Listening to the silence

Pathe newsreels, the voice of the British establishment; such were the invitations from the postwar Ministry of Defence. British servicemen were invited to volunteer as subjects for Porton Down. This was portrayed as a pleasant holiday camp. A Carry On film-style scenario showed a naked woman in a shower momentarily interrupted by a worthy volunteer (oo-er!), presumably a semaphore for something beginning with “s” and ending with “x”. In fact, what they received was something beginning with nerve gas and ending in death or years of disability. Disability and silence.

* A volunteer taking part in trials at Porton Down

The upturned face of a …