its body’s back admitted that it, too, had never felt a million hot needles suddenly entering its skin all at the same time.

Seconds later – some say less than twenty – the thundering blast of the Hydrogen Bomb’s soundwave tore into eardrums told to expect nothing more than the report alongside a 303 Enfield rifle.

“That was quite a firecracker, wasn’t it”, Mr Tannoy weakly offered, trying to sound unabashed but clearly quaking from its effect. “You may now turn around and face ground zero”.

The most powerful, fervent rantings of Billy Graham in full flow, with his total command of the English language frightening his audience with Hell’s fire and damnation, could never find the final words to describe the monster before our eyes that awful morning.

Hell had emerged from the bowels of Mother Earth to defy and do battle with the Good Lord’s heavenly sky above us. We gazed transfixed at the boiling cauldron of fire which was enveloping the island’s southern world. Clouds of searing steam billowed around the huge crimson fireball, both growing bigger and even more menacing as each half minute passed.

No-one spoke. The clearing of 500 men was silent – awe-struck. Each felt he was seeing a happening so enormous that the earth’s very survival seemed in peril.

Soon the white, pillow-like, rotating clouds were turning darker, blackening the affronted sky and ominously turning towards us. The rich, clear blue above the Pacific would never return, we were convinced of that.

The ride back to the tented camp in the 3-tonner Army truck was made in silence. Only the drone of the tyres on the fiercely hard coral track disturbed the quiet of our thoughts as the ever-darkening ball of horror crept menacingly behind us along the way.

Much has been argued about the fallout which followed. How the constant, torrential downpour of radiation-enriched rain flooding into our tents twenty-four hours later may have subsequently affected the lives of the servicemen that April.

But, of course, it was only a practice! We were to ‘practice’ again, a further four times over the next five months. Except that when we cowered below those massive megaton monsters we were never again protectively dressed as white-clad Martians.

No, ‘they’ practiced on us with our issued shorts, boots and gaiters, and trilby-type floppy hats as our only wearing apparel. Perhaps ‘they’ had come to think that nuclear radiation couldn’t go any deeper than bare skin.

In this so-called enlightened world of progress, when the only glow in the sky above you now is a beautiful, God-given sunset, try convincing those whose lives have been cut down with cancers, whose offspring have been blighted with malformities, whose widows ache for the return of love lost so unnecessarily that ‘they’ were right to ‘practice’.

You won’t succeed. Neither will ‘they’.

Ron Taylor

Christmas Island nuclear test veteran.

Nuclear veteran links

https://chrc4veterans.uk/

https://metro.co.uk/2020/10/23/britain-still-refusing-to-recognise-its-nuclear-test-veterans-13409365/

https://www.mirror.co.uk/authors/susie-boniface/

Musings of Operation Buffalo - Maralinga.

Fri, 18 Dec 2020 10:08:32 GMT

Musings of Operation Buffalo - Maralinga.

A look back to those days of September and October 1956. We had now moved into the intense and objective phase of Operation Buffalo, the reason why we were where we were.

It was time to get started on the British Government’s ‘Great Lights and Sounds Show.’

The venue for this show was in the ‘Outback’ bush of South Australia at a place called Maralinga. The show was by invitation only, due to the Official Secrets Act and on a ‘need to know’ basis.

Audience participation was actively encouraged to the point of Military Instruction. Participants might be required at a later date to associate closely with the ‘Grim Reaper’.

The show would be staged on the four dates as follows: Thurs. 27 Sept. 1956 Thurs. 04 Oct. 1956, Thurs. 11 Oct. 1956 Mon. 22 Oct. 1956. Times to be advised and subject to weather conditions.

The show would be produced and directed by that renowned Nuclear Physicist and popular figure Sir William Penney. He would be ably assisted by his staff of scientists.

