Fissionline 67

Fissionline COMMENT

Britain's Nuclear veterans after 40 years of fighting and campaigning have been awarded a 'commemorative' medal, a modest dollop of charity cash and few platitudes from the government.

It is not much for a movement that promised s much but ended up in bitte in-fighting and division. What the veterans deserve was a full judicial enquiry, compensation and an apology for nuclear bomb tests which decimated their lives and left a terrifying genetic legacy for their offspring.

Politicians and others, however, are hoping to sweeten the bitter pill by promising to "make a fuss" of the veterans when the medals are handed out King Charles might even be inveigled to take a hand in the proceedings. In this wa the Establishment hope the troublesome nuclear veterans, will finally be consigned to history. But it would be wrong to do so for the same reasons it would to dismiss the suffering of the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki whose survivors were described as "the most important people living", by Robert Holmes, Director of the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission in Hiroshima Holmes was not referring to those affected by the blast and heat. He was talking about those afflicted by what

became known as the "atomic plague": radiation sickness and illnesses passed on to unborn children and those yet to be conceived

This was the most terrifying manifestation of the technicalogical evil of the atomic bomb and the one the authorities were most frightened of. The politicians were able to

redemption by arguing that nuclear power was a source of unlimited cheap energy and prosperity.

But no matter how hard they tried, and they tried very hard indeed, they could never declare that man-made radiation, even at very low levels, did no harm.

So the genetic effects of radiation poisoning was

brush aside the death of 100,000 people at a stroke in a nuclear strike by proclaiming it a deterrent against future wars. The physicists who created the monster sought

covered up. Statistics were bent and warped and ditched and discounted to hide the true scale of the atomic plague.

Similarly the British Government obfuscated and

Andy Burnham takes the rage of the Kop to W

downplayed the effects of radiation on servicemen who witnessed the bomb tests. But.what is even worse is that they did not even consider the plight of the children of those servicemen even though they are part of that unique cohort of "the most important people" that Holmes talked about They hold in their DNA

pioneer these new frontiers of science and medicine until the truth emerges; Fissionline will continue to unmask the British Government's coverups of what really happened at the bomb tests. The so-called "nuclear community" appears content, proud even, to accept a commemorative medal and a few pieces of silver.

gathered to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster he offered the Government's equivalent of a medal: shiny words, expressions of sorrow and platitudes.

The Kop, however, were having none of it.

Burnham, now mayor of Greater Manchester, was hardly into his stride when a single strident voice rang out: "Justice for the 96 "

It was the starting pistol for a roar of rage and defiance that shook the stadium, rocked the nation and boomed and reverberated all the way to Westminster.

That roar of defiance was irresistable and couldn't be ignored. The Brown Government caved in and ordered an inquiry.

The result was that new evidence was unearthed, official lies were uncovered, culpable forces were named and shamed The Government under David Cameron was eventually forced to issue a grovelling apology.

That spirit of defiance is the only thing that can now save Britain's nuclear veterans. Fissionline is not the Kop but we like them have truth and justice on our side. We will continue to shout as loud as we can on behalf of Britain's nuclear veterans and their children.

secrets that must be explored especially now when advances in DNA research means we can delve deeper than ever before into the frontiers of our knowledge. Fissionline will continue to

Fissionline, however, would rather follow the example of the Spion Kop of Liverpool fame.

When Government Minister Andy Burnham stood before 30,000 Liverpool supporters

On our front page today, surrounded by pictures of tragic victims of Britain's nuclear bomb testing programme we proudly echo the words of Winston Churchill when Britain faced its darkest hour: "NEVER GIVE IN. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER.

Westminster forcing the Government to act

This badge

Britain's nuclear veterans are embroiled in a fierce battle over the use of the Royal Crown badge symbolising its organisation Trustees of the British Nuclear Veterans Association charity fired the opening shot when it said i own President, Ken McGinley was not allowed to use the bad on letterheads.

