Cold War hero signed his own death warrant Pgs 6,7 BBC 'ditched'
Nuke Vets Pg 9 US back to 'duck and cover' pg 8
I r D d) is neither ignorant nor a fool. So what possessed him to stand up in parliament recently to declare
that there was “no evidence” that any of the thousands of servicemen who took part in Abomb tests were harmed by radiation.
This, as we have so often pointed out, flies in the face of all sense and reason.
Take the cases we have highlighted in this edition and the last, of two heroic RAF pilots who died of leukaemia after exposure to nuclear bomb tests
Nobody with a brain could in all justice deny that radiation caused their illnesses.
But in the shameful spirit of denial that has been its hallmark, the Ministry of Defence flatly refuses to accept that the bomb tests were responsible
When is the British Government finally going to admit the blindingly obvious that if you expose thousands of unprotected
men to fallout there will be inevitable health consequences?
If, as the evidence uncovered by Fissionline suggests, the reason for this obstinacy is a desire to protect the public purse from paying compensation, the repeated denials border on criminality.
One day the government will be forced to accept that the jig is up. Servicemen WERE harmed by radiation as a result of their participation in nuclear weapons tests.
The more they deny it the more stupid they will look when the truth is dragged kicking and screaming into the open as it assuredly will be. When that day comes, the fallout will make other notorious cover-ups look minor by comparison
T s g tyranny
They were later killed --- but it wasn't the Luftwaffe that shot them down; it was their own side, the British, who finally did for them.
Both men died in another war, the Cold War, piloting Caberra aircraft in the front line of Britain's nuclear weapon tests They contracted leukaemia after confronting the mushroom clouds created by the H-Bombs that put Britain back on the top table of international politics Both were certainly exposed to fallout which doctors were as sure as anyone could be was the cause of their illnesses. But instead of moving heaven and earth to a
of Defence who, in the words of a senior RAF insider, were "scared stiff" about opening the floodgates to claims for compensation.
Of course these two (of the Few) were not the only ones who had their lives cruelly curtailed by death and illness There were many more, legions of ordinary squaddies and sailors, who suffered every bit as much by witnessing nuclear bomb tests. Yet obdurate MoD mandarins cling on to discredited surveys by an undoubtedly biased quango, financed by the Ministry of Defence, to cover up the truth
But this entrenched postion is slowly crumbling Documents, both official and unofficial, are revealing the full extent of the UK's perfidy in its conduct of the nuclear tests.
Just one of those documents is unveiled in this edition, and there are many more to come, including new evidence that discloses a significant flaw in the cornerstone of the MoD's position
This new evidence is being assessed by some serious people and Fissionline, as always, will be the first to bring you the news For forty years we have been battling away, but now at last a possible chink in the MoD's armour has been uncovered. We will let you know the details as and when they become available
Tony Davis
MILITARY commanders overruled calls by scientists to administer blood tests to 4,500 servicemen taking part in Christmas Island nuclear bomb tests, according to a declassified document. They were worried that if someone was given a blood test and who later developed leukaemia it would be difficult to disprove claims that this was due to radiation. The revelation makes a nonsense of persistent UK Government claims that servicemen were not exposed to radiation during British nuclear teats in Australia and the Pacific in the 1950s
By Alan Rimmer
The document is the record of a high-powered secret meeting between the military, scientists and doctors at the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston, Berkshire, on July 15th 1958
Just weeks earlier, on April 28, 1958, Britain had exploded a huge H-Bomb off the coast of Christmas Island where thousands of servicemen cowered in the open wearing just normal khaki fatigues.
The document “Radiological Safety Precautions at
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Christmas Island,” is the minutes of the meeting, chaired by the Grapple Task Force Commander Air ViceMarshal John Grandy
He told the meeting that blood examinations for servicemen had been under consideration ‘for some time ’
But the problem was now more pressing because Britain was planning a further series of four nuclear tests, codename Grapple Z
AWRE scientist Dr J Lynch said he was concerned about the “political repercussions” if charges of negligence “however unfounded” could be proved
He added: “People with counts habitually above or below normal or those with any blood abnormality must be excluded from the possibility of radiation ”
He said for this reason it was an integral part of the medical examination given to all AWRE employees.
