THEY went to war and were prepared to die, but they returned home. What they did not know was that many of them were sick and children born to some would suffer abnormalities - for example one had a third ear.

In Britain it was not just one or two, but hundreds. In the United States the figures ran into many thousands.

They did not discuss this in medical schools, but in the field of politics they had discovered a new disease called Gulf War Syndrome.

Until Dr Goran Jamal, a neurologist at Glasgow's Southern General Hospital, this week came up with startling evidence that many of those who fought to free Kuwait were possibly suffering from damage to their nervous systems, nobody had been able to define a possible relationship.

For more than two years many have been convinced otherwise. They are the ones who came back and suddenly went ill. They have argued with a great deal of conviction that there had to be a relationship between the war and their various illnesses.

Until now they have been unable to prove it.

What they were sure of was that before they went to war they were perfectly healthy. When they came back they were not.

Many suspected their ill health could be blamed on a cocktail of drugs administered to them as they prepared for battle.

Dr Jamal's evidence suggests there is some truth to that argument, but it still does not prove the case.

Indeed if the Gulf War were to happen again tomorrow, they would still administer our troops with the same cocktail of drugs.

What was contained in the drugs cocktail has never been fully revealed. This is yet another classified topic in this country.

Nevertheless, it is known the cocktail was intended to counteract such diseases as anthrax, botulism, and bubonic plague. In addition there were tablets and jabs (some of which could be self-administered in the thigh) to counterattack a chemical assault by Saddam Hussein.

Intelligence suggested all of this was necessary. There was little doubt that Saddam would not hesitate to use such weapons.

In fact he did not.

Tablets administered to our troops were nerve agent pre-treatment (Naps). These pills contain pyridostigmine bromide which protects neurotransmitters taking messages to the brain.

Overdoses of this drug, which has been licensed since 1955 for the treatment of a certain nerve condition, can lead to nausea, heart abnormalities, agitation, and involuntary muscle movements. In the extreme it can lead to paralysis.

Put this drug together with a cocktail of others ..... where does it lead?

That is the very question that has been put by those insisting that there is such an illness as the Gulf War Syndrome. It is an argument that has had no medical backing until Dr Jamal produced his report this week.

The truth is that the Ministry of Defence had no knowledge whatever that there could be or might be any long-term side-effects. No research had been undertaken, but it was a risk they were prepared to take to save lives in the battlefield.

Of the 37 countries that contributed troops to the Gulf War against Saddam Hussein, only four are investigating the likelihood that there might be such a thing as Gulf War Syndrome. They are the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Norway.

In the United States, Congress has decided that even though there is no proof such a syndrome exists, there should be compensation to those veterans who took part in the war.

That has to be taken in context.

If an American set foot in Vietnam and because of Operation Orange, which was intended to defoliate the theatre, he or she would be entitled to compensation for lung cancer - even if that person smoked 300 cigarrettes a day.

In addition the amount of money put aside by Congress for veterans of the Gulf War is largely intended to cover medical expenses.

The MoD can point out with a degree of conviction that medical expenses in the UK are free on the National Health Service.

In the United States 30,000 serving men and women are claiming that they are suffering from illnesses that could be related to the Gulf War. In addition, 22,000 who have since left the Services are claiming compensation either by way of medical help or a disability cheque.

America sent 500,000 troops to the Gulf.

Britain sent one-tenth of this number to the war and 700 of them are complaining that they are suffering from the so-called syndrome.

France sent 51,000 troops to the Gulf War. They did not administer their troops with the same cocktail of drugs given to the British and the Americans. While there have been complaints of illness following the battles, the French Ministry of Defence does not accept there is such an illness as Gulf War Syndrome.

War has been declared and veterans in this country seeking compensation can look for no better ammunition in their next battle than that provided by Dr Jamal.

Gulf War veterans fighting for compensation for subsequent sickness now have valuable ammunition, writes James McKillop