Rare Photos Of Hiroshima Bombing Victims On Display In Fife

Rare photographs taken during the immediate aftermath of the Hiroshima nuclear bombing have gone on display in Fife.

The exhibit at Scotland's Secret Bunker marks the 70th anniversary of the Hiroshima attack which took place on August 6th 1945.

The photographs have been in the possession of a Coaltown of Balgonie man's family since 1946.

John Ferns' late father, Clifford, stumbled across the undeveloped photographs after buying a second-hand camera six months after the bombing while serving in the RAF in Iwakuni, 15 miles outside Hiroshima.

Mr Ferns said: "My father who was stationed at Iwakuni, which is roughly 15 miles away from the scene, managed to buy a camera out of a shop and it transpired that this camera was found at the body of a phtographer that took the pictures at the time of the bomb.

"Of course when my father bought the camera he didnt realise at that time what the camera contained.

"He did everything himself, he developed all his own films and it was when he developed the films that he realised what they were. 

"They've been with the family all these years. Personally, I think they're very significant - you really have to look at them to believe what really happened. 

"The photographs are absolutely horrific to say the least, showing you: all the dust clouds; the devastation; the death; the women; the children; even the doctors that are all covered in burns and bodies lying all over the place.

"One of the main things is a shrine, a Japanese shrine, that was standing and everything round about it for miles was totally flattened."

The 11 images on display capture the horrific scenes of survivors in the hours following the blast.

At least 200,000 people were killed by the atomic bomb including the thousands who succumbed to radiation poisoning in the weeks, months and years that followed the attack.

Scotland’s Secret Bunker owner James Mitchell said: "It is an immense privilege to display this rare and important collection of images.

"There are very few photographs of Hiroshima in the days after the bombing so these images are as close as people can get to understanding the true nature and utter devastation of the nuclear attack.

"We hope that visitors will come here to observe, reflect and learn more about the events of 70 years ago."