The ‘Actors, bit players and extras’ for this production would be those members of the UK Armed Forces designated to be close to the stage. Some of whom were the members of Royal Air Force 76 Squadron – both Aircrews and Ground crews, of which I was one.

Top of the bill were ‘The Four Detonations’.

Subject to a successful outcome of the shows, the next venue would be Christmas Island in the Pacific Ocean with a new top of the bill group – ‘The XYZ Grapplers’.

Written by

Reg Simpson, RAF, Operation Buffalo, Maralinga, Australia

who says, “Can’t be glum all the time!”

Appeal for contact from John Ward, RAF, Operation Grapple, 1958.

Fri, 18 Dec 2020 10:08:31 GMT

An appeal for contact from John Ward.

A long time ago when I was in the RAF on Christmas Island, I witnessed the detonation of three A and 2 H bombs, under Operation Grapple around 1958.

I served with 1325 Dakota Squadron and in RAF parlance I was one of the two “shiny arses” (shorthand typist in the squadron; the tests were all highly technical dealing with aeroplane engines, radios and everything else which kept the planes flying).

I am sure there must be some veterans left who were with me on the island during that time. I remember Cookie who had half a finger missing, and used to put a washer or nut on it to put it into place. Then there was Corporal Jackson, my boss, and I think it was Simon who let me listen to the aircraft radio. What I do know, is that we were all good mates who looked out for each other under very basic living conditions.

If you are one of belonging to 1325 Flight please contact the BNTVA or myself on john@fwassociates.com and we will try and arrange a get together.

Looking forward to discovering friends from long ago.

Kind regards,

John Ward

An unexpected experience at Christmas Island.

Fri, 18 Dec 2020 10:08:30 GMT

An unexpected experience at Christmas Island.

The following article, featured in the Autumn 2020 edition of Transmitting, the Museum of Communication Foundation Members’ Newsletter, is written by John Lax, BNTVA Secretary. John volunteered to go to Christmas Island in 1961, without the knowledge that he would soon be participating in the US tests of Operation Dominic. John’s father was in the Army and served at Operation Grapple, making John both a veteran and descendant of the nuclear tests.

On a Wednesday in September 1961, I left a comfortable billet at RAF Hullavington to start my journey to a remote island in the Pacific Ocean called Christmas Island. This journey included stops in New York, San Francisco and Honolulu, then on to my destination.

This was quite an adventure for a 20-year-old who had trained as an RAF Air Wireless Mechanic just one year ago. This final leg of the journey was to be in an RAF Hastings C2 aircraft, a four engine, propeller driven transport aircraft with no sound insulation which made the six-hour flight less than comfortable.

Christmas Island is a coral atoll, the highest point on the Island being just 5 feet above sea level and was to be my home for the next twelve months.

Once settled in, I started work in the Radio Bay at the airfield, the Radio Section consisted of just four people, a Corporal and a SAC Air Wireless, and a Corporal and a SAC Air Radar. The building was a thatched hut in a coconut plantation near the airfield. When we suffered any strong winds, the nuts would fall off the trees and damage the roof so we would not only repair/maintain radio equipment but also became reasonable efficient thatchers.

Hastings aircraft carried an HF communication set called STR 18 and VHF communication sets; in addition, there was a Radio Compass and a Radio Altimeter (never used), useless over sea.

When an aircraft was going to Hawaii, we would carry out a “Route Before Flight Check”. This consisted of a functional check of all equipment, so we would call the Tower on HF and VHF, the functional check for the Radio Compass would be to tune it to a radio station on Oahu called KORL Radio. This signal was in line with the centre line of the runway at Hickam Field. It was easy for us to tune in to KORL, because at 0600 the ionosphere was sufficiently low for us to get a strong signal, and then the Navigator could follow the signal and listen to music all the way to Hawaii. Landing at Honolulu was rather strange, because the International Airport shared the runway with USAF Base Hickam, so, as you landed, the left side was military aircraft of all sizes and the right side was the civilian airport.

