Hospital Nurse

1941
Sound
8m

A glamorous young student nurse charms patients and staff alike as she sails through her training.

A glamorous young student nurse, in her pristine uniform and neat cap, charms patients and staff alike as she sails through her three-year training programme. This recruitment film presents an idealised view of the nursing profession, which is likely to have been in stark contrast with the daily experience of wartime nurses.

There were difficulties in recruiting nurses during WWII, and it appears that films such as this one were unsuccessful in their efforts to fill the gap. Women were less willing to become nurses than they had been during WWI since by the 1940s a range of new employment options had become open to them.

Life Under Fire

The horror of Luftwaffe bombs coloured daily life in Britain's cities and beyond, and war brought myriad daily hardships besides. But Britain could take it!

The Blitz receded after May 1941, but even after the Battle of Britain, the nation faced a barrage of incendiary bombs, V-1s and V-2s. While young men fought Axis powers across three continents, their families listened anxiously to the wireless, while many worried too about children far from home. But in the face of the destruction, sirens, blackouts and hours in shelters, the now-legendary 'Blitz spirit' kept despair at bay. Britain held her nerve thanks to mutual support, defiance and wit - plus a good grumble and as many cups of tea as rationing allowed.