They said Mr McGinley, who founded the BNTVA in May 1983, only holds the 'honoury' position of President and shoul not use the crest when writing letters.

Mr McGinley fired back: "Who do these people think they are? I started this organisation and helped design the badge It was bought and paid for by a small group of my compatriots "

The row blew up when Mr McGinley wrote a letter of support to BNTVA Chief Executive Officer Ceri Marsh after she was sacked for "gross misconduct"over allegations o financial mismanagement, allegations which Ms Marsh vehemently denies Ms Marsh hit back with a serie allegations of sexual harrassme and bullying, and called in the police to investigate Mr McGinley, who was chairman of the BNTVA for 17 years used the crest on his letter of support in which he called for the immediate resignation of four BNTVA Trustees

He has now been accused of "fakery" in an on-line attack by a "special adviser" brought in by the BNTVA Trustees after the Charity

Commission suspended operations and the organisation's bank account frozen.

The BNTVA charity claim the Royal Crown Crest is copyrighted and have threatened

was called Tom Birch, a Christmas Island veteran like myself.

"He did all the work and paid for it himself If the badge belongs to anyone its him. The BNTVA e no right denying Ken McGinley from y produced ntation proving that Mr had paid for the badge the emblematic design, well other araphenalia

action for misuse

But last night many nuclear veterans, including the group that applied and received permission to use the Royal Crown on its badge, hit back.

Christrmas Island veteran Mike Rubery said: "The man responsible for getting the badge

He also revealed the original standard of the BNTVA was also bought by the association's West Midland branch, of which Mr Biirch was a prominent member Mr Rubery said: "We had the BNTVA standard, which was our property, laid up in Birmingham Cathedral after we left e main BNTVA anisation in 2012." Birch in his submission Royal College of Arms ain's nuclear veterans ed allegiance to the n they were in service to adopt it as a symbol of their cause.

Out of his own pocket he paid the £150 application fee which records show wqs sent to Sir Colin Cole, Principal King of Arms representing the heraldic authority of England.

Normally the application would have to be approved by the Home Secretary before going to the

Mike Rubery and the Royal Crest

is our badge

Monarch for final consent

But Sir Colin ruled that because servicemen were involved he would make use of the Warrant of the Earl Marshall to bypass the Home Secretary.

Mr Birch, who has sadly died, witnessed three H-bomb tests and two atom bomb tests on Christmas Island in 1958.

But his widow, Mary, Said: "If the badge belonghs to anyone, it's my late husband. He was involved with students from the l,ocal arts college in the design and did all the negotiations with those who turned it into the badge you see today

"He would have been horrified to learn that nuclear veterans, especially people like Ken McGinley, had been barred from using it

Mr Rubery added: "Tom wanted this badge for all nuclear veterans not just a few "

Newspaper tells story of how Tom was awarded the Royal Crest

Newspaper tells story of how Tom was awarded the Royal Crest

Tom and Mary Birch

West Midland nuke vets with the flag

Cassandra, Andy Capp and me...

By Alan Rimmer

One of my proudest possessions is an 11" alabaster statue of Andy Capp, the pot-bellied, beer-swilling, working class cartoon Geordie who disgracecd the pages of the Daily Mirror in the days when it sold 5 million copies a day

The statue belonged to Sir Bill Connor, the Mirror's acidtongued Cassandra who famously described witnessing an H-Bomb explosion as "A dress Rehearsal for the Death of the World "

Bill Connor died in 1967 after a fall But he had been ill for some time, an illness which he attributed to the bomb test, codenamed Orange Herald, he witnessed off Malden Island in 1957.

I know this because his widow, Lady Isobella, wrote to me several times after I produced a series of articles about the bomb tests in the 1980s She, too, blamed the bomb and passed to me some of her husband's private

correspondence from his days in the south pacific

Sadly most of this correspondence has disappeared with the passage of time, but I remember being struck by how terse and to the point his letters home and to the Mirror offices were One said simply: "Boom! Postponed."

