The Truth Behind Bad Blood:
The scientific experiment in this episode is based on the real life World War Two biological warfare experiments undertaken by the scientists of Porton Down.
Scientists - like this episode's character Simon Higgins - often used themselves as guinea pigs in their own experiments. Considering some of the materials they were testing, it is perhaps unsurprising that they sometimes sustained serious injuries (like Higgins' blindness) or contracted diseases as a result. The arguments in favour of the development and use of biological weapons (as put forward by the character, Captain Halliday) are the same shocking arguments put forward by Dr Paul Fildes - head of the research into the N-Bomb at Porton Down.
Weapons of Mass Destruction.
The British Government had reason to believe that Germany was developing biological weapons. When Hitler announced that he had the 'weapon to end all weapons' the British believed he had finally developed his own biological weapon and The War Cabinet issued the order for a 'retaliatory capability' to be developed at short notice.
Scientists at Porton Down, led by Dr Paul Fildes, were developing the N-Bomb (agent N being the military planners' name for anthrax). The tests had gone very well in the stable and secure environment of the lab but they needed to test it in the open air to see if it was a truly viable and effective biological weapon.
Gruinard Island off the West Coast of Scotland was the perfect location for this purpose. A small island, which very few people knew about, it sits in a bay and is sheltered on three sides, making it the perfect testing ground for Fildes' experiment.
In July 1942, the scientists undertook their first trials of air-borne anthrax. Sheep, confined in crates, were exposed to small airborne quantities of anthrax. They were then observed to see what effect, if any, anthrax had on them. All the sheep died with in 3-4 days. They seemed to have flu like symptoms, then they seemed to get better but they would soon die very quickly. Fildes and his team concluded that they had found in airborne anthrax an operational anti-personnel weapon.
Within months of the scientists leaving the island, locals on the mainland started reporting mysterious deaths of cattle, sheep and other livestock. The government could not own up to the goings-on on Gruinard Island (in fact Churchill only came to know of the experiments some time after they were underway) but paid up considerable compensation to make the story disappear.
Eventually, Paul Fildes had to relinquish his control (and results) to the US (who had the resources to continue investigations more thoroughly). By this time, the H-Bomb was on its way. The N-Bomb was never used in conflict.
Convoy PQ17
The destruction of convoy PQ17 in July 1942 was one of the largest maritime catastrophes of the Second World War. It resulted in the loss of 153 sailors, more than 100,000 tons of cargo including 400 tanks, 210 aircraft and over 3000 other vehicles…all vital supplies for the Russian Army who were fighting the Germans on the Eastern Front.
Many believe that Britain's naval leaders were responsible for these vast losses. Churchill would describe it as 'one of the most melancholy naval episodes of the whole war.' Two of the characters in Bad Blood, Thomas Jenkins and Leonard Cartwright, are on board the Navarino (a British merchant ship which was part of Convoy PQ17) - the sinking of which is recreated in this episode.
The Artic convoy PQ17 sailed from Iceland for Russia on 27th June 1942. The convoys faced constant threats from German attacks from air and sea. Crews of the merchant ships, who knew that German U-Boats and bomber planes were only too eager to attack, were reassured by the considerable force of the naval escort that was to accompany them.
Inaccurate intelligence led British naval leaders to believe the convoy was about to come under serious bombardment. The order came from London for the convoy to scatter. Believing that they were to intercept their naval attackers, the British destroyers and cruisers headed west, abandoning the fleet of merchant ships.
Remaining escort forces scattered leaving the convoy virtually defenceless. The German efforts were unrelenting - wave upon wave of bombers and prowling submarines picked off the convoy. Of the 37 merchant ships that embarked only 11 reached their destination.
The scientific experiment in this episode is based on the real life World War Two biological warfare experiments undertaken by the scientists of Porton Down.
Scientists - like this episode's character Simon Higgins - often used themselves as guinea pigs in their own experiments. Considering some of the materials they were testing, it is perhaps unsurprising that they sometimes sustained serious injuries (like Higgins' blindness) or contracted diseases as a result. The arguments in favour of the development and use of biological weapons (as put forward by the character, Captain Halliday) are the same shocking arguments put forward by Dr Paul Fildes - head of the research into the N-Bomb at Porton Down.
Weapons of Mass Destruction.
The British Government had reason to believe that Germany was developing biological weapons. When Hitler announced that he had the 'weapon to end all weapons' the British believed he had finally developed his own biological weapon and The War Cabinet issued the order for a 'retaliatory capability' to be developed at short notice.
Scientists at Porton Down, led by Dr Paul Fildes, were developing the N-Bomb (agent N being the military planners' name for anthrax). The tests had gone very well in the stable and secure environment of the lab but they needed to test it in the open air to see if it was a truly viable and effective biological weapon.
Gruinard Island off the West Coast of Scotland was the perfect location for this purpose. A small island, which very few people knew about, it sits in a bay and is sheltered on three sides, making it the perfect testing ground for Fildes' experiment.
In July 1942, the scientists undertook their first trials of air-borne anthrax. Sheep, confined in crates, were exposed to small airborne quantities of anthrax. They were then observed to see what effect, if any, anthrax had on them. All the sheep died with in 3-4 days. They seemed to have flu like symptoms, then they seemed to get better but they would soon die very quickly. Fildes and his team concluded that they had found in airborne anthrax an operational anti-personnel weapon.
Within months of the scientists leaving the island, locals on the mainland started reporting mysterious deaths of cattle, sheep and other livestock. The government could not own up to the goings-on on Gruinard Island (in fact Churchill only came to know of the experiments some time after they were underway) but paid up considerable compensation to make the story disappear.
Eventually, Paul Fildes had to relinquish his control (and results) to the US (who had the resources to continue investigations more thoroughly). By this time, the H-Bomb was on its way. The N-Bomb was never used in conflict.
Convoy PQ17
The destruction of convoy PQ17 in July 1942 was one of the largest maritime catastrophes of the Second World War. It resulted in the loss of 153 sailors, more than 100,000 tons of cargo including 400 tanks, 210 aircraft and over 3000 other vehicles…all vital supplies for the Russian Army who were fighting the Germans on the Eastern Front.
Many believe that Britain's naval leaders were responsible for these vast losses. Churchill would describe it as 'one of the most melancholy naval episodes of the whole war.' Two of the characters in Bad Blood, Thomas Jenkins and Leonard Cartwright, are on board the Navarino (a British merchant ship which was part of Convoy PQ17) - the sinking of which is recreated in this episode.
The Artic convoy PQ17 sailed from Iceland for Russia on 27th June 1942. The convoys faced constant threats from German attacks from air and sea. Crews of the merchant ships, who knew that German U-Boats and bomber planes were only too eager to attack, were reassured by the considerable force of the naval escort that was to accompany them.
Inaccurate intelligence led British naval leaders to believe the convoy was about to come under serious bombardment. The order came from London for the convoy to scatter. Believing that they were to intercept their naval attackers, the British destroyers and cruisers headed west, abandoning the fleet of merchant ships.
Remaining escort forces scattered leaving the convoy virtually defenceless. The German efforts were unrelenting - wave upon wave of bombers and prowling submarines picked off the convoy. Of the 37 merchant ships that embarked only 11 reached their destination.