A judge has ordered the Ministry of Defence to hand over blood tests of a nuclear veteran to his family.
The loved ones of Squadron Leader Terry Gledhill had been battling with the MoD for more than a year to get hold of his blood samples which were taken before and after he flew through five mushroom clouds.
They want to find out if it led to his years of ill-health which included repeated infections, meningitis and circulation problems with his legs. He died in 2015.
Sqn Ldr Gledhill was awarded the Air Force Cross for bravery after leading ‘sniff planes’ through nuclear clouds to take radiation readings in the South Pacific in 1957 and 1958.
His daughter Jane O’Connor told the Mirror she was ‘over the moon’ after she won a Freedom of Information tribunal.
Squadron Leader Terry Gledhill was awarded the Air Force Cross for bravery after leading ‘sniff planes’ through nuclear clouds to take radiation readings in the South Pacific in 1957 and 1958
The loved ones of Sqn Ldr Gledhill had been battling with the MoD for more than a year to get hold of his blood samples taken before and after he flew through five mushroom cloud
Mrs O’Connor said she hoped her father ‘would be proud of me’, and said: ‘As an officer he always wanted to take care of his men, and with this we’ve set a precedent which could mean other families can likewise see the blood tests of their fathers too.’
Sqn Ldr Gledhill took part in Operation Grapple – a set of four series of British nuclear weapons tests of early atomic bombs and hydrogen bombs.
Some 14,000 British and n servicemen took part in the testing program.
They were given sunglasses and told to turn their backs to protect themselves from the blasts but many later went on to develop cancers related to radiation exposure.
Their children and grandchildren also suffered birth abnormalities linked to the nuclear tests. The British Nuclear Test Veterans Association is today still fighting to get compensation for them.
An investigation by The Mirror found Sqn Ldr Gledhill’s blood had been tested seven times in 15 months while he served at Christmas Island.
In January, the Government admitted it has kept medical results of military veterans who survived British nuclear tests a state secret, prompting a furious outrage.
Blood and urine samples from servicemen, civilians and indigenous people during the Cold War are among the thousands of personal records being held in a move that Tory grandee Sir John Hayes slammed as ‘beggars belief’.
The confidential documents could reveal whether those made to witness the atomic bomb tests had radiation enter their body, which could lead to a huge payout for veterans if they can prove the health consequences.
Veterans who survived the experiment are suing the government for the missing records after claiming they have endured 70 years of high rates of cancer, miscarriages and birth defects.
Pictured: The crew of the HMS Narvik watch the smoke rise after a British atomic test in 1956
The Government has admitted it has kept medical results of military veterans who survived British nuclear tests a state secret. Pictured: Nuclear test veterans on Christmas Island
Pictured: Britain’s first nuclear test on Christmas Island in May 1957
The soldiers only realised the effects of the nuclear blasts later in life when their children were born with severe medical issues such as spinal deformities, heart defects and sterility.
The Mirror reported that in 2018 the Ministry of Defence denied that the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) holds any evidence that blood samples were taken at nuclear tests until it rowed back on the claim in 2023.
Freedom of Information requests by the paper revealed how both blood and urine samples were taken at test sites under a Lord Chancellor’s instruction, which is why the documents could be held from the National Achives.
The files are said to relate to three nuclear tests in that took place in 1957 dubbed Operation Antler.
has contacted the MoD for comment.