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CHEMICAL warfare began 100 years ago, on april 22, 1915, when a white cloud of German chlorine gas drifted over the British front line at Ypres, causing chaos and suffocation. there were no gas masks, no preparations for gas attack. troops exposed to it, including my father, were told to pee on their handkerchiefs and breathe through them — the ammonia in the urine supposedly offering some protection.
a poison gas arms race resulted, every combatant country devising gas masks and new gases which could penetrate them. Chlorine gave way to phosgene, which gave way to mustard gas which attacked the skin, causing horrible blistering, as well as the lungs.
england’s testing ground centred on the Wiltshire village of Porton. Porton Down, our most secret research establishment, began operating in 1916 and remains the centre for biological and chemical warfare today. testing on animals was soon being supplemented by tests on human volunteers: members of the scientific staff exposed themselves to tiny doses. From the twenties onwards they were replaced by hundreds of servicemen, who were offered a posting to Porton on extra pay, with assurances there was no danger to their health.
the secrecy of Porton Down gave way to great alarm when one of the raF ‘volunteers’, Leading aircraftman ronald Maddison, died as a result of experiments with sarin in May 1953.
at the inquest, held in secret, the Wiltshire coroner was leaned on by the Home office not to ask awkward questions. He recorded a bland verdict of ‘death by misadventure’. a detailed description of its effect on this 20year-old aircraftman is given at the beginning of the book. He entered the Porton gas chamber and at 10.17am sarin drops were applied to a piece of cloth attached to his forearm.
at 10.40, feeling ‘pretty queer’, he was let out, sweating and gasping for breath. an ambulance was called. the driver was shocked at what he saw: ‘It was like he was being electrocuted. His whole body was convulsing, the skin was vibrating, stuff was coming out of his mouth like frogspawn or tapioca. His leg rose from the bed and his skin turned blue.’ By 11am no pulse could be felt, nor could he be revived.
attention turned to biological warfare using germs to paralyse an enemy. one of the experimenting scientists died at Porton of the Black Death in 1963. another verdict of ‘misadventure’.
Meanwhile tests were carried out on the London Underground with a benign bacillus. a box containing only 30 grams of it was dropped from a tube train near Waterloo.
Within four days, traces of the germ could be found for ten miles on all the major lines, proving the vulnerability of cities to such attacks.
By the Sixties, biological warfare had become hugely unpopular with the media and the public. Porton was portrayed as a secret bogeyland, and more and more ex-servicemen claimed they had been ‘duped’ into undergoing trials by not being told what they were exposed to. All complaints were stonewalled by the MoD, which claimed no harm had been done to anyone.
Wiltshire police put an end to this in 1999 by deciding to investigate all witnesses from the past 50 years. The 2000 report resulted in the reconvening of the inquest into the death of LAC Maddison by order of the High Court.
This time it was an open court and trial by j ury, which sensationally decided that Maddison had been ‘ unlawfully kill ed’. Although no prosecutions were mounted, the government apologised publically for its shortcomings and the Porton Veterans Association was offered settlement after years of refusal. The government finally paid out £10 million (including legal costs) to 670 veterans.
Professor Schmidt condemns unreservedly the high- handed treatment of the veterans. These victims, who were not told the truth and often suffered in health in later life, were treated as mere nuisances to be brushed aside by the government.
The secrecy of Porton often had concealed unethical and unfair practices. This massive piece of research, though f ar f rom easy or pleasant reading, fills an important gap. Whether we agree with it or not, at l east we know what has been going on.