Former Peterborough mayor receives Nuclear Test Medal

Alan Dowson, 86, received his medal after serving on Christmas Island during nuclear tests in the late 1950s

A former mayor of Peterborough who was exposed to thermonuclear bombs as a 19-year-old serviceman has received his Nuclear Test Medal.

Alan Dowson, 86, witnessed detonations as part of Britain's nuclear testing programme in the Pacific in 1958.

On Monday he and 10 other veterans - whom he called "guinea pigs" - were at a ceremony at Peterborough Town Hall.

He said he hoped the event would go some way to thanking veterans for what they did more than 60 years ago.

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

The British government dropped nine thermonuclear weapons on Christmas Island, now Kiritimati, between 1957 and 1958.

About 22,000 British servicemen, along with soldiers from New Zealand and Fiji, took part in the tests.

'Dead birds everywhere'

Recalling events at Kiritimati, where he was stationed, Mr Dowson said: "You sat there on the beach; they told you to wear your shirtsleeves down, to wear long khaki trousers.

"We had to wear a bush hat, and rather than flip flops you wore actual shoes.

"We sat with our backs to the sea for four bombs - two atomic and two hydrogen - and we felt the blast.

"We got up, and then we could see the mushroom cloud, and we got back on our lorries.

"We did that four times and, as a youngster, you just thought that was an episode in your life.

"We were guinea pigs."

Mr Dowson was an Acting Corporal on Christmas Island at the time of the blasts

Mr Dowson, who was an Acting Corporal at the time, added: "There were dead birds everywhere. A Flight Lieutenant, who had a patch over one eye, had watched the bomb with the other.

"He went blind for three months."

The long-standing Labour councillor said he wanted to hold a gathering for families partly because he and other recipients had not had an official event.

He and other veterans and families have long campaigned for recognition, with the Prime Minister announcing the new medals last year.

Mr Dowson said it was inappropriate they had been sent the medal in a Jiffy bag in the second class post, and described the Westminster response over the decades as a "poor show".

"There was a note inside saying thank you for your services, here's a medal."

The medal ceremony, was, however "very satisfying to bring together a number of the veterans and their families, and share something that happened 60-odd years ago", Mr Dowson said.

"There was a lot of joy doing that, I feel that it compensates for the lack of the government doing more."

He said he was pleased the story of the veterans was "now being heard".

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: "We are grateful to all service personnel who participated in the British nuclear testing programme and contributed to keeping our nation secure.

"We are pleased that around 3,000 veterans have now received a medal in recognition."