The Parish Magazine May 2024

20 The Parish Magazine - May 2024
feature — 4
Claude wonders about things
he should not know . . .
One of my greatest pleasures is
listening to audio books from my
local library. Recently, I have listened
to a book which was particularly
interesting - 'The Radium Girls' by
Kate Moore.
It is based on a true story which
concerned young women in America
who used to paint dials on watches to
make them luminous.
Radium was an exciting discovery
which was used to make watches and
navigational instruments luminous.
Not much was known at the time
about the devastating impact this was
to have on their lives.
The job of ‘dial painter’ was a
lucrative one as the these young
women could earn far more than
their counterparts in other factories
and it was a job that they enjoyed
immensely.
Eventually it became apparent that
the work was causing serious medical
problems, they suffered disease and
unusual ailments; this included the
loss of limbs such as fingers falling
off. They all died young with many of
them never reaching the age of 30.
BEATING
Although it was obvious that
radium was to blame, their employers
were making so much money, and
there was so much demand for this
work, that it was unthinkable to them
that this could be the case.
The authorities tried to prove
it was safe and it even went to the
highest court in the US. The argument
was that it was harmless and even
that radium was beneficial!
Eventually, there was enough
evidence to outlaw it but sadly not in
time for many of these girls.
It reminded me of similar
radioactivity that killed my dad. When
I was on my National Service, he got
a job at Aldermaston AWE. He was a
metal turner making the casings for
atom bombs.
I remember that he brought home
a little bit of uranium. It was about the
size of an acorn and twice the density
of lead. He put it in my hand and I was
surprised of the unexpected weight of
it. He told me that if you put a Geiger
counter on it, it would go berserk! I
didn’t live with him at the time but it
was left in the lounge, on the mantel
piece and he never took it back to work.
Maybe his employers didn’t realise, but
there couldn’t have been much security
back then.
When, in the 1960s, it became
apparent in the news what was
happening at Aldermaston, a
newspaper columnist from The Evening
Post asked if people could ring up
if they knew anything about it. I
rang and told them about my father,
who although he had already died
was involved with radioactivity. The
reporter wanted to know any details
about his work, including his death
— which I am sure was due to the
proximity of uranium.
The reporter never rang me back
for this information the next day, and
I wonder whether there was a press
embargo from the government to
prevent any information becoming
public.
It makes me wonder how many
press embargoes there are that the
government and authorities don’t want
us to know about. How often does it
happen?
I do wonder.
RNLI celebrates
bicentennial
The Royal National Lifeboat
Institution (RNLI) has been
saving lives at sea around the UK
and Ireland for 200 years. Since
the charity was founded in 1824,
its volunteer lifeboat crews and
lifeguards have saved an incredible
146,277 lives.
To mark the significant milestone
a Service of Thanksgiving was held
on 4 March at Westminster Abbey
during which the Archbishop of
Canterbury, Justin Welby, gave the
sermon.
His Royal Highness The Duke of
Kent as President of the RNLI was
present and the service was attended
by representatives from every RNLI
lifesaving community around the UK
and Ireland.
The service took place at the same
time the RNLI founding papers were
signed in 1824.
There were also a number of
events in areas where the RNLI
operates and means so much to the
communities it serves. Flotillas took
place during the day and lifeboats
were paraded through their town
centres to remember past volunteers
and to symbolise a time when
lifeboats were hauled by horses.
APPRECIATION
Two special stamps from An Post,
which depict the charity’s lifesaving
work in Ireland, were unveiled.
Dublin based artist David Rooney
has created two images which show
the moment of rescue between the
lifeboat crew member and the person
in the water.
In appreciation of the RNLI and
its brave volunteers across the coast,
national monuments and historical
buildings were lit up in yellow on
the evening of Monday 4 March
2024. This included the London
Eye, Dover Castle, the Millennium
Bridge in Newcastle and Broughty
Ferry lifeboat station in Scotland.
There was a special birthday message
displayed across the BT Tower.
More events around the country
are being planned throughout the
year: https://www.rnli.org