A Scot who visited the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site days after the devastating blast has praised a TV miniseries for reminding a new generation about the tragedy.
Ken McGinley, who has campaigned on behalf of British nuclear test survivors, visited the site of the Chernobyl power plant following the world’s worst-ever nuclear accident in 1986.
Ken – who witnessed a string of British atomic bomb tests in the Pacific in the 50s – was invited to the former Soviet Union in the wake of the disaster.
When he got there, the 80-year-old watched deadly smoke plume from the stricken station as he was driven through the contaminated region. But they were forced to turn back as a Geiger counter measuring radiation levels “suddenly went crazy”.
Ken praised the Sky Atlantic miniseries Chernobyl for recognising the heroism of firefighters who tackled the reactor blaze.
He said: “The TV programme brought these events back into the public mind. It’s important we remember the experiences of the people who lived there.”
Ken – who witnessed five nuclear tests on Christmas Island in 1958, including the detonation of Britain’s first hydrogen bomb – was forced to leave the Royal Engineers in 1959 due to ill health.
He was founder and chairman of the British Nuclear Test Veterans’ Association, which campaigned for justice for afflicted servicemen at the time of Chernobyl.
In 1986, Ken had sold a guesthouse he ran in Dunoon, Argyll, and returned to live in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, when he sent a letter to the Russian Embassy in London.
He said: “I expressed sympathy for what had happened. Then I got a phone call from the embassy, who invited me to go to the Soviet Union.”
Ken met with doctors to discuss the health impacts of radiation before travelling to Kiev in Ukraine.
He said: “We drove to the Chernobyl plant outside the city. We got to about two kilometres from the site. We had a Geiger counter and it suddenly went crazy. The driver hit the brakes and refused to go any further.
“We could see the plant with smoke still pouring out as the fire was still burning away. We could see all these clouds above it.”
Ken returned to Kiev and saw residents trying to limit the impact of contamination.
He said: “They were hosing down cars and cutting grass. People had masks over their faces and the radiation levels were still very high.”
He met the family of Leonid Teljatnikov, head of the fire department at Chernobyl, who led efforts to contain the blaze.
Ken presented Leonid’s two sons with signed Rangers and Celtic footballs. He said: “I also took over Tunnock’s teacakes, shortbread and Caramel Wafers. We were taken to a circus and I handed out sweets to the kids. They loved them.
“I hoped to show we’d all had a similar experience and that people are the same wherever you go.”
