Britain's Nuclear Bomb Scandal: Our Story

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2024

History
Documentary

Summary

Documentary revealing the full extent of the British government's nuclear tests in Australia and the South Pacific in the 1950s and 1960s. More than 39,000 British and Commonwealth servicemen witnessed 45 atomic and hydrogen bombs and hundreds of radioactive experiments. The film exposes the debilitating health conditions that blighted the lives of veterans, descendants and indigenous communities ever since

Review

Frances Taylor

It shouldn’t be television’s responsibility to bring national scandals to wider attention, yet so
often it requires a drama or documentary to shine a light on sidelined injustices and tragedies. Towards the end of this one-off doc, we’re told that a compensation scheme hasn’t yet been set up for nuclear veterans. Hopefully that will change following the broadcast of both this programme, and C4’s similar documentary that aired recently. This heinous, tragic scandal has created lifelong and generational damage, both to British servicemen and Indigenous people.

Between 1952 and 1963, Britain carried out testing for nuclear weapons in Australia and the South Pacific. The government wanted to see what impact atomic and hydrogen explosions would have on machinery — and people. Wearing just T-shirts and shorts, servicemen were told to put their hands over their eyes as bombs detonated. There was the immediate trauma (“It was if I was being microwaved,” recalls one veteran), but the long-term harm has been devastating. Cancer and chronic illness have impacted many. And when they went on to start a family, many of their babies were stillborn or had birth defects. The powerful, dignified accounts given here will make sure their stories no longer remain forgotten.

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BBC iPlayer

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rolenameDirectorSimon RawlesEditorSteve WilliamsExecutive producerEsella Hawkey

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