They wanted to serve our country – but instead became nuclear ‘guinea pigs’

There are few people alive today who have witnessed a nuclear explosion. Those who have report seeing the bones in their body as if in an X-ray; a blinding light so bright it was impossible to look at without scorching your eyes; a blast wave so strong that it knocked you off your feet, wiping away all that stood in front of it.

But many do not realise these are not the testimonies of the victims of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima or Nagasaki, but of more than 22,000 British and Commonwealth servicemen, sent to the South Pacific in the 1950s and 1960s as “guinea pigs” to watch and experience the aftermath of nuclear weapons testing.

Many have since died. A few live on. We were privileged to first meet the brave veterans and their families at their annual reunion in 2023. It was warming to witness their patriotism after all the years and after all they have gone through – all they wanted was justice for their families and their band of brothers.