Dancing in the glow of the bomb: life on a nuclear test site

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Sisters Teeua Tekonau and Teraabo Pollard spent their childhoods on Kritimati or Christmas Island in the western-central Pacific during the 1950s and 60s while the island was being used as the main base for British and American nuclear tests. It was an exciting time for them as children, but the tests left a legacy. In the years that followed there have been campaigns to recognise links between health problems suffered by the servicemen involved and exposure to the nuclear tests. However, the impact of the tests on the indigenous population is less well known. The sisters tell us what they witnessed and how the tests affected them personally. Part 2 Lizzie Crouch was always an incredibly active person. She loved sport and exercise, but in her 30's found she needed a hip replacement. Her friend the artist Helen Pynor helped her through and together they worked on an art project about attitudes to disability which involved making bone china sculptures. With thanks to Dr Christopher Hill from the University of South Wales and his research into the impact of Britain's Pacific nuclear testing programme. Archive sound from Imperial War Museum collection, Operation Grapple 'Y' Presenter Asya Fouks Producer Julian Siddle (Image: Bluegill, a high-altitude detonation over Christmas Island during Operation Dominic, 1962. Credit : National Defense Agency, US National Records and Archives Administration.)