Page 3 - BNVTA News November 2020

A Message from our Patron
As veterans know, for years I have championed the cause of our neglected part of the veteran community – all those involved in nuclear testing.
People reading this will know that troops who – in the service of their Queen and country – were exposed to enormous amounts of toxic radiation have suffered numerous, serious health problems as a result of invisible alterations to cellular DNA.
Responding to our campaign for adequate recognition for our brave nuclear test vets, the then Defence Secretary agreed that the Advisory Military Sub-Committee (AMSC) should consider the case for awarding a specially produced medal to the
servicemen involved in the UK’s nuclear testing programme.
Now, as the Government are working hard to respect and protect the interests of veterans, I have urged them not to forget about those who served so bravely and suffered so severely following our nuclear testing programme.
As such, I have written to Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence, Johnny Mercer MP, seeking reassurance that test
veterans will not be unintentionally disadvantaged by measures in the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill, designed to prohibit legal cases based on past events.
Working with colleagues across
the House of Commons and supporters beyond, I will redouble my efforts to see a medal awarded to Nuclear Test Veterans. In view of their age, it can’t come soon enough!
Rt Hon Sir John Hayes CBE MP
A Sad Departure from the Board of Trustees
The other day I received an extremely sad and emotional email from my dear friend and colleague David Taunt.
David and I go back a long way, when we first met in 1961 on Christmas island. David was in the Royal Navy and I was in the Royal Air Force, but we became close friends, united by similar interests and Operation Dominic.
We worked on the Christmas Island Broadcasting Service, CIBS, and we both liked to water ski, scuba dive, race go-carts and play music. Inter-service rivalry never featured in our relationship.
Sadly, David’s health has progressively deteriorated over the years, and now his eye-sight is failing to the point that he feels that he must resign his position of Trustee and Vice Chair of the BNTVA; this will be a significant loss to the BNTVA and I will miss the banter we both shared. There is no doubt that we will remain in contact with each other either by telephone or Messenger and, hopefully we will get together again to enjoy a beer or two.
Although David will no longer be part of the Board of Trustees he has promised to remain as active as he can within the Charity, and we welcome his continued participation with the BNTVA. Speaking on behalf of the board of trustees, we will all miss David’s contribution, insight and humour on such a regular basis.
John Lax
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