大象传媒 - WW2 People's War - Arrival at Porton Down 1940

Arrival at Porton Down 1940

by L Jackson

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Contributed by听: L Jackson
People in story:听: Lindsay Jackson
Location of story:听: Porton Down near Salisbury
Article ID:听: A1312093
Contributed on:听: 30 September 2003

Arrival at Porton Down 1940

[Part of an account by Jeffrey Jackson, slightly edited by L Jackson.]

[Porton Down, 1940, following Jeffrey's escape from Dunkirk in May.]

"We hadn't been long in Graffham before my MP's efforts [to get Jeffrey transferred from the Royal Army Service Corps] on my behalf took effect. I was transferred to the Royal Army Medical Corps and posted to the Chemical Defence Experimental Station at Porton near Salisbury. Here I encountered a number of other RAMC personnel who [like me] had all had some kind of training in chemistry. I remember one in particular, Norman Aldridge, who is probably the Dr N. Aldridge who served on a number of World Health Organisation Expert Committees on pesticides, but I never managed to be [working] in WHO at the right time to check on this. Porton was a rather sinister place - there was sometimes an unpleasant smell that some said was mustard gas. I worked in the laboratory of Dr Wright, who was involved in the testing of clothing impregnated with a substance that destroyed mustard gas: it was given the deliberately misleading name of Antiverm. This was unfortunate, as no.2 Anti-gas Laboratory Royal Engineers, which had been evacuated from France, but from Calais not Dunkirk, was preparing to go to the Middle East, and Dr Wright (transformed into Captain Wright) was to go with them to see how Antiverm stood up to the climatic conditions there. He needed an assistant, and I was the obvious choice. (I learned later that my RAMC friends who had stayed at Porton, had been discharged from the Army.) The Battle of Britain started while I was in Porton, but Salisbury Plain was not really affected, though there was a raid on the nearby Boscombe Down airfield, which was used for experimental purposes."

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Message 1 - Porton Down

Posted on: 18 October 2003 by goddessArtemis

I recall my father explaining that a couple of scars on his arm were caused by mustard gas. He had volunteered (or been volunteered!) to be experimented upon, presumably at Porton Down.

He was a soldier in the RA, was in the BEF and was evacuated from the Mole at Dunkirk. After arriving back in England, he was posted to Doncaster. Some time later, he faught in North Africa where he was severely injured, so I'd guess that his mustard gas experience was c1941

听

Message 2 - Middle East volunteer tests

Posted on: 24 October 2003 by L Jackson

Thanks very much for your comments. Your father may well have been exposed to British mustard gas experimentally in the Middle East rather than at Porton. My father's unit (no.2 Anti-gas Laboratory Royal Engineers) was sent there in November 1940 aboard the Andes and arrived in Cairo early in 1941. As you know from the part of his account that you have already read, they were testing desert clothing which resisted mustard gas. In the section of his memoirs relating to 1943 (see below) he names a Doctor, who was attached to the unit to deal with volunteer trials. If you can send me your father's name I can ask my father if he remembers him.

You can find links to other sections of his wartime account below:
A1098399

"Air raids on Egypt, 1941"
A1109657

"Poisons in Palestine 1942"
A1109684

"Partying in Palestine 1943"

"We now had a doctor, Major Curwen, with us to deal with the medical aspects of the trials being carried out on volunteers."

I hope this is of interest, L. Jackson.

听

Message 3 - Middle East volunteer tests

Posted on: 27 October 2003 by L Jackson

PS My father says that he had no involvement with the volunteer trials - sorry.

Message 1 - Porton Down Typist

Posted on: 15 November 2003 by jogamble

My grandmother Joyce Mersh was based a Porton Down as a typist for the scientists. she recalls that men would arrive at Porton Down very chipper and within a few days or weeks she would see them and they would be in very sombre mood. Grans not disclosed what exactly she had to document just that it was very grim. Also I'm not sure that she knows how much she can disclose to me as she may of sighned the Officials Secrets act.(could my Gran disclose all??).

Joyce made flight lockers and other furniture for the RAF before they found out she could type. She said she preferred making the furniture!

听

Message 2 - Porton Down Typist

Posted on: 04 February 2004 by i_amclairewilson

I was wondering if your Grand mother knew my Grand father Ernest alan Senior he was in his early twenties during the war though did look older and worked at Porton down.He was drafted to Porton down from university were he was studing Physics and Maths. He owned a great dane called Hamlet who was well known as he would beg for food at the mess halls.He had an intrest in amiter dramatics and married a lady called Constance Thorpe towords the end of the war who was ten ears his senior.Tring to find out what we can about what he did there during the war as he has now died and said before his death that he too had signed an official secrets act. the information that I have managed to accumilate leads us to believe that he was involved in the chemical side of the testing. His time at Porton had a devistating effect on his life and health this resulted in a traumatic up bringing for my mother and myself and also my uncle we want to be able to understand why he waslike he was and put his ghost to rest as well as answers to the questions that were left unanswered at his death.

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