An additional equipment on the Hastings was a small intercom amplifier; a simple device which very rarely gave any trouble. I was rather surprised when the Flight Engineer informed me that the intercom was intermittent. What also surprised me was that this gentleman had quite a severe stutter, and I wondered how he managed to become aircrew with such an impediment.

Despite investigation, I was unable to reproduce the alleged fault, then I was informed that the offending aircraft was to be air tested for investigation of an engine fault, so I invited myself on the flight. During the flight, the Radio Operator asked me what I was doing, so I explained. He laughed and told me to ignore it as the Engineer who reported it had built-in intermittency!

As well as the large transport aircraft, we also had Captain Flit, an Auster aircraft converted for spraying DDT over the Island to keep bugs at bay, hence the name. The Pilot of this toy was the Station Adjutant who only had two ambitions: to spray DDT over the Army personnel as they walked from the Mess Servery to the Dining Hall and to remove the antenna that was erected by a Radio Ham. This aircraft had a VHF Radio on board, but with just 3 crystals in it; the obligatory International Distress frequency, 121.5 Kilo cycles, and the two Tower frequencies, and was never a problem as far as air Wireless was concerned.

Communication was, generally, not a problem, the usual meteorological interferences sometimes caused a headache, but we coped. Then in 1962 the Americans arrived, en masse, their first two aircraft arrivals produced more personnel than we had in the three British Services combined.

This was the start of Operation Dominic, which we later discovered was to be a series of Nuclear Bomb Tests. The Americans were so well organised, they forgot to send any Groundcrew for the first week, so we had to form two shifts to handle up to 10 aircraft each day, including weekends. In addition, we had to keep our own aircraft flying.

The build-up to the tests progressed; we were issued with our Safety Equipment, a pair of very black goggles and a Radiation Dosage Film Badge. Our instructions were: at 10 minutes to detonation we should assemble on the football pitch wearing long trousers and a long sleeve shirt and sit with our backs to the blast. All the tests were scheduled for 0500 so we would be roused from our slumbers by a very loud tannoy broadcast: “This is Mahatma, the time is T minus X minutes and counting” The response this message got cannot be repeated, but suffice it to say it was less than polite.

As it was always dark when the tests took place, the fireball would change the sky to blue so in typical military humour, this event became known as a “bucket of sunshine”.

A side effect of these events was the slight interruption in the signals traffic. This was nominal as all the detonations were airbursts, but at low level, and about 30 miles away. The full programme of 25 tests, we are led to believe, caused little damage to the area but I believe fishing was not recommended in the area around the drop zone.

One test did, however, cause some disruption; this was a device known as a “Rainbow Bomb”, it was detonated on the edge of space and, apparently, ruptured the Van Allen Belt and disturbed the Ionosphere thus making long range communication impossible and grounded all flights from Hawaii to Australia for a few days.

When the tests were completed and the Americans all went home, we settled back into our more relaxed ways, we played football and cricket drank NAAFI beer and generally got on with our jobs.

There is a downside to all of this because our protective equipment was less than adequate, many British Servicemen have suffered debilitating ailments and are still suffering. The British Nuclear Test Veterans Association believes there are still 1500 Veterans who were involved in various tests not just Christmas Island and are campaigning on their behalf.

John L W Lax

Trustee BNTVA.

Fancy a change of service?

Fri, 18 Dec 2020 10:08:28 GMT

Fancy a change of service?

From the RAF to the Senior Service, and back again.

The undermentioned is an article about an incident that occurred on board the aircraft carrier HMS Warrior, on which I had hitched a lift home to England after taking part in the Christmas Island nuclear test programme of 1957.

Good evening ladies and gentlemen.

First of all, thank you for inviting me to your annual HMS Warrior gathering at Llandudno. My name is Terry and I have been asked to say a few words as to how I came to be at this meeting, and to explain my connection to HMS Warrior.

