An Introduction
Gerry Bowler and fellow RAF servicemen on Christmas Island, 1957
Welcome to the new blog space for An Oral History of British Nuclear Test Veterans. We’ll be posting regular updates about our project, as well as sharing stories, photographs, and events.
We are a team of four from the University of South Wales and the University of Liverpool. This project aims to record oral history interviews with forty nuclear test veterans. We are working with the British Library and all of our interviews will be available via the British Library’s website for the public to listen to. The project is also making a short documentary film with film maker Sasha Snow, and preparing a variety of education materials for school to use to teach the history of the tests and their legacy.
Who We Are
Dr Christopher Hill
Our Principal Investigator, Dr Christopher Hill, is an Associate Professor in History at the University of South Wales. He recently undertook a project which explored the multifaceted role of imperialism across the cycle of nuclear development in Britain. His first book, Peace and Power in Cold War Britain explored the impact of media on democracy in modern Britain with a particular focus on the anti-nuclear movement.
Dr Jonathan Hogg
Our Co-Investigator, Dr Jonathan Hogg, is a social and cultural historian of the nuclear Cold War. He is a Senior Lecturer in Twentieth-Century History at the University of Liverpool and his book British Nuclear Culture helped establish nuclear culture studies as an influential field of research. He is currently also working on a number of edited collections, and is interested in exploring the life in 1980s nuclear Britain.
Dr Fiona Bowler
Dr Fiona Bowler is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of South Wales. She is a historian of twentieth-century Britain and an experienced oral historian. She is currently writing a book on the history of the British nuclear test veteran movement in the twentieth century, which will be published by Liverpool University Press in 2025. Her grandfather, Gerry Bowler, served on Christmas Island during Operation Grapple and witnessed four atmospheric nuclear tests.
Joshua Bushen
Our Research Assistant, Joshua Bushen, has just finished a Masters by Research in History at the University of South Wales. His thesis explored the experiences of servicemen during Operation Dominic, a US testing programme stationed on Christmas Island in the 1960s which was supported by approximately 300 British soldiers. He is experienced in conducting oral history interviews with veterans.