‘Covered in blisters after Christmas Island’

Senior Aircraftsman Christopher Noone’s story

From Legion Winter 2008

“I was assigned, as part of the ground-servicing crew, to fly on a Shackleton returning with radioactive samples. The journey took five days. The sample was stored in a flask behind the main spar in the corridor, with me sitting with my back to it. It was less than a foot from my back for more than 40 hours. I felt the first irritations on my back when we stopped in Alaska. My shoulders and back were covered with white raised blisters.

“I reported sick on our return to Cornwall and later spent several months in Princess Mary’s Royal Air Force Hospital, Halton, and had at least seven operations on my back.
“I became a recluse. If I did go out to socialise, I would have to return early, my shirt having to be peeled from my back covered in blood and matter. The smell was revolting.
“My teeth developed twisted roots making it very difficult to extract them and in the late-1960s, all but six lower teeth were removed in one go.”

“I received £1,800 compensation for ‘acne conglobata’, a condition ‘aggravated by service.’ But all medical documents dealing with my blisters were missing from the files and the MoD tried to state I had never been to Christmas Island.

“My eldest son developed similar boils and abscesses on his back when he was 12 and still suffers to this day. Likewise, my youngest daughter suffered abscesses all over her body”

To read Christopher’s story in full, visit the BNTVA website at www.bntva.com