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9/8/25

Nagasaki - 80th anniversary

It was 80 years ago today that only the second atomic bomb ever used was dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. The blast alone instantly killed about 40,000 people vapourising many of them. It burned, injured and irradiated tens of thousands more and its destructive force razed a large swathe of the city to the ground. Three days previously the first atomic bomb had been dropped on Hiroshima instantly killing and burning to death between 60,000 and 80,000 people. The horror of so much instant death and suffering inflicted on so many innocent civilians, including the very young and the very old, is something we cannot come close to imagining.

As a teenager I read a book about Hiroshima the details of which I cannot recall. But it was an eye-witness account of the event and it left a lasting impression on me. Apart from the Bible it may possibly have been one of the most influential books I have read. In later years it would have influenced my decision to become a member of CND although I am not a pacifist.