- Many years ago I worked alongside other women
campaigning against both animal and human experimentation at the
Porton Down research facility in the UK. At the time rumour was rife
that not only were animals bred and tortured in horrific conditions,
but humans too, including servicemen, the elderly and the mentally
handicapped were being subjected to terrifying and dangerous
experiments, evidence of which is just now coming to light.
- "I have seen evidence which I think is genuine,
which seems to suggest that there is a certain section of the Ministry
of Defence which uses elderly people as guinea pigs for experiments
and quietly puts them to death afterwards. It is carefully hidden by
the Official Secrets Act." --Monsignor John Barry.
-
- "We now know that some 20,000 servicemen were duped
into volunteering for research into the common cold and then used in
the most horrendous experiments with nerve gas and all sorts of
things. We know that 40 people were injected with the biological
warfare agent Kyasanur Forest Monkey (KFM) disease in 1968. That was
apparently done to see if it was of any therapeutic value to leukemia
patients. KFM disease has a 28 per cent fatality rate and causes
horribly painful encephalitis in humans. Why was Porton Down involved
in this search for a leukemia therapy in a NHS cancer ward? It is a
coincidence that just three years later KFM became a recognised
biological warfare agent? Did Porton Down want to examine the
pathology of a biological warfare bug as it acts on humans?"
- Liz Sigmund
-
-
- "It was hideous, a hutted camp, where it seemed to
do nothing but rain. There were a series of bunkers to which you were
thrust from time to time to be gassed with CS gas and to go through
ghastly exercises underground wearing a gas mask."
- Patrick Mercer, retired army officer.
-
-
- "They put us in the gas chambers. We tested CS gas,
some of these tests are horrendous. I had no idea what they were doing
- as far as I was concerned they were doing common cold research
tests. I volunteered to earn a bit of extra leave. In one test we had
to stand in front of a stream of gas which I could not stand for more
than a minute. My face was stinging, my throat was red raw and my
lungs were burning. I was paid two shillings. It was a dirty trick,
plain and simple."
- Gordon Bell - airman at Porton Down in the
1950s
-
-
- "As far as we were all concerned the tests were part
of a programme searching for a cure for the common cold, if I had
thought it was anything more than that I would not have put my name
forward. "They gave us each a glass of water and we were told to drink
it, which I did and I felt no adverse symptoms. It tasted like water
to me, but some of the others who had taken the drink literally
started trying to climb up the wall and cowering in corners. They were
screaming and hallucinating and saying there were giant spiders in the
room. It is now pretty obvious that they had been given LSD or another
drug, and I was lucky that there did not appear to be any in my
glass."
- Eric Hatherall - storeman, Fleet Air Arm.
-
-
- "A loudspeaker informed us that the dosage was about
to be administered and to inhale normally. The immediate reaction was
a tightening of the muscles and the lungs. For some volunteers this
lasted several seconds while others experienced it for several
minutes. Other volunteers suffered 'horrendous' health problems
including severe headaches, skin and eye cancers, brain tumours,
paralysis, chronic bronchitis, asthma, nervous disorders and
blistering. At that time I was as strong as an ox, I could carry two
bags of cement on my shoulders. Now, I can't even lift two bags of
sugar. I firmly believe that the Government at the time, and
subsequent Governments who have covered up the events, are guilty of
war crimes."
- Michael Roche - corporal, Royal Engineers.
-
-
- "We were taken into a field and told to go into a
metal cone. I had a perforated can of flies and a rabbit in a cage. We
were told that when we heard an explosion we had to go and stand near
a wooden stake outside. They asked if we could smell anything. All the
officers were wearing gas masks, but we didn't have them."
- The next thing we knew we were all in bed and my
hands, wrists and ankles were all aching. They never told us we were
open to any danger."
- Peter Carpenter - Lance Bombardier with the 37th
Heavy Royal Artillery.
-
-
- "My husband set off for work at Porton Down on
September 20, 1966 When I saw him that night he was in a terrible
state , he had agonising stomach pains. He said, "I've had that bloody
American bubonic plague injection.Three months later he died, I was
told he had died of stomach cancer but I know they gave him a cocktail
of 19 injections of smallpox, anthrax, plague, and polio over five
years. I was told that he needed the immunisation jabs but I believe
that was just an excuse. They were using him as a guinea pig. He
wouldn't have refused because he would have been afraid to lose his
job."
- Hettie Nyman - widow of Frederick.
-
-
- "My husband Private William Dyer was 19 when he was
paid a shilling a day to crawl through a field sprayed with
radioactive chemicals wearing overalls and afterwards be scanned for
radiation levels. He died the day after his 49th birthday in 1987 of
Hodgkin's disease - cancer of the lymph nodes. They volunteered for
what they thought were simple tests. They were young and wanted to
earn a few extra bob - but now look at the price they have
paid."
- Jeanette Dyer, widow of William - Somerset Light
infantry soldier.
-
-
- "I specifically asked them what the long-term
implications of taking part in the tests were because I was not happy
about it. Of course if they had mentioned what happened to Ronald
Maddison (he died minutes after being tested with Sarin in 1953) I
would not have taken part. I believed that this would help my chances
of promotion and I also received £140 on top of my £400-a-month wages.
