Great as usual but... John Constable did his best work in Wiltshire? What about The Haywain? Or Willy Lotts Cottage? His best and most famous works are from Flatford and East Bergholt on the Suffolk/Essex border surely?
Chemical weapons are deployed in a fashion that makes it impossible to run from saturated areas. You can't see most nerve agents (spine will tingle ... too late).
My late father was one of the 1950's "Volunteers", he to was told it was a cure for the common cold!! One of the factors in ending the class action in 2008 and accepting the VERY low offer was that so many veterans were ageing and would never see victory in this battle!! My Dad died 2 years later! Thank you for sharing this story, Simon.
I know a guy who did a lot of time in military prison, he claims to have been tested on with anthrax and he does go to a rehab centre for 2 weeks every few months. I wouldnt ever ask him to verify something like that but i do find it hard to believe, this would of been in the late 80s early 90s. Any possibility he is telling the truth?
My Warrant Officer warned me never to volunteer for Porton Down explaining what they did. They also would paint chemicals onto exposed skin to study the effects. On a connected side note, I was one of the Service personnel who had the series of Anthrax injections from 1998 through to my medical discharge in 2008 in the hope we would be protected during exposure. Peace Charlie 🇬🇧
They were still asking for volunteers in the 1980s. My platoon sergeant said he would kick anyone's arse that did. Two weeks extra holiday wasn't worth your health or your life.
"do not volunteer" a great piece of advice for military service, taught to children already and probably for decades if not centuries. nowadays it's more true than ever
1989 was the last date recorded, stated in the video. mmmm.... my dad was given a number of experimental drugs that were meant to help "fight infections and disease" as a "preventative measure."
@RIDIN’ HIGH 5150 Nah, LSD is such a pain to eat or drink or whatever. Better just accept the test trial and put it on your car and then show them mad slides instead :D That is the best LSD.
Gas by itself is stationary unless wind gives a hand. It's also generally heavier then air so it sinks to ground level so as long as you either get above it or are upwind you don't even have to move at all. But if it comes towards you RUUUUNNN.
Really getting some Aperture Science vibes from this place. "We've been shooting you with an invisible laser that's supposed to turn blood into gasoline, so all that means is it's working."
Mustard gas saved my life. A derivative of the mustard gas family, cyclophosphamide, is used in chemotherapy. This application was discovered from the after-effects in soldiers gassed during WWI--like my grandfather. It's a funny world.
The after-effects on my grandfather, trooper in the Royal Scots Greys was a pint of milk a day from the government because of the ulcers in his guts after being gassed at wipers.
@@shubbagin49 What a dismayingly inadequate nod at treatment and appreciation. How ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm? No wonder so many came home to turn into Angry Young Men.
I was of the mugs who went to Porton Down 1967, they ask for soldiers to help find a cure for the common cold. The police inquiry was by Wiltshire and M o D Police. We (4 of us ) given encompassment that lasted 3 days, we were some of the 361 service personnel to be paid compensation.
@@DrakoDragonis It's a tricky ethical question, though. If you disapprove of testing on volunteers, do you propose testing on people who haven't volunteered instead? Because that seems much worse. Or do you propose not testing at all? Because that has potentially horrifying consequences for any people, soldier or civilian, who are exposed to nerve agents. Is just developing something that you vaguely hope might help, and then going "Nah, it'll be fine" really a morally defensible position?
I wonder if the threat of similar weapons being used in retaliation was a factor in Hitler never using them in warfare. Perhaps the theory of mutually assured destruction will really work even when a nation is totally conquered
danmanmcleod expect he used a gas on innocent people to systematically murder millions yeah no its was definitely a logical decision and not a moral one
What do you think the outbreak in Africa was? It is hardly the only man-made bio-weapon released on the world. Numerous outbreaks in recent years have shown signs of being man-made and engineered, but you'll never hear about that in the news.
@@Nyx_2142 Of course you won't, because it is not true. It is yet another conspiracy theory that has no basis in reality. The outbreaks of Ebola in Africa were caused by people eating wild animals and the disease jumping across species. Bats may have been the original culprits again.
I com[pleted a NBC instructors course at Porton Down in the later half of the 80's....I remember during years of my military service notices appeared asking for volunteers to go to Porton Down for 2 weeks to take part in experiments and you would paid for each experiment. i knew one lad who went for 3 weeks (his actual leave, which he got back) as he was skint and thought it would be a good idea. he did a sh*t load of experiment's leading up to his final one of a blister agent being applied to his hand near to the web of the thumb. I saw him some 3 years later and he was still as mad as when i first met him except his agent burn looked around the size of a 50p piece and he said it itched, i asked was it worth it, i wont write down his reply.........brought back memories lol
In 1979 I worked with an ex RAF regiment guy, apart from the strories of serving in Northern Ireland, he once brought up a story of Porton Down - A notice was posted in the barracks, 1 weeks pay in return for volunteers for Porton, time away from the regiment (5 days) could be taken as you were helping the M.O.D. He and a mate volunteered, his mate was called first and off he went. On his return 5 days later he was covered in huge water blisters all over his exposed skin. Seeing him the guy I worked with immediately withdrew his application :)
@ about 12:00 - 15 shillings was 0.75 Pounds. That comes out to roughly 21 Pounds today. That is what they paid Ronald Madison to take a near lethal dose of nerve gas.
When I enlisted in the Army in 1976, my Dad told me never, ever to volunteer for anything, while I served. He was a WW2 vet that got bombed and badly hurt in the desert. I did as he told me to, one of the very few times I listened to him. Now, after watching this video, it was a freakin' good thing I did. Also, there is no such thing as perfection. It is something we should always strive for. My point is this, at some point, at Porton Downs, and at Bluegrass Army Depot, and others around the world, there will be a release. I'm certain uncontrolled releases have already happened. As long as they exist, it will happen. It just takes time. The thought of a weaponized accidental release of smallpox terrifies me far more than that of anthrax. Smallpox spreads like a wildfire in perfect burning conditions.
