Read any travel brochures about Christmas Island, and one word comes to mind – PARADISE.
"Rising majestically from the tropical depths of the vast Pacific Ocean and surrounded by azure waters, lies a stunning natural wonder: its name alone is intriguing."
When RAF serviceman, John Bateson, just 20 years old, was posted to Christmas Island in 1958, he could be forgiven for thinking that he was a very lucky man landing in paradise.
Drinking from coconuts, swimming in blue lagoons, and sitting on the white sands with a cold beer, John knew nothing of the dangers lying beneath this blissful veneer.
We walked over to the blue lagoon to swim, wandering through plantations drinking the coconut milk – a relief from the heat.
The release of Christopher Nolan’s new film, Oppenheimer, has seen a renewed interest in the stories behind the atomic bomb, and the early days of nuclear weapon development have taken centre stage.
This is one such story.
John was one of more than 22,000 British servicemen who took part in operations at a time when 45 hydrogen and atomic tests were conducted in the 1950’s and ‘60’s.
He spent a year on the island over 64 years ago and has recently been honoured with the Nuclear Test Medal - the first medal to be awarded in the reign of King Charles III.
John has received numerous awards for his long service but his year on Christmas Island was a time like no other:
We landed on Christmas Island at mid-day – it was hot, very hot and we were still wearing our thick, blue woolly uniforms. Almost everyone who was serving on the island turned out to greet us on arrival.
Our accommodation was a four-man tent with nothing in it. The troopship, Captain Cook, had sailed that morning taking the servicemen home that had witnessed the previous atomic tests and we were left to go hunting for furniture, lockers, and beds for our tents.
We felt fortunate that we were the nearest to the NAAFI with supplies of food and booze and the WVS room in case we had any problems.
Now dressed in shorts and sandals, I set off for work in the Officers’ Mess where they had their own tent and a batman.
At dinner, the wine waiters wore white or red cummerbunds corresponding to the wine they served – something that I found funny at the time.
I was transferred to in-flight catering. We fed the Hastings crew and passengers going on leave to Honolulu and picked up the mail and, more importantly, ice cream three times a week.
Only once did I oversleep making the flight half an hour late taking off. I was put on a charge, told it was a very serious offence and put on a war footing.
I thought they were going to shoot me!
It turned out that my punishment was to be confined to camp for 3 days – on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
How funny.
Situated on the Equator, temperatures were always warm and very humid. The chefs cooked over oil-fired stoves in the Airmen’s Mess catering for 7,000 – I hate to think what the temperature was in that mess.
I felt very lucky to be spending Christmas on Christmas Island. I helped set up the mess for lunch on Christmas Day.
After all the troops were fed and watered with a traditional meal, it was our turn to sit down. There was plenty of beer around but only corned beef and chips available for us.
Fortunately, I have been blessed with a life well-honoured and have been able to continue to serve my community...
he next atomic test was scheduled for April but was cancelled.We were kept busy. When we had time off, we walked over to the blue lagoon to swim, wandering through plantations drinking the coconut milk – a relief from the heat. My nose frequently peeled. We didn’t have suntan lotion only salt tablets.
John drinking from a coconut in the plantation before swimming in the Blue Lagoon.
The NAAFI was very busy at night, and we’d sit on the beach with a can of Amstel beer – the ones with the lovely lady printed on them - and someone would play their guitar and we sang along.
We would go to the cinema (a big screen with a wall built around it) and would take a ground sheet cape to sit on. Who can remember them? If it rained, we put them on as there was no roof on the cinema.
I celebrated my 21st birthday out there with a case of Amstel and a bottle of whiskey, (I’d make up for it when I returned home). I left Christmas Island a year to the day in December 1959.
We had no idea that the beautiful setting hid such a sinister, invisible danger which would be detrimental to so many servicemen’s health in the years to follow.
Was it a blessing that we were unaware for so long that we were swimming and showering in radiated water, that the sand blowing in our faces and on our food was also radiated?
Fortunately, I have been blessed with a life well-honoured and have been able to continue to serve my community together with my wife of 63 years, Margaret.
I have 3 children, 7 grandchildren, and 8 great grandchildren. I was one of the lucky ones.
John was called up for National Service in July 1956, initially kitted out at RAF Cardington and completing his basic training at RAF Bridgenorth. He would go on to serve for 37 years in the RAF becoming a Mess Manager and rising to the rank of Warrant Officer, where he was a member of the Royal Function Team and selected for service on the Queen’s Flight. He would be called upon for many Royal duties.
In 1986, he was made an MBE by Her Majesty the Queen for his outreach and community work which he continues to pursue to this day.
It is for his service between 1958 and 1959, whilst serving on Christmas Island as part of the UK’s Nuclear Deterrent Testing Programme, that John has been recognised with the award of the Nuclear Test Medal.
The veterans who participated in such operations made the UK the third nuclear power and helped to establish the ultimate guarantee for British sovereignty in keeping us safe today.
There is no doubt that their service has preserved peace for the last 70 years. Our safety, freedom, and way of life have been protected in this way.
Description of the medal: The medal features an atom design surrounded by olive branches with the words, ‘NUCLEAR TEST MEDAL’ beneath. On the obverse is a crowned effigy of King Charles III. About the Nuclear Test Medal
Photo: John with brother-in-law, Walter, relaxing on Christmas Island, 1959...
Motorfinity support serving and retired members of the Armed Forces, and work hard in partnership with a variety of organisations including Army Family Federation; British Forces Discounts; Defence Police Federation; National Armed Forces Emergency Services Events; Naval Family Federation; Phoenix Heroes; PTSD999; RAF Family Federation; Royal Naval Association; Newark Patriotic Fund; SSAFA; RBL; Rewards For Forces; RAF News; Defence Discount Services.
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