Dr Lynch was convinced that a blood count was of value because it would prejudice the case if no blood count was taken and a person became ill later
Air Commodore R H Stamm, who ran an RAF hospital said he was not convinced that a
blood count was of any use because, according to the minutes:-
“If a person was examined and found to be normal before posting to to Christmas Island and who later developed leukaemia, it might be difficult to refute the allegation that this was due to radiation received at Christmas Island ”
AVM Grandy said it was “clearly impossible” to subject all service personnel at Christmas `Island for Grapple Z, a total of over 4,500, to be given blood counts
But because the scientists at AWRE insisted on them for their people a compromise had to be reached
He proposed that only servicemen working in the forward areas where they might be subjected to radiation hazards should be given blood counts before the commencement of the tests
The question of whether all service replacement personnel posted to Christmas Island should be given blood samples was shelved and referred to the Air Ministry
THE MAN who signed the minutes of the secret meeting refusing blood tests to nuke servicemen was Squadron Leader Ken Charn personal assistant Force Commande Grandy
A highly-decorate WW2 Spitfire ace, he was one of the most experienced pilots on the isle and well knew the dangers he faced. He later said that he always felt like 'a dead man walking' since the huge Grapple Y explosion when he was required to witness the awesome might o the bomb from a small steel bunker positioned just 15 miles from ground zero.
Cocooned in the metal shell he observed its powe pinhole aperture in which allowed him inverted image of the explosion.
surrounded by earth and sandbags, the force of the explosion caused the reinforced structure to creak
the open
And even though the bunker, with its inch-thick sides, was
He described it as like stepping into a vacuum such was the stillness of the island
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and all around him Suddenly the air was rent by the biggest bang he had ever heard in his life, so loud that it ground as with a giant s he truggled to tand, nother bang, his time not o loud, but it till forced him o his knees s the air hook once gain. he final cene in this pocalyptic roduction rrived within econds: a last wave so owerful it wept him off is feet nging him ackwards in dazed heap orgiving coral scribe the blast, Charney said it wasn’t so much the wind but the deep-throated seismic growl accompanying it that seemed
to shake every molecule in his body.
Soon after, the bright sunshine was obliterated by a sudden squall which deluged him in a hard-stinging gust of rain that disappeared no sooner than it arrived.
coral reef leaving a deep gash which never seemed to properly heal.
But strangely enough several years later as he was stricken with the first signs of the blood cancer that would eventually kill him, it wasn’t his close proximity to Grapple Y that stuck in his mind It was the recreational swim he later took in one of the warm lagoons that dotted the island. As he left the water his right leg caught a sharp outcrop of
Mrs Charney, who was at his side throughout his long illness said: “He always believed the wound was the entry point for the radiation that killed him. "He said the lagoons were poisoned by that bomb and that hundreds, if not thousands, must have been affected " "Not long after he left the RAF, Ken began to lose weight and he began to lose his hair But he would never go to the doctor because he said he was frightened about what they might find "
As his health continued to deteriorate, the couple retired to the small principality of Andorra, 3,000-feet up in the Pyranees. He died several years later aged 62
An inept local doctor signed the cause of death as heart failure.
But when Mrs Charney returned to England an RAF colleague, who was by then a Harley Street physician, reviewed the case and established that Mr Charnet had in fact died from leukaemia.
On the strength of that Mrs Charney was able to apply for a war widows pension
She said: "At first they turned me down, but after I wrote a letter to the Times, they relented and awarded me the pension.
But it was a hard fight and Ken would have been mortified. He gave his life for his country, and it was no way to treat a hero."
Spitfire Ace Charney wreaked havoc with the luftwaffe over France in 1941 for which he was awarded a DFC He earned another citation for his skill in the 'Battle of Malta' when he shot down seven enemy fighters. Later, flying over Falaise in 1943 he was the first to spot the German 7th Army and his dramatic call to "send out the entire airforce" resulted in a massacre that helped cripple Hitler's war machine Churchill sent him a personal note of congratulation.