AdHocFuture I had a friend who’s mom was one of the first people to be experimented on for the flu vaccine but luckily no side effects by that stage in the trials
@James Sloan My wife and I about a week ago was talking about this as well. If an outbreak occurred, all the young people would suffer greatly. I worry about you young folks.
My Grandad visited Porton Down a fair few times as he worked for the RSRE. He hated it there, he said you'd go for a drink with them after work and they'd spike you with LSD for a laugh.
Humanity and humans in general will never learn their lesson. I remember hearing someone once say that science is only to be used to advance humanity but not at the cost of the very humanity it claims to be serving.
I did the infamous Porton down battle run in 1986. There wasnt any chemical agents used on us, we just pretty much lived in a CS gas cloud for 3 or 4 days. A few years later in 1995 I went to BATUS in Canada for 4 motnhs helping out another unit. There were areas we were not allowed to even step out of the vehicle we were in, if we did or got stuck in one we were not allowed to move an would have to go through the decontamination process. Who knows what the hell they ere testing out there!
Battle run was to train military personnel on how to react to a chemical weapon strike. And training in de contamination of personnel and equipment. It was run by portion and assured by Boscomb with the use of a Hunter which carried out controlled runs over the battle run. It had tanks mounted under the wings which sprayed a harmless chemical that reacted to the patches placed on the NBC suits to simulate an attack while on the ground CS gas was used in conjunction. This carried on right up to 2000 if I remember as I worked in DERA. That is all I will say
You cannot speak about Porton Down without Suffield Experimental Station. Whatever experiment they couldn't do at the first was done at the later. Keep up your excellent work!
That 1 death pisses me off tho.. they said they "finally learnt their lesson".. but they had that opportunity on the previous test, when a patient almost died. It was just a competely unnecessary death
My grandparents lived in Gomeldon about a mile away from porton down and just up the road from the NBC facility at Winterbourne Gunner. As a kid I never knew what happened there but was always intrigued by the fact that all the land around their house is classed as a military training area with red flags flying constantly. We used to go for bike rides and along one road both sides were training area with the red flags clearly visible. I always found it weird we could ride through the middle of it lol.
All Britain’s chemical weapons were stored at RAF Harpur Hill near Buxton. Including captured German weapons. The place is huge and built in the side of a hill with tunnels that have miniature train tracks. The RAF moved out in the sixties and the place is now an underground industrial estate for several businesses. Rumor is some chemical weapon shells are still down there under concrete.
Another suggestion along these lines - the Hanford Site in Eastern Washington State, USA. Lots of "fun" isotopes buried there to this day, the site of 40 years of Nuclear Weapons Plutonium production - as well as some bizzare "farm" experiments in the late 1940s, the "Downwinder" story, and a gigantic cleanup effort. The first full-sized nuclear reactor was built there, and is now a museum that can be toured. Enrico Fermi's office chair is there, and you can even catch the occasional choir performance in front of the reactor face.
Uep. I worry about the underground tanks. A lot of very nasty stuff in them. Hopefully, they've started emptying them and dealing with the contents. In an interview for a documentary, a tribal elder said that people ask if anything fished out of the Columbia River is safe to eat and he said he tells them that he doesn't know. The whole thing is a hot mess.
Yep, I've read loads of books in the 90's and read up on Porton Down in the early 2000's when fast internet became more common (512k broadband :-D ) and was interested and horrified at the same time from what I learnt!
Because if you didn’t you would have been traumatically shocked instead. You found the humor to keep yourself from freaking out at how diabolical and wrong that test was!😉
There's a popular marine textbook for boaters that contains a section on various bilge-pump types. It ends with "The most efficient pumping unit is probably a frightened man with a bucket." :D
Second comment but worth it: My brother was an IT purchaser at porton and had really bad runs. Cue him having the toilet door knocked on by guys in full NBC gear and being zipped up in a clear body bag to be whisked to Salisbury hospital as the base went on full shutdown. Massively invasive testing later (bum probes, gum injections etc) turns out it was a dodgy Dominoes Pizza. I remind him of this on a regular basis 😂
A really interesting piece! Thank you for this insight into the goings on of Porton Down! Interesting that you note the 2007 foot and mouth outbreak! I was living in the area affected by the outbreak. I remember when leaving the area, cars had to be disinfected etc. I also remember dozens of helicopters flying overhead!
Hi I was part of the police investigation, operation Antler, having been gassed at Porton Down in 1964. I had been seconded (without reward) to a couple of their experiments and testing on newly introduced masks and NBC combat gear. I never got any compensation and still take daily medicine. I am now 78. I was very I’ll at the time of our experiment which was carried out, deliberately in windy conditions. Dale.
I knew some of this, but not all. I'm pretty sure I saw magazine adverts for testing volunteers. We knew about the "Centre for the Common Cold" but not all this. Thank you for sharing this vital history.
Probably worth mentioning that porton down also has an incredibly large role in the destruction of chemical weapons from abroad and in england, most of the activity there nowadays seems to be getting rid of the weapons than creating them!
@@geographicstravel Its also the site of a number of research companies - including one working on Medicinal use of Cannabis for serious diseases and conditions. Its not one building - its more of a complex of different labs and projects.
They have a whole team that deal with old mustard gas munitions that get dug up and found. The BBC did a documentary on Porton explaining some of its roles.
