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#Post#: 29411--------------------------------------------------
CDE Porton Down 1972
DIR By: Dick Skinner
Date: July 26, 2015, 6:48 am
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Strange how things from your past return to haunt you.
Had a phone call yesterday from a journalist from 'The Mail on
Sunday' wanting to know all about my time at Porton Down and
what happened to me and Phil Coughlan when we went there. When I
queried how he knew of me he said I was in a recently published
book all about Porton and other secret projects. This was news
as I have never talked to anyone apart from the police during
the Porton Down investigations and the lawyers who got us all
compensation from the MOD (a pittance).
He read me out the extract from the book ( "Secret Science" by
Ulf Schmidt, published by Oxford University Press) and from the
notes at the end of the book it was clear he had been given
access to all the witness statements taken by Wiltshire Police
at the time of the Porton investigations. So all the bollocks
about it being secret and the official secrets act is a load of
crap. So memoirs here we come. There could be some cash in this.
PS The book is priced at £25 and the relevant pages are P400 +
if anyone is interested
#Post#: 29414--------------------------------------------------
Re: CDE Porton Down 1972
DIR By: Wolf
Date: July 26, 2015, 9:10 am
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HTML https://www.kent.ac.uk/history/staff/profiles/schmidt.html
HTML https://www.kent.ac.uk/history/staff/profiles/schmidt.html
#Post#: 29415--------------------------------------------------
Re: CDE Porton Down 1972
DIR By: Dick Skinner
Date: July 26, 2015, 10:03 am
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Many thanks for that Nigel. I assume he had access to Police
files during the Ronald Maddisson inquest. Very surprised he got
permission to publish though. My statement is quoted almost word
for word. I have sent the guy a snotty E-mail asking why he
didn't at least have the common courtesy of informing me that my
statement was being used to line his pocket.
#Post#: 29419--------------------------------------------------
Re: CDE Porton Down 1972
DIR By: Ian Pluck
Date: July 26, 2015, 10:38 am
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One of the best pieces of advice I ever got as a young airman
was from FS Pete Hawkins, at Neatishead. I went to his office
one day with an application form to go to Porton Down. He took
the form from me and asked why I wanted to go there. When I
told him it was to get a little more pocket money, he ripped it
up in front of me, put it in the bin, then proceeded to give me
a fatherly chat about what they did at Porton Down and why I
shouldn't go anywhere near the place. A little extra pocket
money just wasn't worth it.
#Post#: 29420--------------------------------------------------
Re: CDE Porton Down 1972
DIR By: Dick Skinner
Date: July 26, 2015, 10:41 am
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Pity there was nobody around at Buchan to do the same thing in
1972 Ian.
#Post#: 29423--------------------------------------------------
Re: CDE Porton Down 1972
DIR By: Brian Reynard
Date: July 26, 2015, 10:57 am
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I seem to remember back in the 50/60s that Stations Orders would
carry an 'advert' asking for volunteers for Porton Down, if my
memory serves me right it sort of intimated research into
various vaccines but highlighted flu as being one of the major
projects.
#Post#: 29429--------------------------------------------------
Re: CDE Porton Down 1972
DIR By: Bill Reid
Date: July 26, 2015, 5:39 pm
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--- Quote from: Dick Skinner link ---
>
> Pity there was nobody around at Buchan to do the same thing in
1972 Ian.
>
--- End Quote ---
There was somebody because I also asked to go to Porton Down, I
like you was also asked why and I was told politely to foxtrot
oscar and not be so stupid. Can't remember the name but took the
advice and didn't go. Cyprus beckoned went there instead.
#Post#: 29435--------------------------------------------------
Re: CDE Porton Down 1972
DIR By: Dick Skinner
Date: July 27, 2015, 8:08 am
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--- Quote from: Brian Reynard link ---
>
> I seem to remember back in the 50/60s that Stations Orders
would carry an 'advert' asking for volunteers for Porton Down,
if my memory serves me right it sort of intimated research into
various vaccines but highlighted flu as being one of the major
projects.
>
--- End Quote ---
Research into "the common cold" and "flu" were the two standard
lies they used to entice people to volunteer. These lies were
not exposed until the Wiltshire Police enquiries of 1999/2000
which lifted the lid on the whole Porton Down scandal. However
although the Police were in no doubt that many crimes had been
committed they were unable to prove who the guilty parties were
in each individual case and no-one ever faced trial. A fact that
saved both Labour and Conservative parties from major
embarrassment, the period of the crimes ranging from 1939 to
1986.
#Post#: 30396--------------------------------------------------
Re: CDE Porton Down 1972
DIR By: John Wilson
Date: September 5, 2015, 3:26 am
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The request for volunteers for Porton Down was in SRO's at
Patrington on a fairly regular basis. Luckily there were a few
people who knew what it was all about, so there were no
volunteers from our camp
#Post#: 36746--------------------------------------------------
Re: CDE Porton Down 1972
DIR By: Ian kinghorn
Date: July 7, 2016, 2:25 pm
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--- Quote from: John Wilson link ---
>
> The request for volunteers for Porton Down was in SRO's at
Patrington on a fairly regular basis. Luckily there were a few
people who knew what it was all about, so there were no
volunteers from our camp
>
--- End Quote ---
I enlisted while I was working in the stores at Porton Down,I
was still living with my parents and my father had come out of
the Army and joined the MOD Police, and was later posted there
as a Sergeant. I regularly saw servicemen walking around the
(porton downs staffs) recreation club, although they were not
supposed to let on what tests were being carried out on them,
some did, but one thing I did notice, not a single one of them
looked happy!
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