An Oral History Masterpiece

On the 12th of September at the British Library, An Oral History of British Nuclear Test Veterans was launched. After many years of hard work, the team delivered an amazing project.

Dr Chris Hill and Dr Jonathan Hogg introducing the team

In an evening attended by Nuclear Test Veterans from across the Commonwealth, the NTV Oral History Project was released. The project team of Dr Chris Hill, Dr Jon Hogg, Dr Fiona Bowler and Joshua Bushen presented their work. LABRATS had endorsed this project from the very beginning after discussions with Chris and Jon. We knew that they would deliver on this project; the team they had assembled was incredible, and with the help of the Advisory Panel (of which Alan Owen was a member), the team was ready to deliver one of the most important pieces of work in the History of Nuclear Test Veterans.

The project received a grant from the Office for Veterans' Affairs, and work was undertaken to identify and contact veterans from all of the British tests.

During the presentation, the testing program was explained, and details of the project and the incredibly difficult process of organising the recording of oral history testimonies across the world were explained.

It must be remembered that these stories are extremely personal; they are emotional and, in many cases, extremely sad stories of loss coupled with mental and physical difficulties.

Yet the men who were interviewed opened up to the team, they trusted the team and told their stories in their own words, a testament to the team who interviewed them.

Unfortunately, some of the interviewees have passed away since providing their stories. They were remembered by the team for their contribution to this extremely important project.

Alongside the testimonies, a short film about the life of one nuclear test veteran was shown. It attempted to answer the question 'Love and death. Creation and destruction. Harmony and conflict. How do these great polarities of human existence play out over a lifetime?'

And it certainly does that. The film is incredible, it shows that even though these men suffered after effects, love can help them get through the pain. Produced by Sascha Snow, it is a fantastic story.

A Q&A Session was held after the launch, with Gerry Wright from New Zealand telling his story.

You can view full details of the Oral History program on the British Library website (https://www.bl.uk/stories/explore/nuclear-test-veterans)

Biographies and articles relating to the tests can be found on the site, with clips of the oral histories available within the articles. The full clips will be available in early 2026.

LABRATS were privileged to be asked to write an article which can be viewed here: https://www.bl.uk/stories/explore/nuclear-test-veterans/what-was-it-like-to-experience-a-nuclear-detonation

This project is so important for the community: these oral histories will be held in perpetuity so that anyone can listen to the experiences of the nuclear veterans, and future generations will be able to listen to the voices of the men who experienced the deadliest of creations.

The new LABRATS Educational package links directly to the Oral History Project so that students can hear the voices of the men. You can find out more about our educational package at www.labratsacademy.online.

At the All-Tests Reunion, we were joined by Dr Chris Hill, Sascha Snow and Joshua Bushen with 8 students from the University of South Wales. The afternoon was spent explaining the project, showing the short film and interacting with the Veterans.

Conclusion

As part of the Advisory Board, it is easy to be biased when praising a project, but this project is a masterpiece. The amount of work that has gone into the project, the willingness of the veterans to tell their stories and the collaboration between organisations to deliver it on time and within budget is incredible.

The team that carried out the interviews did a fantastic job, with a special thanks to Joshua, who at such a young age undertook a lot of interviews, many of which contained intimate parts of people's lives.

There are not many government-funded projects that deliver; this one has and shows that with collaboration and dedication by extraordinary people, we now have an oral history archive we can be proud of.

Thank you to everyone involved, especially the veterans, for being so open and welcoming to the team. We would also like to thank the Office for Veterans Affairs for their support.

Please visit the website at https://www.bl.uk/stories/explore/nuclear-test-veterans to see for yourself.