This was in a time where it was a lot easier to keep things like this a secret. One of the most powerful governments in the world couldn't keep what Clinton was doing under the sheets a secret, do you honestly believe they could cover up something actually important for any length of time? All it would take is one person on their deathbed who has nothing to lose, that's it. Conspiracy theories are a joke.
John Constable’s best work was done not in Wiltshire, but in the area known as Constable Country; southern Suffolk around Flatford Mill and Dedham Vale.
I've been there a couple of times., delivering plant machinery. I didn't know all this stuff then, otherwise I'd have told my boss to f...send someone else.
(23:32) While we all agree that chemical weapons should be totally removed from existence, there is a very sane reason for keeping small quantities in the lab: it provides the opportunity develop detection of its presence, methods of protection, to provide medical aid to those affected, and develop methods of decontamination. We hope they're handled legally, with responsibility, and with independent oversight.
There's no question that a site like Porton Down is absolutely essential for the security of a nation. It's one of those things that you hope never to need, but if you DO need it you don't have time to wait for it to be built. But there is a HUGE difference between "We need a place like Porton Down" and "We need a place like Porton Down to operate without ethics, oversight, or accountability". Indeed, sites like PD need the _strictest_ oversight and accountability, even if it's top secret, because the consequences when they fuck up are so potentially massive.
I volunteered for a study there when I was in the RAF. The doctor went into detail of the tests and I rapidly changed my mind! Definitely wasnt worth the £50 they were offering! 🙈
Interesting about the 2007 foot an mouth outbreak, I cannot remember the press mentioning that it was a fault pipe at Porton Down that caused the outbreak.
It wasn't Porton down it was the advanced effluent pipes from either the Institute for Animal Health or the similar vaccine researching and producing Merial Animal Health laboratory near to Pirbright village in the county of Surrey- the pipes were too old and/or insufficiently inspected given their importance. An inspection of the effluent pipes and manholes carried out for the HSE investigators showed deficiencies and the independent investigation of Professor Brian Spratt concluded that it was very likely that they occasionally leaked still-infectious effluent at the time of the outbreak.
One of Porton Down's manufacturing facilities for Sarin and VX was at Nancekuke, Cornwall producing about 20 tons of Sarin between 1954 and 1956. When the facility was mothballed it's been alleged that lot of the toxic material was dumped down a nearby abandoned mineshafts that drained out to sea. Officially none of it was contaminated but no record was ever kept of what they actually dumped into the mines and clean up of the site (now known as RRH Portreath) didn't begin until 2003. The clean up of the anthrax contaminated Gruinard Island only happened after frustrated scientists and locals sent contaminated soil samples direct to Porton Down and packages of clean soil to the Conservative Party Conference in 1980 to prove how easy it would be for a rogue agent to acquire viable anthrax samples.
In the early 90s I had the opportunity to be tested at Porton Down... due to the Gulf War they were desperate for volunteers. After a lot of considerarion though I thought it all rather suspect and - regardless of the money - not to volunteer for 'trials'. I think it was all for the best, in retrospect.
We even did nerve gas trials in Suffield Range, Alberta, Canada. It took 30 years to get the information declassified under the then new access to information act of 1985. The tests were done in the 1950s in looking for a cure for nerve gas attacks. Suffield is considered Canada's Area 51 site.
I heard a radio 4 programme about the common cold experiments at Porton Down. The one that stuck in my head was British top brass wanted a drug to increase the com at performance of infantry, like the Nazi's did with amphetamines. A group of volunteer troops were given huge doses of LSD, about 6 times stonger than most street doses. The soldiers were then ordered to perform basic military manourves against a fortified position. You can imagine the chaos. People confused, hallucinating, unable to do anything. One sergeant was noted to be sobbing and moaning "who is in charge here". From a BBC radio 4 programme about 20 years ago.
Did an NBC exercise in the 90`s there, pretty cool experience, even had jets coming over dropping liquid to activate the paper stickers and one night a gas sprinkler system popped up out of the ground activating all the NIADS in the area, bloody hard work but fascinating to me.
Great video I live near portion and thought this was an amazingly detailed video. However altho I understand and agree with sponsors in videos Ronald maddison died, I didn't like that the subject of his death was used as suspense to promote a sponsor. Felt a bit wrong.
Germans with Sarin: "If we use this, the British will retaliate." British with Anthrax: "This weapon is immoral." Americans with nukes: *Excited squealing*
@@thefedsarewatching4815 Or maybe people with experience or knowledge with this place just happen to flock to the same videos. But I understand an idea as complicated as that may be too much for your feeble and tiny mind to comprehend.
I worked there throughout spring/summer ‘98... We amazingly had access to a lot of the camp, indoors and out... probably all I should tell you. Some mad shit goes on there.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
Check out Squarespace: squarespace.com/geographics
Thank you for this video it was really interesting for as dark as it may be it was still fun to watch
My idea is too dangerous after watching this great presentation.
Great as usual but... John Constable did his best work in Wiltshire? What about The Haywain? Or Willy Lotts Cottage? His best and most famous works are from Flatford and East Bergholt on the Suffolk/Essex border surely?
Keep it professional, no memes please.
Ohh but the novichok was definitely russian right
"A sufficiently terrified man can indeed outrun a chemical weapon"
Glorious adrenaline, keeping humans alive since before we've been humans.
Chemical weapons are deployed in a fashion that makes it impossible to run from saturated areas. You can't see most nerve agents (spine will tingle ... too late).
"Keeping humans alive before we were humans" ....wow...just..wow lol..
AWOLNATION RUN meme plays.
Run Forest Run!
And God bless blunt force head trauma. After a good shot to the bean everything that comes after is gravy.
