Modern/Post-War Photos

Anthrax Island today.

Bletherskite (scotsclans.com)

One characteristic of anthrax is that its bacilli - in endospore form - is very long-lived. Advice to Churchill in 1944 suggested that the potential of the anthrax bomb was so great that it must be used on Germany; and that extensive use could make German cities uninhabitable for up to 30 years. On this advice, Churchill ordered his commanders to order the manufacture of 500,000 which, apparently, would have been done in the US. Fortunately, these bombs (if manufactured) never had to be used. Meanwhile, closer to home, anthrax pollution was causing problems. Initial efforts to decontaminate Gruinard Island failed owing to the robust quality of the bacillus and its endospores. Worse, anthrax endospores spread to the contiguous mainland, causing repeated anthrax outbreaks among livestock. Eventually, (since 2000) following a public scandal, the island was (it is alleged) effectively decontaminated by the administration of huge doses of formaldehyde (embalming fluid), itself a deadly poison, and the warning signs were removed. Today, the island is deemed safe. For myself, I shall not be going to the area on my holidays any time soon. Many sheep died for their country on that island, and they are still buried there. Anthrax is, as I have remarked, a very persistent pestilence ... JR.