Health in War

1940
Sound
13m

The young, old and infirm are evacuated from Blitz-hit cities in this moving testament to Britain's wartime organisational prowess.

These moving scenes were filmed while Hitler's Luftwaffe was wreaking havoc on many of Britain's towns and cities. Amid the turmoil, frail and elderly patients are transported from built-up areas to country schools and stately homes which have been requisitioned as hospitals, while name-tagged children stand in neat lines at railway stations awaiting evacuation.

The film was intended to boost public morale on the home front and is certainly testament to Britain's organisational prowess in a time of crisis. The NHS would not be established until 1946, shortly after the war ended. Director Pat Jackson cut his teeth working as production assistant on British documentary movement classics such as Night Mail (1936), and went on to direct a spate of documentaries before his acclaimed debut feature Western Approaches (1944).

WWII at the Pictures

Once the cinemas were declared open for business, the film industry kept the reels turning, serving up a mixed diet of news, morale-boosting propaganda and uplifting entertainment.

In the early days of the war, cinemas were closed as a public safety measure, but authorities were soon persuaded of film's many virtues in wartime. Newsreels kept spirits up and relayed vital information, documentaries rigorously explored every aspect of life and work on the home front, and an array of animations and short films imparted practical tips and guidance.

Feature films, meanwhile, offered equal parts inspiring wartime stories and escapist fantasy to bring relief from everyday trials. And with gender roles evolving and so many men away from home, producers were forced to pay more attention (long overdue!) to the tastes and interests of women cinemagoers - with fascinating and enduring results.