On the 12 ^th June last year, I was attending the Weymouth Military and Veterans’ Festival. After the parade, I was talking to some of the BNTVA members, of whom were Derek Redfern and Terry Washington, and Terry happened to mention that he was stationed at Christmas Island in 1957 during ‘Operation Grapple’ at the same time as me. I was an RAF Supplier in the aircraft technical stores.

I thought you may be interested to hear how I came to join the HMS Warrior, and about some of my experiences on board.

Towards the end of my stay on Christmas Island in August 1957, there appeared on our SRO, a notice asking for volunteers from the Army and RAF personnel to join HMS Warrior on her return passage home to Portsmouth via South America. I returned to my tent later that evening, chewing over in my mind whether or not to apply for this trip home with the Royal Navy. Remembering that old military saying, ‘never volunteer for anything in the forces’, but purely with a selfish motive, I decided in this instance, that there were more gains than losses to be had, with one of the advantages being that I would leave Christmas Island two months earlier than my repatriation, and, secondly, I would have a trip around South America, the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, and I finally arrive in Portsmouth on 11 October 1957. I realised that this was a once in a lifetime chance of me being offered a trip like this.

I was not fully aware of how I would cope serving in the Senior Service, and was more than a little apprehensive about how I would fit into the Navy life and come up to their expectations. I had no idea about what duties I would be expected to carry out on board Her Majesty’s ship. However, the next morning, I reported to our orderly room and put in my application, hoping I would be lucky enough to be picked for this trip home.

It was late August or early September 1957, that I arrived to join HMS Warrior. I reported to the MT section and had transport to Port London area, and about 100 of us boarded an LCM which took us out to HMS Warrior. My first impression in seeing this great, grey hulk sitting there in the blue sea, was, what an ugly monster. I suppose I was looking for a ‘welcome aboard’ sign, but what really upset me was that I realised that I had forgotten to bring my ‘Brylcreem’ with me (ha ha!).

I soon cheered up because I realised that any accommodation on board would be better than the bell-tent I had lived in for 10 months. Once on board, there was a welcoming committee to show us the ropes, and to allocate us our respective messes. Once again, I was lucky because I was billeted in the Royal Marines Band mess, and was handed over to the leading Killick of the mess, who explained the Navy procedures and regulations that I was expected to obey and carry out. I realised that life in the Navy was a lot different to the RAF, with more discipline involved.

My first problem to overcome was putting up and sleeping in a hammock. This apparatus took us new boys some time to master, but we did manage to give the matelots something to laugh about. Once we had mastered the trick of putting the thing up properly, and inserting the sticks either end, the problem was solved, and I found it to be one of the most comfortable forms of sleep. After a few days, we picked up the gist of life at sea and the routine. I just listened and did what I was told. I tried to carry out my duties to the best of my ability, because I didn’t want to be put on a charge and punished with loss of shore leave. I had to remember the reason behind volunteering for this trip, which was to see the world, so had to try and keep a clean sheet. It didn’t always work.

I can clearly remember on one occasion when the ship was berthed at Montevideo, and I crossed swords with the Master of Arms – a person not to upset on any account.

One evening, I was detailed to report for duty as an extra Navy police patrol. I was put on security duties. Late into the night, I was put on the returning gangplank duties, which was to check the returning crew to make sure they didn’t bring drink aboard, and that they were sober enough to climb the ladder unaided without causing any trouble. They also had to pick up their correct boarding cards. Two Stoker Ratings started to cause a disturbance at the top of the gangplank; I went towards them to try and sort out the problem, and another one went behind me and grabbed a handful of identity cards, and scarpered with them. This meant we didn’t know who was ashore and who was on board without a full roll call. On the appearance at the scene of the Master of Arms, the finger of suspicion was pointed at me, and not long after the security incident, I was relieved of my police duties. Sometime later, the Master of Arms sent for me. He said that he had found the culprits responsible, and wanted me to go down to an identification parade and pick them out.