My late father was one of the 1950's "Volunteers", he to was told it was a cure for the common cold!! One of the factors in ending the class action in 2008 and accepting the VERY low offer was that so many veterans were ageing and would never see victory in this battle!! My Dad died 2 years later! Thank you for sharing this story, Simon.
But At Least it's not Aralsk 7!
Bless you and your father. Lest we forget
Rip
You said "Volunteers". So he was forced in to it?
@@tesfurdo Dude, the man was tricked into volunteering under false pretenses. Told it was a cure for the common cold, not a test for nerve gas.
First thing you learn in the military ... don't volunteer for anything.
Specially not to "help cure the common cold..." you know that thing that everyone knows there's no cure for because it keeps evolving.
My dad (a WW2 vet' ) said that in his day, the motto was: "Never be first, never last, never be best, never be worst, and never volunteer."
@@kevinbyrne4538 That is sage level advice :)
I was told “Never volunteer for, or admit to anything”.
I know a guy who did a lot of time in military prison, he claims to have been tested on with anthrax and he does go to a rehab centre for 2 weeks every few months. I wouldnt ever ask him to verify something like that but i do find it hard to believe, this would of been in the late 80s early 90s. Any possibility he is telling the truth?
My Warrant Officer warned me never to volunteer for Porton Down explaining what they did.
They also would paint chemicals onto exposed skin to study the effects.
On a connected side note, I was one of the Service personnel who had the series of Anthrax injections from 1998 through to my medical discharge in 2008 in the hope we would be protected during exposure.
Peace
Charlie 🇬🇧
Charlie Manson yeh, good story walt
@@damowilliams204 theres good lad, look at you getting all excited.
No walting here princess.
Stay safe
Charlie 🇬🇧
@@charliemansonUK my name is Charlie and I write like its 1873 because I'm a boring fuck
Charlie🇬🇧
So, the question is...
If I'm a mad scientist, looking to create even -deadlier- nerve gasses, can SquareSpace assist me in achieving my goals?
Probably not if you want to remain out of prison ;)
@@geographicstravel Eh - if he´s successful and markets it to the right people, he´ll be swimming in milititary-industrial money.
Asking for a friend?
And end up in a small squarish space for the rest of your life.
@@aa2339 interesting toght tho? right right?
They were still asking for volunteers in the 1980s. My platoon sergeant said he would kick anyone's arse that did. Two weeks extra holiday wasn't worth your health or your life.
Yep, kept coming up on daily orders.
"do not volunteer"
a great piece of advice for military service, taught to children already and probably for decades if not centuries. nowadays it's more true than ever
1989 was the last date recorded, stated in the video. mmmm.... my dad was given a number of experimental drugs that were meant to help "fight infections and disease" as a "preventative measure."
@RIDIN’ HIGH 5150 lol dont they would probably give a while cup of lsd n tell u to drink it lol
@RIDIN’ HIGH 5150 Nah, LSD is such a pain to eat or drink or whatever.
Better just accept the test trial and put it on your car and then show them mad slides instead :D
That is the best LSD.
“Yes, a sufficiently terrified man can outrun the gas” I almost pissed my pants! As the guy running from the gas I’m sure
Glorious adrenaline, keeping humans alive since before we were humans.
A Sprinter can, How about a normal 20 yo Squaddie weighed down with 50kg of kit & Weapons?
SOUNDS LIKE A GAS!
Gas by itself is stationary unless wind gives a hand. It's also generally heavier then air so it sinks to ground level so as long as you either get above it or are upwind you don't even have to move at all. But if it comes towards you RUUUUNNN.
@@bremnersghost948 dump the kit, not worth it.
Yeah, I'm sure they learned their lessons. Lessons on keeping secrets better
The Skripol experiment illustrates your point nicely.
And yet, GDI can never keep their secrets long, can they, General Slavik?
In the name of Kane!
Sadly, that seems to be the only lesson government entities seem to learn.
"Dude, this stuff really did a number on these 5 guys. How many more times do we need to test this?"
"Eh, about 4000."
WTF?!
At least it's not Aralsk 7!
Until all the poor animals in the lab are dead?
@Tom W I said it... ONE TIME.
@@IronWarhorsesFun The amount you said "At least it's not Aralsk 7!" in this section got me saying it myself
@@stein1885 Well 2021 is here so I'm sure Trump has got something equally insane brewing.
Really getting some Aperture Science vibes from this place.
"We've been shooting you with an invisible laser that's supposed to turn blood into gasoline, so all that means is it's working."
Mustard gas saved my life. A derivative of the mustard gas family, cyclophosphamide, is used in chemotherapy. This application was discovered from the after-effects in soldiers gassed during WWI--like my grandfather. It's a funny world.
The after-effects on my grandfather, trooper in the Royal Scots Greys was a pint of milk a day from the government because of the ulcers in his guts after being gassed at wipers.
Several of our worst atrocities have lead to great things in their wake.
@@shubbagin49 What a dismayingly inadequate nod at treatment and appreciation. How ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm? No wonder so many came home to turn into Angry Young Men.
So, mustard gas almost killing your grandfather caused mustard gas to save your life? Weird world... Damn weird world...
@dethrophes Yes, they are--but it's the specific history of this one that makes it more compelling.
Don't ever be the first, don't ever be the last and DON'T EVER VOLUNTEER FOR ANYTHING.
Oh, you mean like the anti-covid injections being tested on humans now?
Correct
"Better than the USSR" isn't a good bar to set, unless you're a gymnast trying to set a limbo record.
next stop better then the devil himself i gues :).
@Jose Raul Miguens Cruz the USSR didn't pretend this shit never happened for decades afterwards.
