Twist Issue 161 May 2024
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The couple married in 1965 and moved to Dronfield<br />
in 1968. Ted went on to become a teacher until his<br />
retirement when he became a volunteer at<br />
Chesterfield Law Centre for nine years. He was<br />
involved in the British Nuclear Test Veterans’<br />
Association at the time he wrote his account.<br />
More than 22,000 British servicemen participated in<br />
the British and United States' nuclear tests and cleanups<br />
between 1952 and 1965.<br />
Ann said: “The powers that be, the observers and<br />
scientists, had all sorts of protection against radiation<br />
but the men, like Ted, didn’t. Many died in their 50s<br />
from cancers - a legacy from the radiation they<br />
received. Shockingly, their children too suffered ten<br />
times the normal number of birth defects from the<br />
genetic damage caused to their fathers by exposure<br />
to radiation. Genetic changes continue to be passed<br />
down through subsequent generations.”<br />
Ann said Ted had a long-standing wound on his leg<br />
which he attributed to the effects of radiation.<br />
Ted died of vascular dementia, aged 83.<br />
The Nuclear Test Medal features King Charles III on<br />
the front and an atom surrounded by olive branches<br />
on the rear. Its ribbon colours are white, yellow, black<br />
and red, including a lighter blue for the sky and<br />
ocean to represent the Pacific.<br />
Another photograph showing Ted and colleagues and,<br />
below, his hand-drawn map of Christmas Island<br />
Ann Cockbaine pictured<br />
with the medal awarded<br />
posthumously to her late<br />
husband, Ted - a former<br />
volunteer at Chesterfield<br />
Law Centre<br />
Ted and Ann<br />
enjoy a drink<br />
together<br />
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