Ex-mayor exposed to thermonuclear bombs dies

A former mayor who was exposed to thermonuclear bombs as a 19-year-old serviceman has died aged 87.

Alan Dowson witnessed detonations as part of Britain's nuclear testing programme in the Pacific in 1958.

In 2024, at the age of 86, the former mayor of Peterborough received a nuclear test medal at a ceremony alongside 10 others - whom he called "guinea pigs".

Peterborough City Council leader Shabina Qayyum said the long-standing Labour councillor "leaves an endowment of public service to this city that is unmatched".

He was first elected to the council in 1971, had represented Labour in Fletton and Woodston since 2016 and served as mayor of Peterborough between 2022 and 2023.

Dowson also worked as a lecturer at Peterborough Regional College before moving to the College of Adult Education in 1975, where he spent a quarter of a decade.

The British government dropped nine thermonuclear weapons on Christmas Island, now Kiritimati, between 1957 and 1958.

About 22,000 British servicemen, along with soldiers from New Zealand and Fiji, took part in the tests.

When he was given his medal, Dowson recalled seeing the "mushroom cloud" and said there "were dead birds everywhere".

Qayyum wrote on X: "Struggling to come to terms with the loss of one of my best friends and supporters.

"Alan I will miss you desperately. What an amazing legacy of service. You were a Nuclear Test Veteran who fought for justice until your dying day."

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