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The Birth of the NHS

Episode 11 of 20

Melvyn Bragg reveals archive footage telling the history of modern Britain. A look back to 1948 and the formation of the NHS.

Melvyn Bragg, accompanied by a vintage mobile cinema, travels across the country to show incredible footage preserved by the British Film Institute and other national and regional film archives, and to tell the history of modern Britain.

This episode comes from the College of Medical and Dental Sciences in Birmingham and looks back to 1948 and the formation of the NHS.

June Rosen shares a childhood memory of serving breakfast to the health secretary Nye Bevan on the day he announced the birth of the NHS, while Aneira Thomas reveals her remarkable claim to fame: she was the first baby born on the NHS. And one of Britain's top nurses, Nola Ishmael, shares her experiences on arriving from Barbados to start her training.

31 minutes

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Melvyn Bragg
Series Producer Dympna Jackson
Executive Producer Ruth Pitt

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