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Some Recollections of Porton in World War 1

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Some Recollections of Porton in World War 1 J R Army Med Corps 2003; 149: 138-141 J R Army Med Corps: first published as 10.1136/jramc-149-02-11 on 1 June 2003. Downloaded from OUT OF THE ARCHIVES Some Recollections of Porton in World War 1 Commentary JP Garner Chemical weapons now regularly feature in news R.M.A. Woolwich, and had specialised in reports and the threat from them has become science before I left school. Thus Professor widely recognised by the public at large.Terrorist Barcroft (later Sir Joseph), who had known actions such as the Tokyo subway incident in me from childhood, thought I could be 1995, coupled with the persistent use of agents usefully employed in devilling for the team of such as sulphur mustard and Sarin by the Iraqi eminent physiologists he had assembled at regime over the last 20 years in the Iran/Iraq war Porton to research into the toxicity and and against the Kurds of Northern Iraq, make it effects of various substances used in easy to think that chemical weapons are a new chemical warfare.These physiologists all had phenomenon. This paper reminds us that many commissions in the R.A.M.C. and were chemical agents were developed during WWI; generally referred to by their colleagues at indeed the first use of a chemical agent was the Porton as ‘The b-- body snatchers’. I was release of chlorine gas – a choking agent – by the given an honorary commission in the Germans over the battlefields of Ypres in 1915. General List–and became ‘a snatcher’. Porton Down remains at the very heart of Porton in those days centered on the main chemicals and biological weapons research, albeit camp, which contained laboratories, in a purely defensive capacity; few of the old engineering shops, ammunition stores, buildings remain and the idyllic lifestyle in the administrative offices, and accommodation Officer’s Mess at Idmiston Manor has long since for the troops working on the various disappeared. These recollections provide a experiments. Many of them had served with fascinating insight into scientific research at the the Special Brigade R.E. There was a time of World War I. network of trenches in the middle of the ground, which could be exposed to clouds of SOME RECOLLECTIONS OF gas released from cylinders, shells, Stokes PORTON IN WORLD WAR 1 mortars, and Livens projectors. These Sir Austin Anderson, Kt. trenches were equipped with a large number of electrically controlled vacuum sampling A year or so ago we published the exper- http://militaryhealth.bmj.com/ iences of Inspector General F.W. Innes in the bottles to measure the concentration of gas in Indian Mutiny and sent copies of the the cloud and, on some occasions they were publication to his descendants, one of whom ‘manned’ by a contingent of tethered goats, was Sir Austin Anderson. The latter with whose respiration rate was–I was told–much great generosity presented the Historical like that of a man. The guns, sited on a hill Library with a most interesting series of about 2000 yards away from the trenches, Peninsular War letters written by his direct were mainly manned by gunners recovering forbear–Inspector General John Murray–and from wounds. They claimed–with what truth now adds to our indebtedness by giving us I know not–that they received ‘danger pay’ his experiences as a young officer at Porton for shooting experimental gas shells at goats, in World War I. Although the recollections but it automatically stopped when they on October 2, 2021 by guest. Protected copyright. have been deliberately written in a light returned to France to be shot at by the hearted vein they do not hide the dedications Germans.The Officers’ Mess, where most of and bravery of those who worked at Porton us lived, was in a delightful old house, and who so fearlessly explored the unknown. Idmiston Manor, near the main entrance to When the crude “tools” at their disposal are the ground. considered the achievements of the Porton The Physiological Section, where I staff are all the more outstanding and worked, was at Boscombe Down Farm about admirable. half a mile away from the main camp. It These recollections are therefore of consisted of an old brick building and about importance and value and we have no doubts half a dozen wooden huts. These housed that our readers will share the interest and laboratories, offices, and a small gas chamber amusement which they gave to us when we entered through an airlock and equipped Maj JP Garner first saw them. EDITOR. with a vapourising spray operated from MRCSEd RAMC outside. There was also accommodation for Specialist Registrar in I went to the gas experimental station at the goats, monkeys, dogs, cats, rabbits, General