A veteran from South Gloucestershire has spoken up about how he and other British servicemen were ordered to march through the site of a nuclear bomb test to find how radioactive it was, just hours after it exploded. Brian Tomlinson, from Yate, had to dig out scientific instruments buried in contaminated soil and revealed he was left with bleeding ulcers on his palms for two decades.
The Mirror reports that Brian says that many of his comrades died from cancer in the years after they were stationed in the Australian outback - and he says he has had no recognition from the British government. He said of the test site: “That place is still radioactive, it’s in the soil for a hell of a long time, so what chance does a human being have?
“A medal would get us a little bit of recognition for those who took part. It says you’re someone who’s been noticed and not discarded, which is how we’ve felt for so long.”