Faced with growing concerns about a nuclear attack from terrorists or bombs smuggled from places like North Korea the Americans are considering bringing back a 'Duck and cover' policy to protect schoolchildren according to the Atlantic newspaper In the 1950s there were concerns that in the event of a surprise atomic attack, it would be difficult to identify the millions of children killed while at school. The US government solved the crisis by issuing militarystyle identity ‘dog tags ’ The areas the dog tags were distributed, Utah and Arizona, were already being used for a
'duck and cover' policy whereby children were given drills on how to duck under their school desks in the event of a nuclear attack.
The locals strongly supported the continental atomic testing program taking place just a few score miles away Their pride was reflected in their children who were encouraged to treat the dog tags like ‘medals of honour.’ Some towns celebrated the close proximity of the testing sites by dressing up their children in A-bomb outfits during pageants
There were rumours that some livestock and possibly a few people in fallout areas had developed lesions or sores, but
the public remained unconcerned enough that children played in the grey and pink “snow,” writing with their fingers on the windshields of cars.
This enthusiasm, however, soon turned to disillusion Farmers reported more cattle becoming sick; in some areas whole herds were wiped out
The grisly toll extended to their calves hundreds of which were born deformed. It wasn’t long before the human population began to suffer. Scores of ‘Downwinders’, those living downwind of the A-bomb blasts, were hit by leukaemias and other cancers Some are still fighting for compensation.
IN THE early 1980s the media, and principally the BBC, became involved in fighting for justice for Britain's nuclear veterans
Hundreds of exservicemn came forward with complaints of cancers and other crippling illnesses Compelling evidence supporting the veterans was produced by various exp like Birmingham univer Alice Stewart and Amer Rosalie Bertell
Politicians became invo and the pressure mounte more and more men cam forward Then it was discovered the veterans' children were suffering from a range of illnesses that could be linked to radiation.
Powerful follow-up programmes by the BBC, including broadcasts like Children of the Bomb, and The Truth of Christmas island ratcheted up the pressure until it looked as though the Government would finally cave in to demands for a full public inquiry.
that pressure was put on the BBC at the highest levels. He said: "After being all over the story for months the BBC suddenly lost interest No reason was given, but I have always thought pressure was brought to bear by the government "The producer, whom I became very friendly with, suddenly wouldn't discuss it. In fact he said it was better if I
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programme about nuclear weapons and the effects of fallout. According to declassified papers Churchill issued secret instructions to the postmaster general, Earl de la Warr, after hearing the BBC was preparing a programme about the H-Bomb The ban was imposed in 1955 and continued under the 1960s Labour Government.
At the height of the Cold War, the USA ruthlessly commandeered air bases all over Europe to accommodate its growing fleet of nuclear bombers
Lakenheath in Sussex was just one of several bases in the UK, while other European countries, notably France, Germany and Turkey also played host to their powerful American allies. But the US military was loathe to sharing information about what was happening at these bases, especially when it came to accidents involving nuclear weapons. One of the most serious nuclear incidents which was covered up occurred in 1958 in Morocco which saw a B-47 bomber carrying a Mark 36 H-bomb erupt in flames on the runway
disaster, but according to recently released classified documents US military chiefs kept the incident secret from the French, who had leased the base to the Americans, and the British, their principal ally
One document from an official of the US Bureau of European Affairs dismisses the British as
“Considering how shrill our stolid British allies have been on the subject of nuclear accidents, albeit with political motivations…there is an understandable reluctance here to question the 16th AF (Air Force), or any other part of the SAC (Strategic Air Command.)
The documents also make
“shrill’ when he visited the base a few weeks after the incident
Only heroics by a team off firefighters prevented a
Bureau Director, Mr B. Timmons, says in his report:
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clear that France was not informed of the accident even though it granted the US territory in Morocco to build the airbase capable of
deploying the B-36 and B-47 bombers
By 1954, the US had secretly stockpiled nuclear weapons at the base, also without telling the British or the French
The incident occurred at the US military base at Sidi Slimane, 70 miles north of Casablanca, when one of the wheels on a B-47 bomber carrying a four-ton Mark 36 atomic bomb caught fire on the runway. The fire spread to the bomber’s fuel tank and the plane erupted in flames Firefighters tackled the blaze but couldn’t prevent it reaching the bomb
The commanding general at Sidi Slimane ordered that the base be evacuated immediately Fortunately, the explosives in the bomb burned out but did not detonate.