@@IronWarhorsesFun When it was revealed the USSR didn't exist anymore. Same story in the DDR and Romania.
@@Markle2k kruchev actually gave up quite a lot when it came to what was done under Stalin.
😆
I was of the mugs who went to Porton Down 1967, they ask for soldiers to help find a cure for the common cold. The police inquiry was by Wiltshire and M o D Police. We (4 of us ) given encompassment that lasted 3 days, we were some of the 361 service personnel to be paid compensation.
Is it rude to ask how your health is? I'm guessing there was no accountability.
All the best.
was anyone ever held to account for this nightmare ?
Recall the compensation?
Who needs enemies when you have 'friends' like these...
@A Moye Pretty sure Simon did a video on that on the channel TopTenz. I think it is "10 Horrifying Declassified Secrets".
Perhaps if you hadnt friends like these you would be writting this comment in german
@@Jimskateuk If you believe testing on your own people is fine, then you're just as sociopathic are they are.
Most frontline soldiers in WW1 for a start, cosidering those "friends" developed the gas masks that protected them from German chemicals.
@@DrakoDragonis It's a tricky ethical question, though. If you disapprove of testing on volunteers, do you propose testing on people who haven't volunteered instead? Because that seems much worse. Or do you propose not testing at all? Because that has potentially horrifying consequences for any people, soldier or civilian, who are exposed to nerve agents. Is just developing something that you vaguely hope might help, and then going "Nah, it'll be fine" really a morally defensible position?
You know that a weapon is truly gruesome when even Hitler said no to using it.
I wonder if the threat of similar weapons being used in retaliation was a factor in Hitler never using them in warfare. Perhaps the theory of mutually assured destruction will really work even when a nation is totally conquered
@@themadhammer3305 He was legitimately pretty traumatized by what he saw and experienced in WWI, I think he was blind for a week after a gas attack
Even HE wouldn't wish that on his worst enemy.
danmanmcleod expect he used a gas on innocent people to systematically murder millions yeah no its was definitely a logical decision and not a moral one
@@steve29384 technically that'd mean that he'd wish it on his worst enemy, just not anybody else.
Didn't expect to hear about my grandfather, Alfred Thornhill, on this so thank you as I miss him every single day
The phrase “weaponized Ebola” sent a chill down my spine like I’ve never felt before
Yes, I also ejaculated
What do you think the outbreak in Africa was? It is hardly the only man-made bio-weapon released on the world. Numerous outbreaks in recent years have shown signs of being man-made and engineered, but you'll never hear about that in the news.
Not as much as mine! I live on the south coast about 25 miles away!
Corona virus
@@Nyx_2142 Of course you won't, because it is not true. It is yet another conspiracy theory that has no basis in reality. The outbreaks of Ebola in Africa were caused by people eating wild animals and the disease jumping across species. Bats may have been the original culprits again.
I remember my training staff telling us in 1989 " DO NOT VOLUNTEER FOR THIS PLACE "
I com[pleted a NBC instructors course at Porton Down in the later half of the 80's....I remember during years of my military service notices appeared asking for volunteers to go to Porton Down for 2 weeks to take part in experiments and you would paid for each experiment. i knew one lad who went for 3 weeks (his actual leave, which he got back) as he was skint and thought it would be a good idea. he did a sh*t load of experiment's leading up to his final one of a blister agent being applied to his hand near to the web of the thumb. I saw him some 3 years later and he was still as mad as when i first met him except his agent burn looked around the size of a 50p piece and he said it itched, i asked was it worth it, i wont write down his reply.........brought back memories lol
In 1979 I worked with an ex RAF regiment guy, apart from the strories of serving in Northern Ireland, he once brought up a story of Porton Down - A notice was posted in the barracks, 1 weeks pay in return for volunteers for Porton, time away from the regiment (5 days) could be taken as you were helping the M.O.D. He and a mate volunteered, his mate was called first and off he went. On his return 5 days later he was covered in huge water blisters all over his exposed skin. Seeing him the guy I worked with immediately withdrew his application :)
@ about 12:00 - 15 shillings was 0.75 Pounds. That comes out to roughly 21 Pounds today. That is what they paid Ronald Madison to take a near lethal dose of nerve gas.
doing some quick American math, that works out to... almost $17,000,000 USD! wow, I'd definitely sign up!
When I enlisted in the Army in 1976, my Dad told me never, ever to volunteer for anything, while I served. He was a WW2 vet that got bombed and badly hurt in the desert. I did as he told me to, one of the very few times I listened to him. Now, after watching this video, it was a freakin' good thing I did. Also, there is no such thing as perfection. It is something we should always strive for. My point is this, at some point, at Porton Downs, and at Bluegrass Army Depot, and others around the world, there will be a release. I'm certain uncontrolled releases have already happened. As long as they exist, it will happen. It just takes time. The thought of a weaponized accidental release of smallpox terrifies me far more than that of anthrax. Smallpox spreads like a wildfire in perfect burning conditions.
Very good advice.
AdHocFuture I had a friend who’s mom was one of the first people to be experimented on for the flu vaccine but luckily no side effects by that stage in the trials
@James Sloan My wife and I about a week ago was talking about this as well. If an outbreak occurred, all the young people would suffer greatly. I worry about you young folks.
@James Sloan explain further, what plan do you mean?
@@shadsalah4716 He is suggesting that people are no longer being vaccinated because "they" are planning to intentionally create a smallpox outbreak.
My Grandad visited Porton Down a fair few times as he worked for the RSRE. He hated it there, he said you'd go for a drink with them after work and they'd spike you with LSD for a laugh.
