Leigh nuclear tests veteran calling for 'real compensation'

John Halsey, 88, is one of the 1,200 nuclear veterans at the centre of an ongoing campaign to the Ministry of Defence for compensation.

He and his fellow soldiers were subjected to frequent and dangerous levels of radiation as a result of the UK’s Operation Grapple nuclear tests on Christmas Island.

Between 1957 and 1958, Mr Halsey joined 22,000 British servicemen in the nuclear tests.

Speaking of his experience on Christmas Island, Mr Halsey said: “When they told us they were planning to let off atomic bombs, some of the blokes started crying, some pleading.

“We sat about 20 miles away from the explosion, I remember there was music playing, like it was quite the occasion, and then a countdown.

Reclining - John Halsey on Christmas Island (Image: John Halsey)

“We were wearing our khaki shorts and shirts. The scientists were wearing full protective gear, hazmat suits, goggles, breathing apparatus, and they were in a concrete bunker.

“We were told to sit with our backs to it, shut our eyes, then cover them with our hands.

“When it went off it felt like a hairdryer going across my back. Imagine how hot it must have been, to feel that extra heat even at the equator. I could see the bones in my hands.

“After the bombs we just got back to work. There were no health checks, no care.

“Last December they sent us a medal in the post. Who wants a medal? We want compensation.”

Mr Halsey was subject to four hydrogen bomb detonations and two atomic bombs. He has been diagnosed with skin cancer which he believes could be related to the tests.

He added: “There are only 1,200 of us left alive in the UK. They’re waiting for us all to peg out, stop making a fuss, but I was knowingly put in harm’s way.

“I didn’t sign up for that. No one knows how many died, how many marriages failed, how many children were born deformed.

“Truth is, it didn’t matter what happened to us, we were seen as disposable.”

The Ministry of Defence was contacted for comment.