Christmas Island veteran receives medal

A Blind veteran has been presented with a medal in recognition of his service during the British Armed Forces nuclear weapon tests in the 1950s.

David, 85, and from Norwich, attended a ceremony at Norwich City Hall on 15 October and was presented his Nuclear Test Medal by the Lord Mayor of Norwich, Councillor Vivien Thomas.

David has been supported by our charity since he lost his sight and was accompanied on the day by one of our volunteers. 

Christmas Island

Operation Grapple saw a series of British nuclear weapons tests carried out close to Christmas Island in the Pacific Ocean between 1957 and 1958.

David joined the RAF in 1956 at the age of 17. At 18 he was posted to Christmas Island for nine months and witnessed the testing of a nuclear weapon. He says:

“I was a safety equipment worker; my role was to maintain the equipment for pilots which wasn’t easy as sea water got into everything."

David describes the conditions as "atrocious". He says there were flies, rats, and crabs and they were allowed two buckets of fresh water a day to drink but it was an offence to wash or shave with it. He says:

"We had to do these things with salt water which wasn’t pleasant. The temperatures and humidity were high too, but I did enjoy the sun.

“We all made the most of it with a film screen set up, fishing and swimming and we would play with a football that was smuggled in.”

The test

David remembers the intensity of the bomb blast. He remembers that they all sat cross-legged on the ground with no protective clothing watching the plane take off. Once it had climbed to the correct height, the countdown was started. He says:

“Seconds before the explosion, the bird world went quiet, then came the flash, it was so hot that it was like sitting with your back against an electric fire, some people were burnt.

“The double bang followed, it was louder than breaking through the sound barrier. The palm trees were knocked over.

“Then it started to rain, a terrific tropical storm, it brought all the rubbish back down to earth, showering us.

“We walked along the beach following the test and the sand had turned to glass, it was so hot. I remember a whole colony of pure white birds with beautiful long tail feathers that were wiped out. We had to pick them up, place them in bags and destroy them. The same for the fish, they were bagged up and the Navy took them out to sea.”

The medal

David served for 12 years and has suffered with health problems throughout his working life that he believes to be caused by exposure to radiation. He says:

“I have felt angry as I don’t feel myself and the other veterans have been treated correctly. Initially the medal arrived in the post in a jiffy bag along with my junk mail. I saw news reports of other veterans arranging their own presentations so I decided to try and do the same in Norwich. I advertised but only one other lady responded. Her husband had passed away but she had received the medal on his behalf."

David was joined by this lady and her daughters for the presentation.

Sight loss

In 2022, David was registered as sight impaired. He started to receive our support in 2023. 

David was told about three years ago that he was losing the sight in his left eye and can’t see anything out of that eye now. The doctors are currently trying to save the sight in his right eye which is very blurry. He says:

“I’m coping and the support from Blind Veterans UK has really helped me as I come to terms with my sight loss. I used to scald myself when making a cup of tea, but the charity has provided me with a machine that makes my hot drinks. I also have new steps by my back door to support me to walk independently with my four wheeled walker.

“I attend lots of veteran meetings and enjoy getting together with other veterans for a chat. I live on my own following the death of my wife but the groups ensure I get out and about.”