My father-in-law was a a sailor aboard the merchant ship "Lord Byron" during the British nuclear tests at Christmas Island in the South Pacific in 1958.
He is now entitled to a medal if he can prove he was present.
Among other things, he has to prove that the ship was present at at least one of the blasts. However, apart from a 2002 on-line anecdote from a sailor on another vessel who happened to be aboard her, he has no hard evidence of this. A private letter home from January 1958 in which he states he was destined for service on Lord Byron is not considered evidence by the powers that be.
Can anyone help with proving the presence of the "Lord Byron" at Christmas Island in 1958, or at least give a bit of her history, such as her ownership? Unfortunately, as she was not a naval vessel, this is proving quite difficult.
She seems to have been built in 1957 and a photograph on line shows her in harbour in New Zealand sometime before 1964. So she might have been New Zealand-registered.
Many thanks for any assistance.
Mark Axworthy.
Movements of "Lord Byron" during Christmas Island tests in 1958?
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Sid Guttridge
- Posts: 17
- Joined: Tue Oct 29, 2019 9:40 am
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Sid Guttridge
- Posts: 17
- Joined: Tue Oct 29, 2019 9:40 am
Re: Movements of "Lord Byron" during Christmas Island tests in 1958?
His Seaman's Book has emerged, showing that he joined "Lord Byron" at Vancouver in January and she passed through Hawaii. However, still no confirmation she was at Christmas Island during the blasts. Nevertheless, the timings and direction of travel are right for the second explosion on 28 April 1958.
Sid
Sid