Porton's been open to commercial business for years. Dyson did their early dust extraction efficiency test there for their dual cyclone.
they nicked the design
Humanity and humans in general will never learn their lesson. I remember hearing someone once say that science is only to be used to advance humanity but not at the cost of the very humanity it claims to be serving.
I did the infamous Porton down battle run in 1986. There wasnt any chemical agents used on us, we just pretty much lived in a CS gas cloud for 3 or 4 days.
A few years later in 1995 I went to BATUS in Canada for 4 motnhs helping out another unit. There were areas we were not allowed to even step out of the vehicle we were in, if we did or got stuck in one we were not allowed to move an would have to go through the decontamination process. Who knows what the hell they ere testing out there!
Battle run was to train military personnel on how to react to a chemical weapon strike. And training in de contamination of personnel and equipment. It was run by portion and assured by Boscomb with the use of a Hunter which carried out controlled runs over the battle run. It had tanks mounted under the wings which sprayed a harmless chemical that reacted to the patches placed on the NBC suits to simulate an attack while on the ground CS gas was used in conjunction. This carried on right up to 2000 if I remember as I worked in DERA. That is all I will say
Today we learn on Geographics “A sufficiently terrified man can indeed outrun a chemical weapon”
So wait us British did terrible things in regards to warfare? Well I've never heard of such a thing!
Only thing worse than sarin is people who put the milk in first when making a brew
@@MattyMcFly_ Those people are monsters. Shame on you for making such a comparison.
@@leeboy26 people who put milk in their tea first are definitely more detrimental to my health than sarin gas. I think my comparison is pretty fair
@@MattyMcFly_ I wasn't disagreeing.
@@leeboy26 Oh Im following you 😂 comparing those monsters to the creators and users of sarin probably was a bit harsh to be fair
1:35 - Chapter 1 - Gassed
5:10 - Chapter 2 - A taboo family
9:05 - Chapter 3 - The experiments
12:30 - Mid roll ads
14:05 - Chapter 4 - Death comes to porton
17:45 - Chapter 5 - Bioweapons & Secret trials
21:25 - Chapter 6 - Lifting the lid
You cannot speak about Porton Down without Suffield Experimental Station. Whatever experiment they couldn't do at the first was done at the later. Keep up your excellent work!
That 1 death pisses me off tho.. they said they "finally learnt their lesson".. but they had that opportunity on the previous test, when a patient almost died. It was just a competely unnecessary death
This video sponsored by Porton Down, we do good things now quit asking questions.
My grandparents lived in Gomeldon about a mile away from porton down and just up the road from the NBC facility at Winterbourne Gunner. As a kid I never knew what happened there but was always intrigued by the fact that all the land around their house is classed as a military training area with red flags flying constantly. We used to go for bike rides and along one road both sides were training area with the red flags clearly visible. I always found it weird we could ride through the middle of it lol.
Winterbourne Gunner is the station chosen for the training NBC/CBRNe Instructors
The red flag is to show the guns could be firing, no flag no guns fired, you would be pretty safe as they would fire shells over the road
Porton Down does a load more than “just” bio/chemical weapons. The stuff hidden away is way beyond anything we will hear on RUclips.
like what the doctor TARDIS?
@@Username-lw4mi 🤣
I love this channel!!! Everything Simon and the team do is amazing!! Keep it up guys!!! ❤️
All Britain’s chemical weapons were stored at RAF Harpur Hill near Buxton. Including captured German weapons. The place is huge and built in the side of a hill with tunnels that have miniature train tracks. The RAF moved out in the sixties and the place is now an underground industrial estate for several businesses. Rumor is some chemical weapon shells are still down there under concrete.
Threw a lot of gas at him and said "run" ! I can't stop laughing 😂💀
Could've been worse; a heavy baton with "DROP ME AND RUN" embossed on it's side :O
>"a mild experiment to find a cure for the common cold"
Now sounds almost as scary as the truth 😂
"We did cure your cold, silly. You can't have a cold if you're dead!"
Another suggestion along these lines - the Hanford Site in Eastern Washington State, USA. Lots of "fun" isotopes buried there to this day, the site of 40 years of Nuclear Weapons Plutonium production - as well as some bizzare "farm" experiments in the late 1940s, the "Downwinder" story, and a gigantic cleanup effort. The first full-sized nuclear reactor was built there, and is now a museum that can be toured. Enrico Fermi's office chair is there, and you can even catch the occasional choir performance in front of the reactor face.
Uep. I worry about the underground tanks. A lot of very nasty stuff in them. Hopefully, they've started emptying them and dealing with the contents.
In an interview for a documentary, a tribal elder said that people ask if anything fished out of the Columbia River is safe to eat and he said he tells them that he doesn't know. The whole thing is a hot mess.
A lot of John Constables best works were in Suffolk, where he was from. Also the germans used phosgene gas, not phosthene gas
Yep, I've read loads of books in the 90's and read up on Porton Down in the early 2000's when fast internet became more common (512k broadband :-D ) and was interested and horrified at the same time from what I learnt!
It wasn't spelling
Ahhhh when porton down is a 5 minute walk away from your house.
@23:30 is the road I go through everyday
Not really a secret is it. It's been in numerous books, films, quatermass even bloody Dr Who.
22:57 ...Aaaaaaand *Simon* reenacting *"Max Headroom"*
5:50 Weird sound glitch there. Mic problems for that one line?
Good to know that I wasn't the only one who heard. I thought my earphones were dying, but phew
@@F.K98 audiophiles everywhere rejoice
“Yes! A sufficiently terrified man Can outrun a chemical weapon!”
Why did I laugh at this?
