Historic England has uncovered a remarkable collection of more than 4,000 medical images, deep within the vaults of its archive.
The images document health care from 1938 to 1943, and detail wartime hospital staff, patients and procedures. Many of the images are quirky, surprising and emotive, revealing an extraordinary slice of 1930s and ’40s Britain.
The Wellcome Trust provided grant for funding the preservation and digitisation of the collection, which features hospitals and practices across Britain in the few years preceding the inception of the National Health Service.
Historic England has made a short film that captures the memories of four nurses who trained and worked in hospitals in the North West from the 1940s and ’50s. Watch this and see more of the collection here.