I walked up and down the line, but could not be 100% sure, as the lights on the gangway were very dull. I told the Master of Arms, and he told me to have another go, and if I didn’t pick them out, I would be up in front of the Captain the next day.

So, that is how I found myself in the Captain’s cabin, listening to charges being read out against Corporal Brown RAF. One of the charges I seemed to remember was for dereliction of duty... The Captain then asked me what I had to say in my defence. I told him that, in my opinion, I could not be expected to carry out the duties I had been given that night - I had been given no instruction of Navy procedures at sea, not even fire drill or life stations. No instruction on the four cards watch system that was used on Her Majesty’s ships, no details on Navy rank or uniforms. In fact, I was a complete novice, and, in no way, without training, could I have been expected to carry out the duties I had been given. The Captain agreed with this, and dismissed all charges against me.

The Master of Arms was not happy about this result. He said to me, after being marched out of the Captain’s cabin, “Brown, I will be keeping a beady eye on you for the rest of the trip, and if you step out of line, I will come down on you hard”. The stokers were cleared of any charges, as far as I can remember.

Another incident that comes to mind, is of an airman called Sam Musgrove, who, when the ship was docked at Montevideo, jumped from the bows of the carrier and swam to some steps leading to the dockside, and into the arms of some Argentinian girlfriend that he knew previously from the last stop in Buenos Aires. However, their encounter was short-lived, because soon arriving on the loving scene were two Navy police personnel who kindly escorted him back to the ship, where he was confined for the rest of the cruise.

On many occasions, the RAF lads gave the sailors a reason to have a laugh at our behaviour and lack of seamanship. I recall one such occasion when we docked at Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands. We asked the Lieutenant Commander to be issued with protective clothing against the cold weather, and also some leather gloves to protect our hands when handling the hawser on the mooring. Needless to say, he gave us a short and sharp reply. Sometimes we did find it difficult to understand some of the Navy’s terminology.

When I look back over 49 years ago now, and on my journey home from Christmas Island with the Royal Navy, it brings back very happy memories of life on board one of Her Majesty’s ships. I like to think that, in the small way we did contribute to help make the journey successful, as our government did manage to sell the Warrior to the Argentinian government. So, all my painting to cover up the rust seems to have done the trick.

Some of my proudest memories were when we lined the decks on entering foreign ports; it always brought a lump to my throat, and I felt proud to be British. I also had the same feeling when joining the ship’s company in marching through various cities, during our South American tour. We marched through their cities with the marine band playing to their Cenotaph to lay a wreath on the unnamed fallen comrades, and then on to the Saluting Dais with all the local dignitaries.

I was very lucky because last March I re-visited Rio de Janeiro and stayed a couple of days, then caught the cruise liner back to Blighty, covering some of the same seaways that we crossed 49 years before. Needless to say, a lot of old memories came flooding back of my first cruise on the HMS Warrior.

I must thank the Royal Navy for giving me sea legs, and my first taste and love of the sea, which, to this day I have not lost. This has been responsible for so many other sea adventures I have had since.

Terry Seymour Brown

Ex RAF Sergeant Brown, ex HMS Warrior, ex BNTVA.

A National Serviceman's Lament

Fri, 18 Dec 2020 09:50:16 GMT

A National Serviceman's Lament

This lament was written by the late John Lowe, ex-chairman of the BNTVA, who fought for recognition for the British nuclear test veterans. This poem comes from “Kisses from Above – A collection of Short Stories and Poems”, which John’s family published after he passed away.

John was born in 1935, and grew up in Cheshire, where he met his wife. He served in the Merchant Navy at aged 18, and was placed with the Royal Navy for his National Service at Christmas Island. His love of writing peaked in his later years. His family have kindly allowed us to reproduce his work here.

They sent me aboard of the ‘Narvik’ for a peaceful Pacific cruise.

