Page 9 - CAMPAIGN Summer 2021

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Conference 2021
The Very Rev Dr Nicholas Frayling opened the Conference with a service of remembrance, followed by David Taunt, BNTVA Ambassador, introducing the day and people involved.
The speakers who kindly shared their expertise with us concentrated on the context of the Commonwealth atomic testing and the speed to develop the hydrogen bomb. We heard from Dr Christoph Laucht who spoke about Christmas Island within the broader context of the test ban debate; Dr Chris Hill shared about the mining of uranium in Ghana and Britain’s Nuclear Imperialism, and Professor Bo Jacobs, spoke live from Hiroshima concerning the use of radioactive fallout in warfare, where he concentrated on Bikini Atoll in 1946.
Dr Liz Tynan shared her presentation from Townsville, Australia, about Operation Totem and William Penney’s decision-making at the Emu Claypan. We were joined by Major Ian Razzell of the Veterans’ Covenant Healthcare Alliance and Michael Wycherley from Deafblind UK who talked about daily living with the double affliction of issues with hearing and sight.
Dr Matthew Wiseman from the University of Ottawa joined us online
(although the sound was not ideal through the equipment). Matthew spoke about the chilling topic of the Canadian Indoctrinee Force (the 1 Radiation Detection Unit) at Operation Buffalo. This small group of men had been sent to Maralinga in the forward zone to “roll around in the dirt” in their shorts and longsocks, four seconds after the blast. We learned that there was far too much irreversible reality involved at the “tests”.
Dr Rhona Anderson from Brunel University London gave an online update on the genetic and cytogenetic study of nuclear test veterans and descendants which is currently at the analysis stage. More will follow on this study in 2022. Rhona passed over to Amy Prescott, Doctoral Researcher, otherwise known as “the cake lady”, which sounds far more important! Amy visited and interviewed multiple veterans for her PhD, which is soon to be published. Amy read from her data, with names anonymised.
The room fell silent as she shared the experiences of veterans’, particularly
of their later lives. John Lax summed up after the speakers had finished, and our minds were rushing with further questions after hearing so much, which sadly, we don’t have room to write about in the magazine.
The Conference ended with a gala dinner, and the entertainment was provided by Selwyn Dorfman and the Gershwin Gang. David Taunt led the Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Telford & Wrekin to join the BNTVA for a beautiful three-course dinner followed by a raffle read out by the booming voice of Bryan Jarvis (the raffle raised £345). David also held a collection, which raised £247 for the replanting of the tree at Christmas Island after the Queen’s Royal tree, planted by Prince Philip in 1959 fell in February.
If you would like to donate to the Queen’s Tree collection, please send donations via cheque or online reference “BNTVA Queen’s Tree”. We are looking to transport
a tree from Fiji to Christmas Island for replanting.
CAMPAIGN SUMMER 2021