During the 1960s, researchers set out to investigate ‘Grenard,’ a remote island off the coast of Scotland. There were reports that excellent observations were made here secretly during the Second World War. There were reports of hazardous materials and animal deaths on the island. Its correspondent Fife Robertson pointed to the island from afar in 1962, saying, ‘It’s called the Island of Death and the Island of Mysteries, and for good reason. 

This is not a tale of superstition or black magic linked to the mountains. This story begins in 1942. The war had been going on for three years when War Office scientists took control of the island and carried out secret experiments that are still unknown today. Even after 20 years, few people knew what had happened there. 

Nothing was told to the local people.  Robertson wanted to check the stories about the government’s dangerous experiments on the island. During his reporting, the British Ministry of Defense denied entry to the island. Neither reporter could convince the locals to take them near the island. 

It was an environmental disaster. Ironically, the island was covered in hazardous materials and remained a ‘no-go area’ for half a century. Then, in 1990, the British government declared it protected. The truth was that on this island, Britain tried ‘anthrax’ experiments during the Second World War. The plan was to weaponize this dangerous bacterial infection.  The details came to light after the government declassified an army film in 1997 that showed the experiences of the time. 

A plan to spread infection in Germany during World War II.

The project was called ‘Operation Regitarian’ and was headed by Paul Floods. He was then Head of the Biology Department at the Army’s Portondown Military Facility in England. Portondown was founded in 1916. Its purpose was to understand the effects of chemical weapons, and it was part of the War Department Experimental Station. 

The use of these weapons was increasing during the First World War. In the 1940s, Britain re-entered the war, and Portondown was tasked with developing a biological weapon that could be used against Nazi Germany.

 Instead of direct combat by troops, these weapons could have had devastating effects. The plan was to add anthrax to flax and drop it by plane in place of livestock around Germany. Cows would get infected with anthrax by eating this food, and people would get sick from eating this meat. Anthrax is a naturally occurring deadly substance. 

It may take time for all symptoms to appear, but it can cause mass mortality. The proposed plan would have affected Germany’s meat supply and spread nationwide anthrax infections, causing mass casualties.

 To see how anthrax could become a weapon in a natural environment, researchers experimented with it away from densely populated areas. During the summer of 1942, the army bought the deserted island and barred the locals from entering.