John Gibbs given Nuclear Test Medal decades after watching explosions

John Gibbs said it was "nice to be recognised" for his work

A Nuclear Test Medal has been awarded to a Royal Navy veteran.

John Gibbs, from St Neots in Cambridgeshire, witnessed four nuclear bombs near Christmas Island, now known as Kiritimati, in 1958.

The 87-year-old said they looked like an "enormous explosion of matter in the sky" over the Pacific Ocean.

Downing Street agreed to the creation of the medal in November 2021 after campaigning from veterans and charities.

Tens of thousands are eligible for the Nuclear Test Medal

About 40,000 British personnel participated in atomic and hydrogen bomb tests in the 1950s and 1960s.

Around 2,000 personnel involved in the tests are thought to still be alive.

'Eyes buried into kneecaps'

Mr Gibbs was on HMS Scarborough with about 150 others in 1958 when they went to Christmas Island in the Pacific Ocean, near Australia, to guard the nuclear bomb test site in the sea.

The veteran said everyone on the ship was called to the deck when he first witnessed an atomic bomb.

"We were all on our bums and our knees up and our eyes buried into our kneecaps," he said.

"You felt this enormous explosion hit you, and then the searing heat from it afterwards a few seconds later go through you."

A British test explosion over Kiribati in the Pacific Ocean in 1957

He said they were told when they could look at the "ball of fire in the sky" that was about 20 miles from them.

"[The] first thing you see is... this great ball of black and red, intense rumbling, rolling around explosion and burning, and it's sucking in all the clouds in the immediate vicinity [and] they're all rushing into it to be gobbled up.

"The sea underneath began to erupt upwards towards it, and... it erupted into an enormous mushroom [shape]."

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He said they had no ear defenders and were told to cover their eyes to protect them from the "flash" produced by the bomb.

Mr Gibbs is one of many veterans who says their family has been affected by health issues because of radiation exposure from the nuclear tests.

The Ministry of Defence has repeatedly said large studies have found no link between the tests and ill health.

Mr Gibbs said he had "no qualms" at the time when participating in the nuclear tests

Downing Street said the Nuclear Test Medal commemorated contributions by members of the armed forces, scientists and local employees from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Kiribati.

Mr Gibbs said it was "quite emotional" when he received his medal in the post.

"We served Queen and country well, and it's nice to be recognised, but it should have been done a long time ago," he added.