Impact case study database

1. On the British Nuclear Test Veterans Association (BNTVA). From August 2013

Having previously failed to persuade the MOD to recognise the case for compensation, the BNTVA changed its campaigning strategy as a direct result of this extended research project.

The interest and publicity that resulted from the research outcomes gave rise to an understanding that the ‘deep’ gathering and theatrical mediation of testimony could be central to the BNTVA’s campaign moving forward. They began to widen their campaigning methods to include art and film as well as theatre. A senior representative of BNTVA commented that Murray’s research ‘ gave us access to a context and an interest outside our usual sphere. The depth and emotion transmitted through the theatrical form drew in audiences and journalists who engaged and empathized far greater than any had done to the traditional dry soundbite so easily lost in a daily news report’ (5.1). They added that there is a clear line between Murray’s research practice and the subsequent campaign successes: ‘ The success of these new modes of using personal testimony of nuclear veterans as part of our campaign delivery was clearly proven when in November 2014 Prime Minister, David Cameron, gave official recognition to the service of our British Nuclear Test Veterans. Following from this the Chancellor, George Osborne, announced the provision of an initial £25 million to create the ‘Aged Veterans Fund’ (5.1). Osborne mentioned the Nuclear Veterans and the campaign of the BNTVA in his 2015 budget speech (5.2).

The money enabled the establishment of the NCCF.

1. On the Nuclear Communities Charity Fund (NCCF). From March 2016

The NCCF was set up to allocate a portion of the £25 million ‘Aged Veterans Fund’. Murray’s collection, curation, and theatricalisation of testimony expanded to include voices of the families and descendants of veterans. As a direct result, the NCCF reaches and engages the nuclear community including and beyond the BNTVA. Murray’s later work on digitalised theatricalisation of testimony helped achieve this. A senior representative of the NCCF states that ‘ This work and its development into digital and audio use and its expansion into the experiences of the descendants of nuclear veterans had a significant impact on the way that the NCCF strategised its portfolio’ (5.3).

The NCCF funded eight projects, four of which utilise Murray’s research outputs: (i) The virtual museum is an online resource being developed to allow access to recorded testimonies, the first addition being The Gordon Murray Collection. (ii)The Remembrance Project funds the upkeep of memorials and military arboretums where QR codes will allow access to the Virtual Museum. Researchers on (iii) The Nuclear Family Project benefitted from access to the numerous transcribed interviews that various iterations of the research had yielded over time. The NCCF also set up (iv) the Centre for Health Effects of Radiological and Chemical Agents. The NCCF senior representative states that ‘ The most recent iteration of Gordon’s research has managed to make apparent a level of anxiety felt by the descendants which hitherto they were unable to express or articulate. This has proved incredibly beneficial by allowing the researchers an introduction into the feelings and the concerns of those who have this condition. This has been particularly pertinent to researchers who are involved in the ‘Living with Worry’ research project’ (5.3).

1. On the Nuclear Descendants. From August 2015

The descendants of nuclear veterans felt themselves to be effaced as part of the ‘nuclear story.’ During the years that Murray has been working with this community, membership of the group has increased from 20 to over 800. Murray’s work was a catalyst to the creating, enlarging, developing and strengthening of this community. The interviews ran parallel with the development (through a closed Facebook group) of a community made up of descendants. As the finished pieces emerged between 2016 and 2019, they were keenly anticipated, shared and discussed. A senior representative of the group has stated that ‘ it soon became evident that he was beginning to articulate a feeling that all of the Fallout members had but were unable to express. I really believe that his emerging work was a significant influence on the growth of our online community’ (5.4). The audio documentary poems fitted perfectly with this newly forming (virtual) community’s method of communicating, attracting members who had not previously considered themselves to be ‘nuclear children’. They articulated, gave credence to and validated feelings and experiences which hitherto had been side-lined and yet were evidently shared amongst these individuals. Comments from members of the Fallout Community include: ‘ What an amazing piece, literally had me in tears last night. The style of these works is so dystopian that they resonate to that metallic tang that is so often unwritten in our nuclear community’; ‘ the piece was brilliant, I listened to it 4 times’; ‘ it was very touching the way you dealt with it. I’m glad you got to do these audio records of us G, You're a man of integrity and that is a rare thing these days’; ‘ absolutely amazing, very dramatic and brought a smile to my face and a tear in my eye; [it] made me wish I could get back on the stage but unfortunately even though surgery went well I don't think I will ever be able to dance again’; ‘ Absolutely blown away (forgive the pun); It’s a very surreal feeling to hear stuff that has never had an outlet for the last fifty or so years, mine and my dad’s story rolling around in my head all those years, very powerful juju. Thank you’ (5.5).

Murray’s work enabled the recognition that descendants are a part of the nuclear community. As a result, they were given access to the funding from the Aged Veteran Fund (delivered through the NCCF) to assist with health and wellbeing.