Today, the 6th August 2008, is the 63rd anniversary of the atomic bomb being dropped on the city of Hiroshima, killing 140,000 people. This was closely followed by another nuclear attack on the city of Nagasaki on August 9th. 

It was just after 10.40 a.m. on that August day in 1945 that the second atomic bomb, aptly named "Fat Man", was released from an American aircraft to cause the death of 80,000 people and subsequently many more from injuries and illness attributed to radiation exposure.

One Walton man experienced this attack and lived to tell the tale.

The late Frank Harwood, a prisoner of war in the Japanese camp at Nagasaki, was walking along a corridor in the camp when he heard a plane droning overhead. A crack like thunder and a burst of light brought death to thousands in a second. Frank threw himself down by the side of a concrete trough which he always claimed saved his life. Many other POWs ran for the air raid shelter - most of them died.

A few days later an American aircraft carrier rescued him and 15 other English servicemen.

Strangely, I was not aware of the significance of the date when I scanned a negative yesterday showing Frank remembering his lucky escape. It was only when I heard mention of the nuclear bombs on today's news broadcasts that I appreciated the coincidence.

I have been very busy today scanning negatives from the Putmans archives in preparation for a presentation I have promised to give in October to raise funds for the Walton Town Hard Association.

While doing this I came upon a single negative, catalogued simply as 'Portobello Reunion' and dated 23rd October 1947. Expecting to see some old Walton folk I scanned the negative only to discover that the faces were all new to me. Thus I am displaying the picture below in the hope that someone may be able to tell me just who these gentlemen are. I have a sneaky feeling that they may have a medical connection, but on the other hand that could be a real red herring.