Atomic Weapons Establishment: Merlin Records Concerning Nuclear Test Veterans and...

This series consists mainly of PDF files of information from the Merlin Database relevant to legal proceedings brought against the Ministry of Defence by UK veterans who had participated in nuclear weapon tests conducted in the 1950s and 1960s in Australia and the South Pacific.

The content is largely drawn from earlier paper records, some of which are also held at The National Archives.

The catalogue descriptions of individual records have been derived from the Merlin database and presented 'as is' to reflect the integrity of the original records. Original document titles are sometimes inaccurate or meaningless.

References for born-digital records are automatically generated and display a 'Z' (either at the start of the piece reference or at the end), which distinguish them from traditional references allocated to paper and digitised records.

For other record series relating to nuclear tests in Australia and the South Pacific, see: DEFE 16 FCO 1 ES 18

From 2025 Atomic Weapons Establishment

Between 1952 and 1967, around 22,000 Armed Forces personnel, as well as scientists and civilians, took part in the UK's nuclear testing programme in Australia and the South Pacific to develop its nuclear deterrent.

In 2005, approximately 1,000 armed forces veterans of the atmospheric nuclear tests in the Pacific during the 1950s launched legal proceedings seeking compensation for injuries caused by their presence during those tests.

The Merlin Database was created and compiled between 2006 and 2008 by the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) at the request of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to enable the Ministry of Defence's Veterans Policy Unit (subsequently the Armed Forces Compensation Team), the Deputy Chief of Defence Staff, Personnel and Training, and the Treasury Solicitor (subsequently the Government Legal Department), to quickly identify records about the nuclear testing programme relevant to the litigation.

The litigants seeking compensation set out 12 areas in which the Ministry of Defence (and its predecessors) were alleged to have been negligent. The database was designed to compile relevant records on those 12 areas. These covered the following subjects: (1) Research/information prior to and during the testing period (pre-1950s until 1960s), in respect of effects of participation in testing. (2) Research/information prior to and during the testing period, in respect of exposure to ionising radiation. (3) Knowledge of the MoD during the 1950s-1960s in respect of the effects of participation including effects of ionising radiation. (4) Consideration given by the MoD to the risks of participation, including risk assessments. (5) Provision of protective equipment against risks, including details of nature and availability. (6) Guidelines on the use of protective equipment, and whether such equipment was mandatory. (7) Guidelines relating to safe distances, during or in the aftermath of detonation. (8) Details of distances that individuals were positioned during or after detonations, if differing from above. (9) Warnings given to participants prior to participation as to potential health risks. (10) Guidance given to participants before and after participation as to damage likely to result, and guidance to minimise or alleviate that damage. (11) Monitoring of health, safety and well-being of participants during and after tests and programmes. (12) Medical studies conducted by the MoD or any other organisation pre-1950s to date, that prove or disprove a link between exposure to ionising radiation or participation in nuclear tests and experimental programmes, and any of the conditions listed in Section 4 of the Claimants' solicitors' letter dated 15 November 2005.

There was also a category number 13 created to account for any other relevant material that AWE staff found when reviewing material relevant to the litigation.