According to an accident report the Mark 36 hydrogen bomb and parts of the B-47 melted into “a slab of slag material weighing approximately 8,000 pounds (about 4 ton), approximately 6 to 8 feet wide and 12 to 15 feet in length with a thickness
B-47s strategic bombers parked at Sidi Slimane in August 1954
The State Department preferred not to broadcast the news about the incident since “a public statement might be distorted by Soviet propaganda and create needless anxiety in Europe,” No one in Morocco knew of the incident at that time
Mohammed V Timmons, who clearly had more faith in the Moroccans than America's NATO allies commented: “I was very impressed with our successful handling of the situation with the Moroccans, who are neither stolid or allied to us.
RUSSIAN President Vladimir
Putin has said that there was nothing unusual in a planned exercise involving nuclear weapons in southern Russia
In a statement released to Reuters he said the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons was part of a military exercise after threats from France Britain and the United States.
"There is nothing unusua here, this is planned work Putin said, state news agency TASS reported " training."
Russia's defence ministry its announcement explici linked the nuclear exerci to "provocative statemen and threats by certain Western officials against Russian Federation".
Putin said last year that Moscow had transferred some tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, Russia's first move of such warheads outside Russia since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, speaking alongside Putin, said that this was the third such training exercise.
"There were probably dozens in Russia, so we synchronized
strategic nuclear warheads, though there is uncertainty about exact figures for such weapons due to a lack of transparency
Nuke allies Putin and Lukashenko
Putin said that he had suggested to Belarus that it take part in one of the parts of the nuclear exercise.
"We hold them regularly," Putin said. "This time they are held in three stages. At the second stage, Belarusian colleagues will join our joint
And the general staffs, as the Russian defence minister told me, have already begun to execute these instructions," Lukashenko said.Russia and the United States were by far the world's biggest nuclear powers, holding more than 10,600 of the world's 12,100 nuclear warheads
China has the third-largest nuclear arsenal, followed by France and Britain Russia has about 1,558 non-
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There is still much uncertainty among arms controls experts about what weapons Russia has supplied to Belarus and the nature of their orage ypically, it would ake some time to reate the storage, ecurity and barracks or such a deploymentnd Russian nuclear weapons are controlled y the Russian defence ministry's 12th Main Directorate (known as 2th GUMO). It is nclear if 12th GUMO in Belarus, according o Western experts No power has used nuclear weapons in war since the United States unleashed the first atomic bomb attacks on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945
The Pentagon said recently that it had not seen a change to Russia's disposition of its strategic nuclear forces, despite what it called "irresponsible rhetoric" from Moscow detailing plans for exercises involving the deployment of non-strategic nuclear weapons.
"Above him the blue heavens, clear and serene, below the bomb rose to meet him like fumeroles from the bowels of hell"
Read the sensational true story of Britain's bomb by the award-winning journalist who was the first to break the news of its dreadful effects on thousands of servicemen and their children
Nuclear 'fixer' Nigel 'Nige' Heaps MBE (pictured) is setting up a new organisation with the rump of the old British Nuclear Tests Veterans' Association (BNTVA) which has been mired in controversy after the departure of its highly respected former CEO Ceri Marsh. Heaps, is helping four
former trustees of the BNTVA to set up an organisation whose aim is to preserve the legacy of the nuclear veterans for future generations. To be known as 'The BNTVA Collection' they hope to establish an advisory board to help advise on the future direction Meanwhile the Nuclear Community Charity Fund (NCCF) has given the trustee remnants a home (albeit a small one) in its journal Exposure
The NCCF was set up to manage £6 million in grants from the government to assist nuclear veterans and the wider nuclear community.
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The trustees have delegated the day to day running of the charity to Heaps's company, BH Associates, who report back to the Board of trustees and are therefore deemed to be key management personnel
In the 2022 financial year BH Associates invoiced £82,500 for their services.
Most of the money awarded to the NCCF has been invested with finance company Black Rock
More than £1 million was used to pay for research by Brunel University while a figure well north of £3million is still with Black Rock.
NCCF Advisor Nigel Heaps