Surgery Porton in the autumn of 1917, which, I guinea pigs and rats on which we Surgical Research think, was about a year after it had been experimented. I carried out the orders of Fellow DstL Porton, established. I had been invalided out of the Sailsbury, Wilts, Professor (turned Major) A. E. Boycott, who SP4 OJQ Editor’s Note: This paper first appeared in the Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps in July 1972 Out Of The Archives 139 was an inspiring master and an ardent with our crude sense of humour thought J R Army Med Corps: first published as 10.1136/jramc-149-02-11 on 1 June 2003. Downloaded from pacifist. However, although he considered funny, though I do not think the French World War I to be the greatest manifestation victims did. A few breaths of the arsenical of Anglo-German folly, he saw no alternative smoke e.g. that produced by heating di- to making his maximum contribution phenyl-chlor-arsine (D.A.) produced a towards an Allied Victory. The day after the distinctly painful choking effect which was Armistice, however, he flatly refused to have somewhat alarming until experience had anything more to do with gas warfare. Our taught you that the pain passed off in less experiments consisted of exposing the whole than an hour. When we were experimenting range of animals to various concentrations of with these smokes we used to carry small gases for various times and noting the ampoules of chloroform as sniffing at them mortality rate. From these results we plotted mitigated the pain.The military advantage of graphs which compared the relative killing these smokes was that they penetrated the power of various substances.When it came to respirators then in use unless they were fitted measuring the blistering, lachrymatory or with special filters to keep smoke out. The sternutatory powers of things like mustard French maintained that their respirators gas or the arsenical smokes we had to rely on offered complete protection and needed no our own skins, lungs and eyes, but provided modification. Our experiments with French we took sensible precautions there was no respirators led us to the opposite conclusion. danger of any human guinea pig suffering We, therefore, asked the French to send any serious damage. someone over to Porton to demonstrate the There was, however, one occasion on efficiency of their respirator by walking about which our much admired leader Professor in D.A. cloud accompanied by some of us Barcroft did subject his life to a wisely wearing modified British respirators. calculated but definite risk. We all had the They did so and the poor man got a very greatest affection for him and could well painful lesson in his superiors fallibility. He believe the truth in the remark attributed to used up so many chloroform ampoules to him, “In war I find it very hard to reconcile alleviate his suffering that he passed out after my instincts as an Irishman with my telling his British companions that his life convictions as a Quaker”. The following had been endangered by their diabolical incident is but one illustration of his habit of negligence. However, I do not think that he proving the accuracy of his theories by trying bore us any ill will after he had recovered. them out on himself. Captain “Bunny” Peters, M.C. (later Sir We and the French were both Rudolph) and Captain (I think Professor) experimenting with the efficiency of Dunn were prominent and very congenial Hydrogen Cyanide as a killer gas. They members of our team at Boscombe, but in manned their experimental trenches with my very junior capacity I had no contact with http://militaryhealth.bmj.com/ dogs whereas we used goats. A high the research they were doing. I fancy Peters percentage of their dogs died in the HCN was starting his distinguished career as a cloud whereas most of our goats survived. biochemist and I remember Dunn deep in Thus a fierce argument was raging as to the study of microscope slides of gassed whether in his susceptibility to HCN a man lungs. I do not remember any photographs was like a dog or a goat. Experiments in our being taken but we had a tame artists gas chamber at Boscombe showed that (Captain Stainer) who had a full time job exposed to HCN dogs first went painting gruesome pictures in oils for Dunn’s unconscious and then after breathing in records of organs taken from post mortems more gas died far more quickly than goats on gassed animals. Barcroft, who was the and – what seemed more significant – only one of us who wore civilian clothes, only on October 2, 2021 by guest. Protected copyright. monkeys. One night Barcroft without telling spent part of his time at Porton. He made anyone of his intentions waited until the rest fairly frequent visits to G.H.Q.
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