91Èȱ¬

This booklet was given to servicemen involved in Operation Grapple, the H Bomb test, carried out on Christmas Island in 1956-7 and it explains the background on the mission, the route of the voyage and the H bomb technology. My father was on HMS Warrior, the aircraft carrier acting as operational control ship in the tests. He was flown over the test site suspended from a helicopter with a Geiger counter to gain readings after the explosion. HMS Warrior sailed around South America and to many of the pacific islands as part of the 9 month voyage from February to October 1957 calling at key places. The booklet was in his effects, he never spoke much about the technicalities of the trip so finding this helped me to understand the mentality of the time. He died of bone cancer in 1980 but did not associate this with the trials. It was an incredible trip for a man in his 20s and his love of travel never left him. I have included the cover and index page. In the forward it makes the point that all the services were involved and had to work as a team and this booklet was produced to help everyone understand the importance and significance of the operation for Britain's defence