Porton Down Volunteers: Winterbourne Gunner

The Defence Nuclear Biological and Chemical Centre (DNBCC), formerly the Joint School of Chemical Warfare, was set up in 1926, located near the village of Winterbourne Gunner, and is responsible for the training of military personnel in biological warfare and nuclear warfare, both offensively and defensively.

Around 7% of enquiries to the Porton Down Helpline are from people who believe they had been to Porton Down, but who do not show up in the records.  Some of those people may have confused their attendance at Porton Down with attendance at DNBCC which is a few miles down the road from Porton Down. Over the years, DNBCC training programmes have included work with respirators in chambers containing riot control agents (tear gas), sniff tests of chemical agents and mustard exposure. Additionally, some DNBCC courses visit the Porton Down ranges to undertake training and some visit the laboratories to learn about the research that is going on. Unfortunately records at DNBCC were routinely destroyed some years ago.

Last Updated: 21 Feb 02