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