A veteran wrongly accused of murdering his own son has called on Boris Johnson to give a medal to survivors of Britain's nuclear tests.
John Morris has revealed his story after the new series of Call The Midwife featured the storyline of a nuke vet and his wife who suffered a stillbirth, and the Ministry of Defence covered up his medical records.
The show drew 7.3million viewers - a million more than the last Queen's Speech - and its star Stephen McGann has demanded the MoD abandon its "Pooterish nonsense" and award a medal.
But John, now 83, was unable to watch the programme. He was just 18 when he was sent to Christmas Island in 1956 on National Service and believes the Cold War radiation experiments he witnessed cost the life of his son, Steven, at just four months old.
What is your view? Have your say in the comment section
He and wife Betty were accused of killing him in 1962 when they woke up to find he wasn't breathing.
"We had put him to bed as normal, perfectly healthy. Next morning he was warm, but not breathing. We rushed him to hospital and the police were there. They took us off in separate cars, and accused us of killing him, smothering him or something,” said John.
“You have to face your neighbours, the pub, your friends, all these people asking what happened. And an empty cot.”
Eventually John and Betty were told they would not be charged, and were able to bury their son.
The post mortem found he died of bronchopneumonia - which should have caused a fever, loss of appetite, and breathing problems.
But he showed none of these symptoms and Betty told police he was breathing normally when she went to sleep.
Steven’s heart and lungs were covered in haemorrhages, which could be caused by an infection but also by microscopic malformation of the lung’s surface.
Today, it’s known that the children of nuclear test veterans report 10 times the normal rate of birth defects, and are five times more likely to die as infants.
* Read the full story of Britain's nuclear weapons tests at DAMNED
“Bronchopneumonia is about as likely as me climbing Mount Everest. It's a cover-up,” said John, now 83. “I’ve had cancer, I’ve got a blood disorder, I’ve lost a child, but I’m one of the lucky ones. I woke up this morning. Other people have suffered worse.”
John was a private in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps and among the first 3,000 troops sent to the South Pacific to prepare the island for a series of weapons tests as Britain raced to build the bomb. He worked in the camp laundry, and between May and November 1957 witnessed four nuclear explosions.
The first three - codenamed Short Granite, Orange Herald, and Purple Granite - were failures, and were lower-yield atom bombs. A fourth, codenamed Grapple X, was prepared in a hurry and exploded with a yield of 1.8megatons, becoming Britain’s first true hydrogen bomb.
For each, John was driven to the beach, ordered to stand with his back to the blast, and cover his eyes with his hands, without protective clothing.
He said: “We were about 20 miles away and the heat blast was incredible. It was like someone had opened an incredibly hot oven on your back.”
Between each he washed the uniforms of thousands of men, including scientists and engineers who had been into the blast zone, often with recycled water contaminated from previous washing.
He said: "We had an open-air cinema and I can remember a news item about how the engineers had constructed a small village on this sandy island nearby, and then dropped a bomb over it.
"When they went to assess the damage they couldn't - the island had gone. They say now it didn't happen, but the engineers we were stationed with swore they'd been the ones who built the village."
At 26 John was diagnosed with pernicious anaemia, caused by a failure of bone marrow to produce red blood cells and a known side-effect of radiation.
He has needed injections every 3 months for almost 60 years. He had a further three children, one with fertility problems. Betty died in 2003.
“Psychologically it’s always there. I worry that it’s due to me that Steven died,” he said. “When I’ve been to give blood and they heard about the nuclear tests, they told me they didn’t want it.
"And when I spoke to a consultant about organ donation he said they’d need to check them, first. But yet the government says there's nothing wrong with me.”
The UK is the only nuclear power on Earth to refuse a medal or compensation to its atomic veterans. Last year a medal review was denied, claiming there was not enough "risk or rigour".
John said: “I see people on TV with medals and the closest they’ve ever been to a weapon is the gun they shoot grouse with.
"A bit of bloody metal is the least they could do. We deserve to be shown that the country cares.”
A MoD spokesman said: “We are grateful to all those who participated in the British nuclear testing programme, which played a valuable role towards developing a nuclear deterrent that has ultimately kept Britain safe for decades.
“While it falls outside the criteria for medallic recognition, this in no way diminishes the contribution of those service personnel who witnessed the UK’s nuclear tests.”
- An adjournment debate on the need for a medal will be held in Parliament on Tuesday, led by Sir John Hayes MP.
