Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps
-
Historical Article
Some recollections of Porton in World War 1. Commentary.
Chemical weapons now regularly feature in news reports and the threat from them has become widely recognised by the public at large. Terrorist actions such as the Tokyo subway incident in 1995, coupled with the persistent use of agents such as sulphur mustard and Sarin by the Iraqi regime over the last 20 years in the Iran/Iraq war and against the Kurds of Northern Iraq, make it easy to think that chemical weapons are a new phenomenon. ⋯ Porton Down remains at the very heart of chemicals and biological weapons research, albeit in a purely defensive capacity; few of the old buildings remain and the idyllic lifestyle in the Officer's Mess at Idmiston Manor has long since disappeared. These recollections provide a fascinating insight into scientific research at the time of World War I.