Operation Cauldron
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Operation Cauldron was a series of secret
biological warfare Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of biological toxins or Pathogen, infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, insects, and Fungus, fungi with the intent to kill, harm or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an ...
trials undertaken by the British government in 1952. Scientists from
Porton Down Porton Down is a science and defence technology campus in Wiltshire, England, just north-east of the village of Porton, near Salisbury. It is home to two British government facilities: a site of the Ministry of Defence's Defence Science and ...
and the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
were involved in releasing
biological agent Biological agents, also known as biological weapons or bioweapons, are pathogens used as weapons. In addition to these living or replicating pathogens, toxins and Toxin#Biotoxins, biotoxins are also included among the bio-agents. More than 1,2 ...
s, including pneumonic and
bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of Plague (disease), plague caused by the Bacteria, bacterium ''Yersinia pestis''. One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and ...
,
brucellosis Brucellosis is a zoonosis spread primarily via ingestion of raw milk, unpasteurized milk from infected animals. It is also known as undulant fever, Malta fever, and Mediterranean fever. The bacteria causing this disease, ''Brucella'', are small ...
and
tularaemia Tularemia, also known as rabbit fever, is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium ''Francisella tularensis''. Symptoms may include fever, skin ulcers, and lymphadenopathy, enlarged lymph nodes. Occasionally, a form that results in pneumonia ...
and testing the effects of the agents on caged monkeys and guinea pigs. While the tests were carried out by Britain, the tests were a joint Anglo-US-Canadian operation, with a US Navy Lieutenant Commander taking part. US documents showed that the operation was not purely defensive, as later claimed; at a joint 1958 conference in Canada the US chemical corps minuted "it was agreed ... studies should be continued on aerosols ... all three countries should concentrate on the search for incapacitating and new-type lethal agents".


The tests

The experiments were carried out at sea, off the coast of the
Isle of Lewis The Isle of Lewis () or simply Lewis () is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as if they were separate islands. The t ...
in the
Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an Archipelago, island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islan ...
, aboard a floating pontoon, supported by the ship ''Ben Lomond''. The test animals were placed in cages on the deck of the pontoon and biological agents dispersed either from a bomb suspended from a boom or by being sprayed. After being exposed, the animals were taken aboard the ''Ben Lomond'' and those that died were dissected to determine the cause of death. 3,492 guinea pigs and 83 monkeys were used in the tests. The tests were initially judged to be a success, both in terms of the effectiveness of the biological agents and the test platform. However, a year later, this decision was reversed, with the tests on plague bacteria being described as a "failure" and the statement that "brucellosis has not increased its reputation as a dangerous agent."


Carella incident

In the final test of the series, the
Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...
-based trawler ''Carella'', with a crew of eighteen, ignored warnings to steer clear and unwittingly sailed through a cloud of plague bacteria (''
Yersinia pestis ''Yersinia pestis'' (''Y. pestis''; formerly ''Pasteurella pestis'') is a Gram-negative bacteria, gram-negative, non-motile bacteria, non-motile, coccobacillus Bacteria, bacterium without Endospore, spores. It is related to pathogens ''Yer ...
'') on its way to a fishing trip to the waters around
Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
, causing concern about a possible plague outbreak around its home port in north-west England. The ''Carella'' was not stopped for disinfection or medical examination but was kept under covert observation by a
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
and a fisheries vessel for twenty-one days, and the ship's radio communications were monitored for any kind of medical distress call. The surveillance period included a period of shore-leave at
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
, during which the crew mixed with the people of the town as usual. None of the crew became ill. The incident was dealt with at the highest levels of government, going through the
First Sea Lord First Sea Lord, officially known as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS), is the title of a statutory position in the British Armed Forces, held by an Admiral (Royal Navy), admiral or a General (United Kingdom), general of the ...
to the
Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...
Rab Butler Richard Austen Butler, Baron Butler of Saffron Walden (9 December 1902 – 8 March 1982), also known as R. A. Butler and familiarly known from his initials as Rab, was a prominent British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politici ...
, who was deputising for the absent
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
. The event was successfully covered up at the time and, after the danger had passed, most of the documents relevant to the case were ordered to be burnt. Even the crew of the ''Carella'' were unaware of the incident until approached by a BBC documentary crew more than fifty years later. Civil servant
Clive Ponting Clive Sheridan Ponting (13 April 1946 – 28 July 2020)Richard Norton-Taylor, "The Ponting Affair", Cecil Woolf, London, 1985, p. 14. was a senior British civil servant and historian. In 1984, he leaked classified documents about the sinkin ...
, who had been acquitted by a jury in a " perverse verdict" after leaking secret documents about the sinking of the ARA ''General Belgrano'' in the
Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...
, in 1985 came across the one file that had not been destroyed, and confidentially told ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'' newspaper about it, leading to a story that July headlined ''British germ bomb sprayed trawler''.


