V-bombers are reunited
Members of a famous squadron which flew Britain's first nuclear missions in the 1950s have been reunited with their beloved aircraft.
Memories of Cold War missions came flooding back for the crew of the V-bombers, who met at RAF Cosford, near Wolverhampton, exactly 50 years after dropping the first thermo-nuclear hydrogen bomb on Christmas Island in the Pacific Ocean.
Roger Carter, aged 72, organised yesterday's poignant and final reunion of the Megaton Club, named after the blast measurements.
Mr Carter was a responsible for the construction of the weapons in 49 Squadron.
He said: "Fifty years ago we dropped that first bomb and then went swimming in the sea that afternoon.
"We'd all go to the water's edge to watch the bombs drop. We had to turn our backs and cover our eyes for the blast and then turn around to see the mushroom."
The then young men were taking part in Operation Grapple, the top-secret development of Britain's nuclear weapons.
It was a massive trial involving more than 1,200 personnel from all of Britain's armed forces.
Work on Christmas Island began in May 1956 and nine nuclear detonations took place the following year.
Anne Washbrook, aged 87, is the widow of Alan Washbrook, who was responsible for navigation and radar on the Valiant, which is on show at the Cold War exhibition at Cosford.
Great-grandmother-of-six Mrs Washbrook, from Tamworth, said: "We were married 14 years by the time Alan went to Christmas Island and, as a wife, you just didn't ask any questions. We always knew where to write to but you just waved them off and hoped they came back."
Their son Martin, aged 55, lives in Willenhall. He said: "My father was completely convinced there were no effects from nuclear testing. Of course he was wrong but that is what he honestly believed."
