This video, which was filmed in 1962 and broadcast on the BBC's "Tonight" show, was hosted by Scottish reporter Fyfe Robertson, who interviewed locals in Gruinard Bay, Scotland. The interviews were fairly probing, as Robertson questioned the locals about the British Government's biological warfare experiments that had occurred nearly twenty years prior. It is important to note that the Gruinard Island "X-BASE" trials, which were conducted as part of an investigation into the virulence and efficacy of anthrax as a biological weapon against Germany as part of "Operation Vegetarian", were not public knowlegde at the time. However, locals did recall much of what went on, as can be seen from this interview.
A summary of the Gruinard Island trials can be found below, as well as the Fair Use statement regarding the usage of this original BBC footage.
Gruinard Island was purposefully contaminated with the Anthrax bacterium in 1942, and experiments continued until the end of the war. Anthrax was tested on sheep to see if it was a viable weapon to deploy against the Germans via a process of dropping cattle cakes infected with Anthrax - Operation Vegetarian.
The scientists not only proved the virulent nature of Anthrax, they also proved it's hardiness as well, and the island was contaminated for nearly fifty years until it was finally declared safe in 1990, and sold back to the owners for £500.
Cleanup started in 1986, and ended in 1990.
Fair Use Policy:
Fair dealing in United Kingdom law is a doctrine which provides an exception to United Kingdom copyright law, in cases where the copyright infringement is for the purposes of non-commercial research or study, criticism or review, or for the reporting of current events. More limited than the United States doctrine of fair use, fair dealing originates in Sections 29 and 30 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, and requires the infringer to show not only that their copying falls into one of the three fair dealing categories, but also that it is "fair" and, in some cases, that it contains sufficient acknowledgement for the original author. Factors when deciding the "fairness" of the copying can include the quantity of the work taken, whether It was previously published, the motives of the infringer and what the consequences of the infringement on the original author's returns for the copyrighted work will be.
All footage remains property of the BBC, and no attempts at monetisation have been made.