A veteran from South Gloucestershire has spoken up about how he and other British servicemen were ordered to march through the site of a nuclear bomb test to find how radioactive it was, just hours after it exploded. Brian Tomlinson, from Yate, had to dig out scientific instruments buried in contaminated soil and revealed he was left with bleeding ulcers on his palms for two decades.
The Mirror reports that Brian says that many of his comrades died from cancer in the years after they were stationed in the Australian outback - and he says he has had no recognition from the British government. He said of the test site: “That place is still radioactive, it’s in the soil for a hell of a long time, so what chance does a human being have?
“A medal would get us a little bit of recognition for those who took part. It says you’re someone who’s been noticed and not discarded, which is how we’ve felt for so long.”
Read more: The decoy cities built to spare Bristol from Luftwaffe bombs
Last month, Boris Johnson became the first Prime Minister to meet veterans, and promised action before October’s 70th anniversary of the first test. But following Johnson's resignation, campaigners are seeking reassurances from the candidates to be the next PM, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, that they will do the same.
Brian, 85, was a sapper sent to Maralinga, South Australia, in 1957 to take part in Operation Antler, a series of three atomic bomb tests designed to help build the H-bomb. He was part of a troop of Royal Engineers which worked with Australian soldiers, and 40 of them lived for a year inside the blast zone in canvas tents.
Brian, a 20-year-old corporal at the time, said: “Nobody told us what it was all about, or checked us for radiation, but every morning we went into the forward area. We had pneumatic drills, and had to blast down through the soil.”
The crew had to bury dozens of large steel containers 8ft square with instruments to measure the blasts. A few hours after each bomb, Brian and his crew, wearing only shorts, socks, boots and a hat, had to drive back in and extract the instruments.
Scientists who went with them wore radiation suits and badges, but Brian said for the first two blasts he had neither.
He added: “After the third bomb, we were given little rubber boots, and a white overall, and a dose badge. We were told to walk through the crater. The mushroom cloud was still overhead.”
The first two bombs, codenamed Tadje and Biak, were one kiloton and 6kts respectively. But the third, Taranaki, was 25kts, as powerful as the weapon which destroyed Nagasaki in 1945.
Brian said: “The site was like a bowling green. The heat from the bomb has crystallised the earth underneath it.
"It was a crust of molten sand, like glass. They told us to walk into the crater and check our meters to see how high the dose was.
"When it reached a certain point they told us to come out. It didn’t take long for it to reach that point.”
Brian was not checked for radiation while excavating amid the fallout, and he was not given any long-term medical follow-ups. Six years after the tests, he was medically discharged with a duodenal ulcer.
It has been proven that exposure to radiation can cause gut issues, and a Government study this year reported nuclear test veterans were 20 per cent more likely to die from stomach cancer.
Brian said: “It wasn’t until later I started having skin problems. It would cover me from head to toes, rashes on my back, chest, legs, thighs.
“They used to come out on the palms of my hands. I’d get a little itchy blister in the centre of my palm, it would spread over the fingers. I used to wear white cotton gloves to ease the pain and itching.
"The skin would crack and bleed. I had that for 20 years, and no doctor could work out what it was. Then one day, after 20 years, it just stopped, as suddenly as it came.”
Today, cancer patients are warned radiotherapy using beta radiation can lead to radiodermatitis, which sparks rashes, skin peeling, and ulceration. It is caused by the decay of isotopes, including plutonium and cobalt-60 - both of which were in Operation Antler bombs.
Brian said: “I told all my consultants what was done to me in Maralinga, and asked if it was due to fallout. They all denied it.”
The Ministry of Defence claimed veterans were well monitored and protected. It said: “The Prime Minister met with veterans recently, and asked ministers to explore how their dedication can be recognised."
What do you think? Sign in and join the conversations in the comments below