It was Cassandra's telegrams that particularly amused me To the Mirror's financial manager in

accommodation at the Honolulu Hilton for indefinite period "

Another commanded: "I am advised I am to have dinner with the captain of the flagship, please arrange tailor to visit my room to fit me for tropical whites."

I'm not sure how the monastic bean counters would react today But this was Cassandra and his word ruled Andy Capp, in fact, came to me via the family of Ted Fenna, the Mirror's northern editor and great friend of Bill Connah A family member and friend of Lady Connor, said: "She wanted you to have it "

I regarded it as the highest honour, far more important than the modest journalistic awards I have since accumulated.

An example of Cassandra's journalistic integrity came when the bomb test was delayed and the top brass offered to provide a description to enable the reporters to meet their deadlines. This produced graphic accounts based on what they were told that duly appeared in England a few days later.

But Bill was having none of it And even though it meant the Mirror would be scooped by the rest of Fleet Street, he refused to budge

He waited for the blast to take place so he could witness it with his own eyes before picking up his pen.

London he wrote: "I am obliged to go to the south pacific on top secret mission. Kindly arrange

His famous account which is reproduced opposite shows he was, as usual, right.

Bill Connor Me and Andy Capp

Bill and Isobella

"An oil painting from hell, a dress rehearsal for the death of the world, beautiful, dreadful, magnificent...'

It was a dress rehearsal for the death of the world we the observers looked like grotesque mourners...we were 35 miles from where The Beast was due to explode after being spewed out of the bomber -- quite near enough in view of the fact

changed into a smaller mushroom

Welcome, beloved bomb.

Greetings great bomb, made to a recipe that not more than 100 men and the Devil himself alone know. Flesh and blood never held

into the death sentence -- or the salvation of the world

Cities collapse and fall into rubble at your embrace. A hundred thousand square miles are rendered unfit for human life

Dreadful and beautiful bomb. Children unborn

stem appeared at its base, as steam and water were sucked up from the sea below. The horrible pudding in the sky became a diseased cauliflower and then

a secret like thius before Hydrogen,lithium, uranium, tritium, plutonium and Satanknows-what, all compounded

seek to use such a weapon?

Little man made in the image of God, surely not you?

CASSANDRA

This is the "special adviser" brought in by BNTVA bosses to look into alleged governance issues in the charity

His name is Nigel "Nige" Heaps MBE, former chairman of the BNTVA, but more recently associated with the NCCF the Nuclear Community Charity Fund which looks after the millions awarded to the nuclear community out of Libor fines imposed on the banks It is not clear what Heaps's official position is today, and it is not known how long he will remain with the BNTVA.

Legal considerations mean we can't go into the details of his investigation, but he eventually presented evidence to the Trustees of the BNTVA leading to the dismissal of the CEO Cerri McDade

Ms McDade vehemently denied any wrongdoing and retaliated by bringing certain other matters, which are being investigated by

the police, to the attention of the Charity Commission.

This in turn resulted in the Charity Commission effectively suspending the BNTVA charity while it carries out its own investigation Its bank account has also been frozen. At least three Trustees have since walked out of the charity in protest.

The Daily Mirror is demanding the removal of on-line posts from Fissionline which it claims are defamatory

In a letter to the home of former BNTVA chairman Ed McGrath, editor Alison Phillips demands that he "procure the removal" of the four fissionline posts and undertake that they are not republished

She began with an admonishment to Mr McGrath, a Bomber Command veteran, that her letter was "not for publication."

The editor signs off with a threat: "In the event the matter is not resolved, "all our legal rights and remedies in relation to this matter are expressly reserved "

"I am writing to seek an amicable resolution of this matter,"

A Fissionline spokesman said: "We stand by our articles which we believe are accurate. We will not be silenced "

No, it's not Conan the Barbarian. It's the 'special adviser' brought in by bosses to sort out alleged problems in