If you are an RN or RNZN (HMNZS Rotoiti and Pukaki) veteran who participated in any of the prescribed operations conducted in conjunction with nuclear testing from 1952 to 1967 in the Pacific, e. g. Operation GRAPPLE, you may be eligible for the Nuclear Test Medal that has been approved for issue by the UK Government.
HISTORY
Following many years of campaigning, in November 2022, the British Government announced the creation of a new medal intended to recognise the contribution of military and civilian personnel that took part in the various programs aimed at developing nuclear weapons to be used by the British Armed Forces. The announcement was made to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the first UK nuclear test. In July 2023, the design of the new medal was released. The first medal issues will be made to personnel in the UK on Remembrance Sunday (Armistice Day) in November 2023.
MEDAL DESIGN
The medal features a crowned effigy of Charles III with the inscription CHARLES III DEI GRATIA REX FID DEF on the obverse, while the reverse shows an atom design surrounded by olive branches, with the words NUCLEAR TEST MEDAL beneath.
The ribbon has a central white stripe, with symmetrical stripes of yellow, black and red, and sky blue stripes on the out edge – the blue is intended to represent the sky and the sea in the Pacific, where the UK’s nuclear tests took place.
ELIGIBILITY
The Nuclear Test Medal is awarded to UK Service and civilian personnel, and individuals from other nations, who served at the locations where the UK atmospheric nuclear testing between 1952 [1] and 1967 inclusive.
To qualify for the Nuclear Test Medal, individuals need to have served at locations where atmospheric testing took place during the UK’s atomic and thermonuclear development programs, including the preparatory and clear-up phases,[2] between 1952 and 1967, on one of the following test operations:
- Operation HURRICANE– October 1952, Montebello Islands, Western Australia
- Operation TOTEM– October 1953, Emu Field, South Australia
- Operation MOSAIC– June 1956, Montebello Islands, Western Australia
- Operation BUFFALO– September – October 1956, Maralinga, South Australia
- Operation GRAPPLE– May 1957 – September 1958, Malden Island, Kiribati
- Operation ANTLER– September – October 1957, Maralinga, South Australia
To be awarded the medal, the recipient must have served either as a member of the armed forces, or as civilian personnel [3] in one of the named operational areas.
Although the UK did not conduct nuclear testing after 1957, eligibility for the medal covers not just participation in the tests themselves, but also in the preparation and clean-up phases.
The medal can also be awarded to any UK personnel that participated in Operation DOMINIC, a series of atmospheric nuclear tests undertaken by the United States between April and October 1962.
QUALIFYING SERVICE
The Medal is awarded for any length of service in one day.
Notes
- This date has been selected as the UK’s first atmospheric nuclear test took place in October 1952
- Including Operation CLEAN-UP, Operation HERCULES, and Operation BRUMBY.
- Civilian personnel would be primarily those serving with either the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment or the Atomic Energy Research Establishment.
References
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-medal-design-unveiled-to-honour-veterans-of-britains-nuclear-tests
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nuclear-test-medal-eligibility-criteria
Wikipedia