Shadow of the Bomb Art Exhibition – UK Nuclear test veteran awareness

Tuesday, 11 June 2013

John Baron MP helps launch BNTVA recognition campaign

MP highlights art exhibition inspired by nuclear tests

Today in the House of Commons, the British Nuclear Test Veterans’ Association (BNTVA) launched their campaign for official recognition by the nation for the contribution made by veterans of the British nuclear testing programme. As Patron of the BNTVA, John sponsored and spoke at the event, which was attended by other MPs, nuclear veterans and their descendents.

The launch also included artwork by artist Gary Bennett, Kathrine Connery (the daughter of a test veteran), and members of the BNTVA. Their work is inspired by the nuclear tests, and aims to portray the mental anguish experienced by British Nuclear Test Veterans and their descendants. It depicts the mental trauma which many service personnel have experienced since participating in the British nuclear tests. A larger exhibition, taking place on Oxford Street and curated by the veterans themselves, and their descendants, will be on display next week – please see below for details.

John said:

“We owe our nuclear test veterans a huge debt of gratitude for their service. This superb exhibition conveys some of the emotions felt by the servicemen during the nuclear tests, and is a fitting accompaniment to our campaign (for official recognition of the veterans’ unique contribution to the defence of the realm) which we are proud to launch today.”

Nige Heaps, Chairman of the BNTVA, said:

“This is a fantastic start to our campaign, we have received support from all parties clearly showing that the recognition of the contribution and suffering of our Nuclear Test Veterans is rightly regarded as an issue of national responsibility.

I look forward to the public launch of our Shadow of the Bomb art exhibition, which will raise awareness of our campaign in the public arena.”

Shadow of the Bomb Art Exhibition

The art exhibition, entitled ‘The Shadow of the Bomb’, will take place at 3Space (29-31, Oxford Street, W1D 2DR), and will run from 17^th – 21^st June. Admission is free, and opening times are as follows:

Monday 17th June: 2.00pm-5.00pm, 6.00pm-8.00pm
Tuesday 18th June: 11.30am-6.30pm
Wednesday 19th June: 11.30am-6.30pm
Thursday 20th June: 11.30am 6.30pm
Friday 21st June: 11.30am-2.30pm

There will also be an evening reception on Monday 17th from 6pm- 8pm.

For further information please contact Sheena Pankhania at Cratus Communications (spankhania@cratus.co.uk, 020 8546 9374).

Guided entry to the exhibition building is available by calling the Exhibition Phoneline 07789455583 if a Guide is not at the front of the building.

“The test veterans’ service was quite unique. When these men took part, the science was largely unknown. Pre-test precautions were primitive and inadequate, and failed to fully protect individuals from the effects of heat, blast shock and ionizing radiation. Many veterans believe their health was adversely affected by these tests.”

“The BNTVA and I recently started a new campaign to establish a Benevolent Fund to support veterans and their descendents, and to obtain official recognition from the Prime Minister of our debt to them. The campaign is warranted because our nuclear test veterans are poorly treated when compared to other countries.”

John said afterwards,

“Today marks the beginning of our recognition campaign for British Nuclear Test Veterans. The campaign is supported by a good number of MPs, and we are hopeful we can secure a worthy settlement for these brave men.”

http://ntvrecognition.blogspot.co.uk/

June 22, 2013 - Posted by arclight2011part2 | Uncategorized

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