Scientists told me that I would be exposed to the nerve gas without an
antidote. I felt that at this stage I could not back out without
harming his career.I was led into a chamber and told to walk around
while the gas was administered. I had tunnel vision, and felt sick. My
chest constricted and it was like breathing through a straw. My head
ached terribly. The door finally opened and I was ushered out by
scientists wearing respirators and overalls. They completed tests on
me , assured me that my health would recover and told me to go home
and wash my uniform".
- Ian Foulkes - private 28th Signal Regiment.
-
-
- "In 1941 I was subjected to six weeks of tests with
gases and sprays that burnt, itched and blistered the skin. Today I am
dying of lung cancer. I believe that the tests at Porton Down could be
to blame; I also suspect that they may be responsible for the fact
that Terry, my 49-year-old son, has lymph cancer. I am not looking for
compensation, I just want the world to know that I and other British
women were used as guinea pigs by the British Government."
- I volunteered for the tests when I was a sergeant in
the 24th Heavy Mixed Anti-Aircraft Training Regiment, after a request
from a senior female officer. The volunteers were not informed that
they would test chemical weapons; instead they were told their
co-operation would help to end the war as part of a secret mission. I
wanted to help my country, and believed that the Army would not do
anything to harm me. At Porton Down, the volunteers were asked to sign
the Offical Secrets Act and told they would be paid a shilling a day.
Every day, I was subjected to gases and sprays that left me in pain or
covered in sores. Mustard gas was placed on my arms. It burnt for a
few minutes until I could wipe it off.
- In other experiments we ran through boggy fields and
were sprayed by light aircraft with substances that burnt our eyes and
skin and left blisters. I still love England and the Army and I can
even forgive them for what they did, but I want them to admit what
they have done to women as well as men."
- Mrs Pat Cunningham - sergeant, 24th Heavy Mixed
Anti-Aircraft Training Regiment.
-
- " What can you say? no one can describe the feeling
when I see my mum still upset (my dad died in 1956 age 26) It would
appear he was critically ill only 4 months after taking part in as we
have recently found out what was Sarin gas "only a small amount" not
much comfort when my dad died at 26. To discover your own country can
do this to there own people is unbelievable.
- I remember being told small snippets when I was
younger and thought it far fetched, how wrong. My Mum has told me she
could not have pushed things this far herself - she should not have
had to in the first place if the government had shown a bit more
respect for people. No wonder they hang their head in shame, they
deserve to."
- Chris Bishop
-
- Please support the Porton Down Veterans
-
http://www.portonveterans.8m.com/index.html
-
- Since its establishment in 1916 Porton Down has
undergone several changes of title and responsibility:
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- Royal Engineers Experimental Station
1916-1929
- Chemical Warfare Experimental Station (CWES)
1929-1930
- Chemical Defence Experimental Station (CDES)
1930-1948
- Chemical Defence Experimental Establishment (CDEE)
1948-1970
- Chemical Defence Establishment (CDE)
1970-1991
- Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment (CBDE)
1991-1995
- Chemical and Biological Defence (CBD) Sector of
the
- Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA)
1995-2001
- Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL),
Porton Down 2001-
-
- TRUST SELLS SKIN TO PORTON DOWN
- NHS patients not told of chemical weapons
tests
-
- Jeevan Vasagar
- Saturday February 10, 2001
- The Guardian
-
- Chemical weapons were tested on human skin removed
from NHS plastic surgery patients without their knowledge, a hospital
admitted yesterday.
- The skin, which was removed during breast and
abdominal surgery at Salisbury district hospital, was used by
scientists at the nearby Porton Down chemical warfare facility to test
how human tissue was damaged by corrosive chemicals.
- It was also used to investigate how drugs could be
injected through the skin, and to develop barrier creams to protect
against chemical attack.
- Consent forms signed by patients said the skin would
be used for "medical research" without explaining that it was being
used by the defence evaluation and research agency (Dera) which runs
the facilities on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire.
- Skin removed during the normal course of surgery was
sold to military researchers for an annual fee of £17,000. The
practice began in 1995 and was stopped two weeks ago in the wake of
the Alder Hey report. The hospital said it recognised some patients
might object to their skin being used for defence experiments, and
offered apologies. But Salisbury community health council, which
represents patients' interests, said it was surprised to learn of the
sale of body parts. Chief officer Mark Woodcock said: "Patients will
understandably be extremely distressed to hear of this news.
- "The CHC believes that the trust needs to provide
answers to the following questions:
-
- "First, who in the trust in May 1995 authorised the
trust to sell body parts to Porton Down?
-
- "Second, why did the trust continue to sell after
public awareness of problems at Alder Hey first occurred in November
1999?"
-
- A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman, speaking on
behalf of Dera, confirmed the skin was used in chemical warfare tests.
"Some of the tests were to find out how the skin absorbs chemicals
that might be used to attack our armed forces. But they were solely
for defence purposes - we stopped developing chemicals for attack at
Porton Down in the 1950s.
-
- "Most of the chemical tests done were for the
benefit of civilians. They were with corrosive chemicals that are used
in the home and work place, to see how the skin would be affected by a
spillage."
-
- The hospital trust said in a statement: "The trust
had thought it appropriate for patients' consent to be sought for the
use of surplus skin in all forms of medical research through a consent
form.
-
- "The trust now recognises that this did not inform
patients of the specific use of the skin and that some individuals may
not have wished for the skin to be used by Dera and offers its sincere
apologies for this."
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- http://www.global-elite.org//modules.php?op=modload&name=News&
file=article&sid=84&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
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