‘Sacrificed on the altar of progress and science’: early cases of disputed disease among British nuclear test veterans

Journal article

This article traces the experiences of nine servicemen who served on Christmas Island during Britain’s atmospheric nuclear weapons testing programme. It considers the complex medico-legal challenges faced by the men or their surviving family members in pursuing compensation for their suffering, and details the use of counter-expertise provided by anti-nuclear scientists to prove radiation-induced disease in court cases against the government. In newspaper articles, journalists positioned veterans’ suffering as part of a broader narrative: the risk that nuclear testing posed to public health. Their stories therefore allow us to consider the lived experience of the Cold War for those whose interaction with nuclear weapons was not abstract but very real. This article thus engages with a recent trend in British and Cold War history of amplifying forgotten voices, and forces us to rethink the supposed limited impact that the Cold War had upon British society.

Authors: Bowler, F

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Journal: Contemporary British History
• Volume: 39
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 424–445
• Publication date: 2025-04-24
• DOI: 10.1080/13619462.2025.2485894
• EISSN: 1743-7997
• ISSN: 1361-9462
• Language: English
• Keywords: nuclear testing; veterans; radiation; exposure