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A veteran of Britain’s nuclear weapons testing programme has finally been presented a medal for his service after almost 70 years.

William John Oates, of Energlyn, Caerphilly, better known as Johnny, was stationed on Christmas Island as an 18-year-old in 1957.

Keen to escape the mines of the Rhondda Valley, Johnny enlisted in the Royal Air Force and, after initial training, was flown, via New York and Honolulu, to the Pacific Ocean island to help oversee the testing of Britain’s then experimental nuclear weapons programme.

Operation Grapple was a series of four test explosions, with Johnny present to witness the detonation of the second and third bombs – Grapple X and Grapple Y.

Wearing nothing but shorts, sandals and a hat, because of the extreme hot and humid weather, Johnny recalled how his weeks were taken up by practice drill runs ahead of the tests.

He said: “We got off the plane at Honolulu and the heat nearly knocked us over. We spent the night there and then flew to Christmas Island. We thought Honolulu was warm, but it was something else at Christmas Island.

“We were sleeping four to a tent. There were land crabs as big as dinner plates which came into the tents, so we had to raise our beds off the ground.”

Despite the tough conditions, Johnny said there was a real sense of camaraderie and equality with colleagues – no-one was wearing shirts, so no-one had their rank on show.

He continued: “We were only teenagers, and it was the first time many of us had been away from home. We didn’t know what was happening.”

The weeks of drills wore on with the bomber plane flying over, until on November 8, 1957, Grapple X was finally dropped.

Johnny said: “We had to face away from the explosion and cover our eyes with our hands. We all thought it was a practice run again, and then they announced it was a live run.

“The countdown ended and then ‘bang’. All of a sudden I could see all of the bones in my hands and arms. I thought I was imagining it.

“We stood up, turned around, and there was a massive, massive, ball of flame.

“Light travels faster than sound and 30 seconds later there was an almighty bang and crash. The trees swayed and some fell over and then there was panic. It felt like the end of the world – I saw grown men crying and running away.

“It was unbelievable what happened – we were so scared. We were innocent teenagers.”

The next test, Grapple Y, held on April 28, 1958, was even more powerful. Its three megaton yield remains the largest nuclear weapon Britain has tested. To put it into context, the bomb the US dropped on Hiroshima had a yield of 0.015 megatons.

Johnny, 87, was one of 22,000 personnel who worked on the Grapple project.

Many veterans have been affected by health issues from their exposure to radiation. Although Johnny hasn’t been affected and counts himself as “lucky”, he has backed calls for the government to pay compensation – following the example of other countries who have paid out to their veterans involved in similar tests.

He said: “We were experimented on – we were lab rats.”

Despite this, Johnny remains proud of his service and is a member of the Nuclear Veterans’ Association and Labrats, and attends regular reunions.

He remains active in his community and has been secretary of the ROAB ‘Buff’s Club in Abertridwr for 52 years.

The newly introduced Nuclear Test Medal, which was awarded to Johnny, serves as a long-overdue recognition of the service given by Johnny and others.

It is awarded to UK and international personnel who contributed to the UK’s nuclear weapons test programme between 1952 and 1967.

Veterans and their families can apply for the medal from the UK Government, as Johnny’s daughter, Serena Bounds did. Ms Bounds then arranged for the Mayor of Caerphilly County Borough to present the medal at a special ceremony at the council’s offices in Tredomen recently.

Nearly 5,000 veterans and next of kin have been awarded medals so far.