Right in the heart of Manchester, near where the bombs fell in the Second World War, stands the Peace Garden, a testament not just to those who have lost their lives in conflict, but a reminder of how Manchester played a crucial role in devising a new form of science – atomic theory – that eventually sent the world spinning off into hitherto unforeseen directions politically and militarily.
The atom bomb is hot news right now, thanks to this summer’s big blockbuster film, Oppenheimer, named after J. Robert Oppenheimer, organiser of the Manhattan Project which dropped the bombs on Japan in 1945.
Ed Glinert of New Manchester Walks, who has hosted countless local tours that include stopping at the atomic bunker on Chinatown’s George Street, and gives talks on the story of the atom bomb on cruise ships, relates the full atomic story to coincide with the release of the film and as the 78th anniversary of the dropping of the bombs in August 1945 to end the Second World War approaches.
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