I was only a National Serviceman, so what ‘ad I got to lose?

‘Twas the chance of a lifetime they told me, to see all those wonderful sights:

Exotic islands with palm trees and strange, dazzling, bright, flashing lights.

We sailed across the Atlantic, where the ship almost split into two,

And top brass in London were worried, for they didn’t know what they would do.

We made it at last, into Kingston, and they patched us up, good as new,

Then sent us out through the Isthmus, where they gave us a bit of a do.

On across the Pacific for day after day after day, until we made

Landfall at Christmas, to be told, you’re not here to stay.

Malden’s your base for the future, there’s work there aplenty to do.

You’ll swing to a pick at your leisure, which didn’t please most of the crew.

Life for the most plain boring, though the officers did of their best

And launching the sea boat at midnight, they considered an ultimate jest.

Swimming was out of the question, the surf on the beach was so great,

And sharks that lived ‘round the island would have thought we were there to be ate.

On the 15 ^th May they were ready, in our best Number 9s we all dressed,

And anti-flash gear it was issued, so that we could witness the test.

We sat on the deck in the sunshine, with our hands clasped over our eyes.

Thinking there was no need to worry, for we’d listened to all of their lies.

Then we turned and gazed out in wonder at the sight of that great mushroom-cloud

And the blast of the bomb was alarming for it was so tremendously loud.

They kept us on deck all the morning for they wanted to know the results

That nuclear bombs when exploded, had on we hardened old salts.

By evening we were back on the island for a thoroughly good look around,

But there wasn’t much left to look at and no relics were there to be found.

They tested the bomb twice again Sir, 31 ^st May and 19 ^th of June,

Then ordered the ship to sail homeward, which wasn’t a moment too soon.

Now many of the crew they are dying, from cancer-related disease.

The government won’t give a penny, their suffering and misery to ease;

So, the government we must fight them, we mustn't be humble or meek, and right in the end it must triumph, for justice is all that we seek.

Guinea Pigs

It was bright,

Too bright,

Even with our backs to it,

Eyes shut and dark glasses,

Our hands clasped over our eyes,

Like an X-ray.

We could see all the bones,

Then we turned and stared,

At a great big black fireball,

Fading through every shade of red,

Leaving the all too familiar,

White mushroom cloud.

We had little to do,

Except watch it for

The next five hours.

Then we landed on the island.

And played a game of cricket.

John Lowe

British nuclear test veteran.

5bdb0dab

National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph

Conference 2024

Return to Tradition...

In the light of some disparaging comments received about the format of last years conference the BNTVA trustees have taken a long hard look at the delivery of conference events within the nuclear community.

BNTVA Funeral Service Attendance

We have an update on the current situation regarding the provision of Coffin Drapes and Standard Bearers for the funerals of BNTVA veterans.

National Atomic Veterans Awareness Day 2023

NAVAD will be celebrated at the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas, Staffordshire this year on Sunday 1st October 2023.

Invitation from the Office of Veterans' Affairs to a Commemorative Event for British Nuclear Test Veterans

Open invitation from the Office of Veterans' Affairs

ATOMIC VETERANS ITV Meridian WEST

ATOMIC VETERANS ITV Meridian EAST

BNTVA Chairman, Ed McGrath on ITV Anglia

BNTVA Conference 2022

BNTVA Conference Reunion and Exhibition 2-6th October 2022

A year remembered since the passing of Flight Lieutenant Joe Pasquini

Flt Lt Joe Pasquini

Remembrance Sunday Cenotaph Veterans' Parade 13 November 2022

Tickets available for the Cenotaph Veterans’ Parade on Whitehall, Sunday 13 November 2022.

The results are in - "No evidence of increased mutations in the germline of a group of British nuclear test veterans"

The passing of Anthony L Johnson Radio Operator RN

A message from Maria Johnson, Tony's widow

My father, terminal cancer and the scandal of the missing radiation film badges

A birthday eulogy to my father, Mike Marsh, British nuclear test veteran (Mike left of picture, his brother David, bandsman, on the right).

