MY brother was a victim, as were all of his ‘gang', obliged to work in ‘unexceptable’ conditions discharging asbestos in sacks, without the slightest protection.

As a child I witnessed this, covered from head to foot with asbestos powder, just as a miller covered in flour, deplorable! Work had to be done or your family didn’t eat! Those were the days, shortly after the war, when you bowed your head and got on with the job, otherwise your gang were on the dole.

In 2001 my brother, Arthur Reginald Marshall, died of lung cancer, the last of the gang. All of his work mates died of the same ailment. Curiosly disturbing is it not?

Enquiries where held and as far as I know, each case was dismissed for lack of proof linking the discharging of asbestos with the cause of death.

Science has proved that any contact with asbestos in whatever the form, leads to lung cancer! Consequently, with scientific evidence on the subject, each and every person that worked in those conditions should have drawn benefit from the persisting ‘doubt’ and been indemnised. This was not the case, my brother received nothing'. Having read your publication on Doctors owed Millions, my question is simple. What happened to the money that was not claimed and why did the enquiry commissions cease to seak members of the families concerned? People that, as myself, could have submitted evidence and shed light on the facts responsable for the many, dockers’ deaths Maybe as I was abroad,living in France it was far to far away to even bother or would it have been embarassing to know the truth?

I do not expect to open a further ‘useless’ enquiry. I simply would like your newspaper to search and find any remaining next of kin who may be interested by my message and put them in contact with me in order to perhaps render the honours that the victims merit.

As for me, the subject will never be closed simply because justice has not been rendered to the victims of this disaster. Yes a disaster.

My conviction is that the money made available at the time and not claimed, should have been invested in cancer research. I doubt that this was the case.

Herbert R Marshall, France.