King Charles III medal on display at Royal Logistic Corps Museum

It was donated by the family of Brigadier Dennis Augustus Turner CBE of the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) and was awarded for the part he played in nuclear tests during the 1950s. 

It's on display at the Royal Logistic Corps Museum, Worthy Down. 

Brig Turner, who was a veteran of the British Expeditionary Force sent to France in 1939, was deployed to Woomera, Australia in September 1956 to participate in Operation Buffalo. This was one of several Cold War era British nuclear weapons tests that took place in Woomera between 1956 and 1963. Other nuclear tests were carried out in the Pacific on Malden and Kiritimati (Christmas) Islands, Kiribati as part of Operation Grapple. 

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Overall, an estimated 22,000 British personnel from across the three services, including from the RASC, along with civilian scientific observers, are believed to have taken part in these tests which enabled Britain to become a nuclear power. 

In recognition of this, and following a highly public campaign, the Nuclear Test Medal was established in 2022. Brigadier Turner was awarded his medial posthumously and it was accepted by his daughter in November last year. The medal is one of the first to bear the image of King Charles III.

Alex Crisp, the museum's assistant curator, said: “The Nuclear Test Medal tells a fascinating story of an often-overlooked part of the British Army’s Cold War story. This was a very kind donation and we are delighted to put Brigadier Turner’s medals on display in the museum’s medal corridor.”

The museum is free to enter and is open Tuesday – Saturday from 9.30am to 4pm.