Because if you didn’t you would have been traumatically shocked instead. You found the humor to keep yourself from freaking out at how diabolical and wrong that test was!😉
There's a popular marine textbook for boaters that contains a section on various bilge-pump types. It ends with "The most efficient pumping unit is probably a frightened man with a bucket." :D
Second comment but worth it:
My brother was an IT purchaser at porton and had really bad runs. Cue him having the toilet door knocked on by guys in full NBC gear and being zipped up in a clear body bag to be whisked to Salisbury hospital as the base went on full shutdown.
Massively invasive testing later (bum probes, gum injections etc) turns out it was a dodgy Dominoes Pizza.
I remind him of this on a regular basis 😂
Shouldn't work there if he couldn't take a joke!
A really interesting piece! Thank you for this insight into the goings on of Porton Down!
Interesting that you note the 2007 foot and mouth outbreak! I was living in the area affected by the outbreak.
I remember when leaving the area, cars had to be disinfected etc. I also remember dozens of helicopters flying overhead!
Porton Down is starting to become open to non government businesses.
Source: nearly got a job there
This idiot once worked there. You are very correct. Not only government work now
Hi I was part of the police investigation, operation Antler, having been gassed at Porton Down in 1964.
I had been seconded (without reward) to a couple of their experiments and testing on newly introduced masks and NBC combat gear.
I never got any compensation and still take daily medicine. I am now 78.
I was very I’ll at the time of our experiment which was carried out, deliberately in windy conditions.
Dale.
3:44 i don't think I was supposed to laugh
I knew some of this, but not all. I'm pretty sure I saw magazine adverts for testing volunteers. We knew about the "Centre for the Common Cold" but not all this. Thank you for sharing this vital history.
"as taboo as possible" 🤣, that was good 😅
Probably worth mentioning that porton down also has an incredibly large role in the destruction of chemical weapons from abroad and in england, most of the activity there nowadays seems to be getting rid of the weapons than creating them!
Didn't know that. That would have been a great addition. Thank you for sharing :)
@@geographicstravel Its also the site of a number of research companies - including one working on Medicinal use of Cannabis for serious diseases and conditions. Its not one building - its more of a complex of different labs and projects.
Now when you say dispose of - do you mean abandon in a local park?
They have a whole team that deal with old mustard gas munitions that get dug up and found. The BBC did a documentary on Porton explaining some of its roles.
Right, because the people doing the shady shit told you so, therefore it must be true. Sheep.
Imagine what we don't know..
Most of this we weren't going to know
They probably got ray guns now
This was in a time where it was a lot easier to keep things like this a secret. One of the most powerful governments in the world couldn't keep what Clinton was doing under the sheets a secret, do you honestly believe they could cover up something actually important for any length of time? All it would take is one person on their deathbed who has nothing to lose, that's it. Conspiracy theories are a joke.
I'd rather not know
@@jimjambananaslam3596 . . . if that helps you sleep at night more power to ya.
Thank you for your hard work putting this together
John Constable’s best work was done not in Wiltshire, but in the area known as Constable Country; southern Suffolk around Flatford Mill and Dedham Vale.
Dan Halford - 100% Suffolk
I've been there a couple of times., delivering plant machinery. I didn't know all this stuff then, otherwise I'd have told my boss to f...send someone else.
CloneDaddy ive been there for the same reason to the part heavily guarded at the back, its a scary thought!
(23:32) While we all agree that chemical weapons should be totally removed from existence, there is a very sane reason for keeping small quantities in the lab: it provides the opportunity develop detection of its presence, methods of protection, to provide medical aid to those affected, and develop methods of decontamination. We hope they're handled legally, with responsibility, and with independent oversight.
In the Army, we don't "volunteer", instead we're *VolunTOLD!!*
In the British army you're volunteered
Ahh PortonDown...I live 5 mins away from there...and that's walking.
As someone who lives in Salisbury, I found this very interesting! Thank you
If you've never heard of Antharx.... oh yes Spreading the Disease, Among the Living... Great albums.
The evil that lie in the heart and mind of men has no boundaries.
Anyone else watching this while in quarantine?
me
Eight months later…
I'm watching this after watching the news telling us to get an experimental vaccine...
Again in quarantine 10 months later.
There's no question that a site like Porton Down is absolutely essential for the security of a nation. It's one of those things that you hope never to need, but if you DO need it you don't have time to wait for it to be built. But there is a HUGE difference between "We need a place like Porton Down" and "We need a place like Porton Down to operate without ethics, oversight, or accountability". Indeed, sites like PD need the _strictest_ oversight and accountability, even if it's top secret, because the consequences when they fuck up are so potentially massive.
I volunteered for a study there when I was in the RAF. The doctor went into detail of the tests and I rapidly changed my mind! Definitely wasnt worth the £50 they were offering! 🙈
You must LITERALLY be the one person they were honest to. Maybe you got a actual human being!
@@IronWarhorsesFun Theres still no saying they were being honest, what they said was scary, the reality may have been even worse!!! 🙈
@@Nicho137Racing wouldn't be surprised!
@Gabriel That was 2003.
Oh this should be good. As a local and former employee at porton down, I love to read and hear peoples theories lol
Its DSTL PTN tut tut Lainey lol
Interesting about the 2007 foot an mouth outbreak, I cannot remember the press mentioning that it was a fault pipe at Porton Down that caused the outbreak.
The press are only allowed to tell the people what those in control let them tell...
@@stepheneyles2198 And/or direct them (the press) in the telling.
@Miss Liberty Bella I heard it was because someone dropped a half eaten sandwich in a pig pen, the swineflu was in the sandwich
It wasn't Porton down it was the advanced effluent pipes from either the Institute for Animal Health or the similar vaccine researching and producing Merial Animal Health laboratory near to Pirbright village in the county of Surrey- the pipes were too old and/or insufficiently inspected given their importance. An inspection of the effluent pipes and manholes carried out for the HSE investigators showed deficiencies and the independent investigation of Professor Brian Spratt concluded that it was very likely that they occasionally leaked still-infectious effluent at the time of the outbreak.
