Voices From Our Archive

Since 2017 we have been recording oral histories with people across the UK for the first archive of NHS history.

All the recordings ware being archived at the British Library.

Discover here more about our interviewees.

Hilary Brown

Hilary Brown, a retired NHS Domestic Services manager, remembers her brother, Philip’s, treatment and care at the Christie in the 1950s.

Image of Rajan smiling, donated to accompany his interview

Rajan Madhok

Professor Rajan Madhok moved to the UK in the 1980s to complete his medical training, intending to return to India after qualifying. However, he discovered his passion for the NHS.

Stephanie Davis LeBrun

Born in Sheffield, in 1988, Stephanie Davis LeBrun was a trainee clinical psychologist, pursuing her doctorate with funding from the NHS, at the time of the interview.

Joanne Harding

Joanne Harding has worked for 20 years in drug and alcohol services, and mental health.

Narrow hallway leading through dark to light.

Jeanette Holmes

Jeanette Holmes was born in Sheffield in 1942, before the NHS began.

Joan Meredith

Born in 1925, Joan Meredith trained and worked in social work and later as a psychotherapist.

Belinda Jackson

Belinda Jackson was born in Rochdale in 1961 and by age 18 had started her nurse training at Birch Hill Hospital.

Ruth Edwards

Ruth Edwards was born in 1928 and grew up in a mining family in South East Wales.

Eulon Graham

Eulon Graham was born in Jamaica in 1937 and came to Chorley, Manchester, in the 1960s to train as a nurse.

Hylda Whitehead

Hylda Whitehead was born in 1941 and joined the NHS as a medical secretary after taking short-hand typing and biology at night school.