A former soldier who saw a lot of big bomb explosions during the UK’s nuclear tests says he felt like a test subject.
Brian Cantle, who lived in Bedfordshire, was 21 years old when he was sent to Christmas Island as part of his national service in 1957. He and the other soldiers were not told what they were going to do there because the program was a secret.
Mr Cantle, who is now 87 years old, has been given a medal for his work on an island in the Pacific Ocean where nuclear tests were conducted.
The old soldier from Whipsnade saw many atomic and hydrogen bomb explosions during his year on the island. He was one of 22,000 British soldiers who took part in nuclear tests and clean-ups with the United States from 1952 to 1965.
Mr Cantle said he arrived in the middle of the night and felt like he was surrounded by sharks after sailing from Southampton.
“It was a simple island, very flat with reefs all around and sharks all around,” he said.
The Royal Engineers were supposed to build a camp for the British forces, but it became clear that there was something more important happening behind the scenes.
Mr Cantle said that someone told us there would be a bomb in about two months. When they dropped the bomb, there were also other aircraft there.
“We were told that an atomic bomb might be dropped, but we didn’t know much about it at the time. ”
When bombs were tested, Mr. Cantle said that the soldiers had to wear brown overalls and turn around to avoid being hurt by the bomb.
He said: “There was a bright light and then we were told to turn around and look at it. ” “It was a huge blast. ”
We were used as test subjects.
In the years after the nuclear tests, people have asked for the men who saw the tests to be told sorry for getting sick from the radiation.
“We were like test subjects, just following orders without question,” Mr. Cantle explained
“I’m not upset at all. It’s just a part of life and I’m grateful that I’m healthy. ”
The Grapple H-bomb tests were meant to prove that Britain could also have a big impact on the Cold War, after the U. S made the atomic bomb. Scientist Robert Oppenheimer. Scientist Robert Oppenheimer.
Every three months, they set off really strong hydrogen bombs.
But Cantle said that everything went back to normal at the company after the explosions. The chefs went back to making the next meal and he went back to building houses.
“We didn’t understand what was happening – no one told us much,” he said.
“It’s a good thing we didn’t know about it, looking back on it. “