Ministerial intervention

In 1979
Western Isles The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islands form part ...
MP Donald Stewart, aware of rumours about the trial, questioned
Defence Secretary A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...
Francis Pym Francis Leslie Pym, Baron Pym, (13 February 1922 – 7 March 2008) was a British Conservative Party politician who served in various Cabinet positions in the 1970s and 1980s, including Foreign, Defence and Northern Ireland Secretary, and ...
about them in Parliament. Pym gave reassurances that "they did not impinge in any way on the general public". The ''Observers report about this incorrect statement commented that there was no reason to think that he had any idea of the truth. In 1994, the local Member of Parliament, Calum Macdonald called upon the then-
Secretary of State for Defence The secretary of state for defence, also known as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Defence. As a senior minister, the incumbent is a member of the ...
,
Malcolm Rifkind Sir Malcolm Leslie Rifkind (born 21 June 1946) is a British politician who served in the cabinets of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1986 to 1997, and most recently as chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament from 2 ...
, to commission an independent report on Operations Cauldron and Hesperus in 1952 and 1953, and all similar chemical weapons tests ''about which the public reasonably seek reassurance.'' An initial Commons question by him to the
Ministry Of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
was referred to the director-general of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment at
Porton Down Porton Down is a science and defence technology campus in Wiltshire, England, just north-east of the village of Porton, near Salisbury. It is home to two British government facilities: a site of the Ministry of Defence's Defence Science and ...
,
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...
. In his letter, Dr Pearson said: ''The papers on Operations Cauldron and Hesperus are classified, and it would not be in the national interest to make these available as the information therein could be misused by states seeking to acquire a biological weapons capability.'' ''The pathogens used were as follows: (a) Operation Cauldron: the pathogens that cause brucellosis and plague. (b) Operation Hesperus: the pathogens that cause brucellosis and tularaemia.'' Dr Pearson added: ''The safety aspects of handling, transport and packaging were all carefully addressed to ensure there was no danger to any of those engaged in the trial''. ''There is no cause to believe that there was any hazard to the public or the environment and there is no evidence to the contrary.'' Mr MacDonald responded at the time saying: ''This reply is deeply unsatisfactory and does not provide any of the reassurances which I and my constituents seek about the tests.'' He continued to outline his belief that it was not satisfactory that the same Government organisation which carried out ''potentially highly dangerous experiments'' should be allowed to pass the final judgment on itself regarding the health implications both then and subsequently.


Ruling against the MOD

On the 21st of January 2008 the
Information Commissioner's Office The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is a non-departmental public body which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. It is the independent regu ...
ruled against the MOD to release a video they made on Operation Cauldron. The video contains images of identifiable individuals, and the MOD argued that it would need to obscure or mask the faces of the individuals, as this information would be exempt under sections 38, 40(2) and 44 of the Act. The MOD estimated that the process of masking would exceed the cost limit as set out in section 12 of the Act, and therefore refused the complainant's request. The Commissioner found that the footage did contain images of identifiable individuals, some of whom may still be alive, but that disclosure of the footage would not breach any of the data protection principles. For this reason the Commissioner found that the MOD wrongly applied the exemption under sections 38, 40(2) and 44, and the cost limit under section 12. The Commissioner therefore directed the MOD to disclose the footage in full. The video released was about 47 minutes long and showed the pontoon which was situated off the coast of the Tolsta District on the North East of the Isle of Lewis. The exact location was between Cellar head and Tolsta head. Many of the Tolsta villagers can remember the ship and seeing white gas clouds in the testing. The video shows a flight coming in and describes the arrival of the biological agents from the Microbiological Research Department (MRD) at
Porton Down Porton Down is a science and defence technology campus in Wiltshire, England, just north-east of the village of Porton, near Salisbury. It is home to two British government facilities: a site of the Ministry of Defence's Defence Science and ...
. On the pontoon they placed the animals in small boxes and released the agents, before returning after to check the results and burning the dead animals.Operation CAULDRON 1952 (video)
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References

Cauldron A cauldron (or caldron) is a large cookware and bakeware, pot (kettle) for cooking or boiling over an open fire, with a lid and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger and/or integral handles or feet. There is a rich history of cauldron lore in r ...
Cauldron A cauldron (or caldron) is a large cookware and bakeware, pot (kettle) for cooking or boiling over an open fire, with a lid and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger and/or integral handles or feet. There is a rich history of cauldron lore in r ...
Animal testing in the United Kingdom 1952 in the United Kingdom