“Secret” is a word which is heavily overused, but in this case, it seems to be appropriate. All those involved in the development, manufacture deployment and disposal of this weapon were sworn to secrecy, and it appears that they kept their word. A detailed examination of over 70 documents held at The National Archives, most of which were not released until 1970 or later and are stamped “SECRET”, has uncovered what really took place in Morecambe, Lancashire in 1918/19, putting the residents of both Morecambe and Lancaster at great risk of poisoning or hasty evacuation for over two years.
The lives of some of those involved is provided in some detail, including the great uncle of the author, Major TH Davies DSO, MC, RE. The arsenic-based weapon assembled in Morecambe was used in the Russian civil war, and it was thought that arsenic compounds might be used in in the second world war. They were used as a herbicide weapon in Vietnam, and they are still regarded as a threat when used from time to time by terrorists. More people are now being poisoned by arsenic than at any other time in history, the health of people in more than 70 countries being in peril. In undertaking research for this book, the environmental trigger for the second most frequently diagnosed metabolic bone disease after osteoporosis, known as Paget’s Disease of bone or osteitis deformans, was uncovered.
Coming summer 2025