Join us to celebrate the achievements of one of the nation’s most loved institutions and appreciate the vital role that health care professionals play in our lives at this special screening of historic films and clips to mark 70 years of the National Health Service in Bristol.

More than 1,000 films are stored in the Bristol Archives and around 150 of these have been digitised, catalogued and are available for viewing. The health-related selections that make up this screening includes the Bishop of Malmesbury appealing to 1930s cinema audiences to help fund Bristol’s hospitals, several award-winning documentaries from the 1950s and 60s made by Bristol Cine Society and F.G. Warne, and clips from local television news bulletins.

Films sponsored by the Bristol Health Department and Bristol United Hospitals provide a fascinating historical insight into the care and treatment of adults and children trying to manage a range of conditions from physiotherapy and chiropody to strokes and polio. The films also convey the inter-relationship between Bristol’s education and health departments and the care provided by staff. Please note that some of the language reflects the attitudes and values of a bygone era.

With thanks to Bristol University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Above & Beyond, BBC Bristol, Bristol Archives, Bristol Film and Video Society and Empica

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