@@ianbirchenough5558 spot on
One of Porton Down's manufacturing facilities for Sarin and VX was at Nancekuke, Cornwall producing about 20 tons of Sarin between 1954 and 1956.
When the facility was mothballed it's been alleged that lot of the toxic material was dumped down a nearby abandoned mineshafts that drained out to sea. Officially none of it was contaminated but no record was ever kept of what they actually dumped into the mines and clean up of the site (now known as RRH Portreath) didn't begin until 2003.
The clean up of the anthrax contaminated Gruinard Island only happened after frustrated scientists and locals sent contaminated soil samples direct to Porton Down and packages of clean soil to the Conservative Party Conference in 1980 to prove how easy it would be for a rogue agent to acquire viable anthrax samples.
In the early 90s I had the opportunity to be tested at Porton Down... due to the Gulf War they were desperate for volunteers. After a lot of considerarion though I thought it all rather suspect and - regardless of the money - not to volunteer for 'trials'. I think it was all for the best, in retrospect.
Thanks for this, I made a delivery there a few months ago and, despite being to many MOD facilities previously, this one felt VERY different.
How dare they harm bunnies!
Its not just rabits . Horses , pigs , dogs etc
When I was younger I used to work at Porton Down, and we used to keep our sandwiches in the VX fridge. Different times....
2:39 You misspelled 'Salisbury'.
“A sufficiently terrified man can indeed outrun a chemical weapon.”
We do a lot more than just nerve agents at Porton Down. We do crucial public health and sci-tech work.
Renewable Gas?
"We don't do just evil things."
@@Nyx_2142 More "we don't do overtly evil things anymore".
Didn't do any research on Covid vaccine though...wankers.
We even did nerve gas trials in Suffield Range, Alberta, Canada. It took 30 years to get the information declassified under the then new access to information act of 1985. The tests were done in the 1950s in looking for a cure for nerve gas attacks. Suffield is considered Canada's Area 51 site.
I live about 60 miles from Suffield.They have a 5 story underground lab there
Salisbury I here the GRU holiday there ,apparently they love the steeple .
You still blame the Russians,
Yeah... I had no idea the British were developing nerve agents right next to Salisbury. The news conveniently left Porton Down out.
Its terrifying how recently tests were conducted there just 30 years ago geez
Can we get a "Today I found out" on Operation Paperclip? I keep hearing one liners about it and moving on.
I heard a radio 4 programme about the common cold experiments at Porton Down. The one that stuck in my head was British top brass wanted a drug to increase the com at performance of infantry, like the Nazi's did with amphetamines.
A group of volunteer troops were given huge doses of LSD, about 6 times stonger than most street doses.
The soldiers were then ordered to perform basic military manourves against a fortified position.
You can imagine the chaos. People confused, hallucinating, unable to do anything. One sergeant was noted to be sobbing and moaning "who is in charge here".
From a BBC radio 4 programme about 20 years ago.
Went there a few times when based nearby, creepy place.
Did an NBC exercise in the 90`s there, pretty cool experience, even had jets coming over dropping liquid to activate the paper stickers and one night a gas sprinkler system popped up out of the ground activating all the NIADS in the area, bloody hard work but fascinating to me.
Great video I live near portion and thought this was an amazingly detailed video. However altho I understand and agree with sponsors in videos Ronald maddison died, I didn't like that the subject of his death was used as suspense to promote a sponsor. Felt a bit wrong.
Also the rebel base in the force awakens is at porton. It was filmed there. Interesting side fact.
Every once in a while it's good to see the "old" Simon.
Germans with Sarin: "If we use this, the British will retaliate."
British with Anthrax: "This weapon is immoral."
Americans with nukes: *Excited squealing*
I was part of the same testing, it adversely affected my health and I passed away a decade later
Wow, that squarespace ad was really inappropriate.
I was shocked how they just slip over his death for an advert disgusting
Great videos love to listen in the morning on my hour drive to work ! Thanks for keeping my awake:)
I'm rather glad that the Nazis "never" had the occasion to use that gas, they could have easily wiped whole battlefields in minutes.
Now the people they were gasing are doing evil around the world
@@sonnytopboy4975 the nazi regime was not the evil party in the conflict I’m afraid. History has been twisted.
@@patricktate4782 What kind of crack you on mate.
@@Jonathan-fb1kj it’s called doing your own research
The writing is fantastic as always. That last part was truly haunting
8:06, pure soul, I can almost forgive him for ordering use of Cyclon B in extermination camps.
i mean nobody said he is a pure soul :D
I've been injected with Anthrax, Typhoid and Cholera. Got to love the British Army!!
Its amazing the way 90% of the people watching the video have either worked at or had a relative or themselves been tested on in this place
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Experts everywhere
@@thefedsarewatching4815 Or maybe people with experience or knowledge with this place just happen to flock to the same videos. But I understand an idea as complicated as that may be too much for your feeble and tiny mind to comprehend.
I worked there throughout spring/summer ‘98... We amazingly had access to a lot of the camp, indoors and out... probably all I should tell you. Some mad shit goes on there.
*Britain reveals the extent of their chemical tests.*
US - "You were the Chosen One! It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them!
I doubt that the US never did anything like this. Just look at the Nevada nuclear tests for example.
@@SamuelHill94 Of course they did, MKULTRA for example, LSD and analogs to unknowing "patients" in the thousands.
Volunteering was still going until the late 90's. Whatever you think, Porton is still one of the most safest places on earth.