Mike's father, Bandmaster Robert Allan Noel Marsh, Royal Military School of Music, Kneller Hall, back row, second from left.

Armed Forces Day 2022

UK Armed Forces Day, 25 June 2022

BREAKING NEWS EXCLUSIVE

Operation Mosaic G2 - 66 years since the dirty bomb

Operation Mosaic, G2 19/06/1956

Guinea Pig Ship Book, by Brian Marshall

The beginning of Operation Mosaic – why did British nuclear testing return to the Montebello Islands?

A note from the BNTVA Curator.

The beginning of Operation Mosaic – why did British nuclear testing return to the Montebello Islands? by Ceri McDade

BNTVA London Memorial

BNTVA Memorial visit on the 65th Anniversary of Operation Grapple.

65 Years of Operation Grapple

The 15th of May 1957 marks the 65th anniversary of Grapple 1.

Access to mental and physical welfare services for British nuclear test veterans and their families

Physical, psychological and welfare assistance for British nuclear test veterans and their families.

OPERATION FRIGATE BIRD – 6 May 1962 – A veteran’s memories

OPERATION FRIGATE BIRD – 6 May 1962 – a veteran’s memories

Battle Back collaborates with the BNTVA to provide fully funded activity courses for Britain's nuclear test veterans

Working with the Royal British Legion to assist British nuclear test veterans

Cold War Conversations Podcast with an Operation Dominic veteran - "Three, two, one, detonation..."

A young sailor's experiences during Operation Dominic, Christmas Island, 60 years on - Peter Lambourne.

Service To Remember Operation Dominic 60 Years On

Remembering Operation Dominic nuclear testing in 1962.

Adobe

60th anniversary of Adobe

Bit of background on joint UK-US testing.

Independent American testing with British involvement?

Operation Dogstar 1954

A renewed relationship in 1962!

Operation Dominic

BNTVA joins Genetic Alliance UK

The BNTVA is accepted into membership of Genetic Alliance UK.

DRIVING PROGRESS

BUILDING OUR COMMUNITY

BUILDING GREATER AWARENESS

BUILDING OUR ORGANISATION

Our Chaplain on the Spot

"Relatively" podcast featuring siblings Nicholas and Christopher Frayling. The BNTVA is fortunate to have been blessed with Nicholas as the Association Chaplain since 1987.

Resubmission of BNTVA Medal Application from 2021

The BNTVA has just re-submitted the 2021 medal application to the Advisory Military Sub-Committee, the Secretary of State for Defence and the Minister for Veterans with the following letter.

Living without protections - the impact of the removal of COVID restrictions on the British nuclear community.

BNTVA beneficiaries' point of view needed for new brief.

Commonwealth Day 2022 : Australia 1952

1952 HMS Campania and HMS Plym reach Freemantle.

FREMANTLE AND PERTH.

Commonwealth Day 2022 : Sierra Leone 1952

Freetown, Sierra Leone,

Commonwealth Day 2022 : New Zealand

New Zealand at Operation Grapple

Commonwealth Day 2022 : Fijiian Troops at Britain’s Christmas Island Tests

The role of Fiji as part of the British Commonwealth in the Cold War

Commonwealth Day 2022 : Mauritius 1952

On the way to Operation Hurricane, HMS Campania and HMS Plym stopped off in Mauritius. It was mentioned what to expect in the Plym Pudding magazine;

Number 10 "Ocean Keypoint" Monday, 14th July 1952 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx MAURITIUS

Number 10 "Ocean Keypoint" Monday, 14th July 1952
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MAURITIUS

Number 9 "Union makes strength" Tuesday, 1st July 1952
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Growing support for the British Nuclear Test Veterans' Association by the Royal British Legion.