How Britain got its own Bomb — thanks to a Labour government
Ernest BeVIn was fuming. the Labour Foreign secretary stormed into a 1946 Cabinet meeting with a face like thunder and told the assembled ministers, including new PM Clement Attlee, that Britain was being humiliated — and it must never happen again.
this vivid vignette was painted during a scholarly and heavily technical documentary about atomic weapons, Britain’s Nuclear Bomb (BBC4).
At first sight, the show appeared to be all quirky war stories and reminiscence, as twinkle- eyed explosives experts and daredevil pilots — buzzing with defiant mischief in their 80s and 90s — described how they built and detonated the UK’s first A-bomb.
But like so much history, this account turned out to be a shockingly relevant parable for our times. those boffins, engineers and airmen were not just reinventing physics: they were fighting for Britain’s place in the post-war global power structure.
Because the U.s. had a nuclear arsenal and we didn’t, American politicians were treating our government with naked contempt.
Bevin wasn’t going to stand for it. Whatever the cost, however insurmountable the obstacles, the Union Jack must keep flying, he insisted. He demanded that our scientists must do the impossible, and invent their own atom bomb . . . and they did.
the arms race is over, but in the 21st century we need that combative spirit more than ever. Bevin was a socialist, every bit as much a British bulldog as the Conservative leader sir Winston Churchill. Both would doubtless regard Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell as traitors for their determination to scrap our nuclear defences.
Politics was of small concern to the men and women at the drawing boards in Aldermaston and other top-secret research facilities — many so hush- hush that researchers were forbidden even to compare notes.
they faced more immediate problems than diplomacy and treaty negotiations . . . such as the need to avoid blowing themselves up. the plutonium core of their bomb was so toxic that, if one 1,000th of a gram escaped the lab, it could kill off half the county.
Meanwhile, the bomb itself was so light that when it was dropped, the updraft could suck it back into the plane, creating mid-air Armageddon.
to prevent that, the engineers devised a system of metal teeth and pulleys. the whole apparatus looked like it had been designed by Wallace and Gromit . . . except for the plutonium charge, which more resembled Doctor Who’s sonic screwdriver. some aspects of the documentary were frustratingly rushed. nazi refugee and physics genius Klaus Fuchs, who sold atomic secrets to the russians, deserved a programme all to himself. But in the Brexit era, this show was unexpectedly compelling tV.
Trust Me, I’m A Vet (BBC2) was watchable mostly for snippets of pets at play. the segments were linked by a video clip or ‘sting’ showing a black cocker spaniel pup leaping out of a cardboard box. no matter how often it was shown, it was always delightful.
Meanwhile a tortoise was attempting to scale a sheer rock face, like a slow-motion Chris Bonington. the problem was that most of the animals were suffering from fleas, or plaque, or bone disease — and while our own health problems are endlessly interesting, no one wants to look at a rabbit with manky overgrown incisors.
For some pet owners with specific questions, this show might be occasionally helpful. But mostly, all we really require is the puppy in a box.