Keep fit class, Pioneer Health Centre, St Mary's Road, Southwark, Greater London

Photograph taken 31 October 1938 © Source: Historic England Archive ref: med01_01_0040

A group of women taking part in a 'keep fit' class at the Pioneer Health Centre. The caption on the back of this photograph reads: “Peckham mothers can keep that schoolgirl figure. The cares of house-keeping and raising a family can play havoc with a mother’s looks and bodily shapeliness". The Pioneer Health Centre, Peckham, was opened in 1926. The founders aimed to discover factors contributing to positive health, rather than simply an absence of illness. Due to its popularity with Peckham’s community, the Centre moved to a purpose-built building in 1935. The Centre created a large amount of national and international interest. With the establishment of the NHS in 1948, the Centre struggled to be accepted by policy-makers despite the positive support it had achieved. The Centre closed in 1950 but its ideals inspired further projects in the field of social biology.

Location

Greater London Southwark

Period

1930s (1930 - 1938)

Themes

Bottles of dried plasma being packed together with the giving sets in special cases for transport to the Middle East or where needed. The outbreak of World War Two had prompted work investigating the division of blood into its constituent parts, because whole blood was difficult to transport to overseas battlefields. Plasma is the fluid in the blood containing proteins that help blood to clot. Liquid plasma, though more efficient to transport than whole blood, was similarly difficult to convey to battle and administer in the field. Dried plasma was introduced, with the benefits of stability, more economical storage and transportation, and ease of preparation. The “dried plasma sets” packed and despatched overseas consisted of a bottle of dried plasma, a tin box containing sterile giving set, and a bottle of sterile water. It took minutes for the dried plasma to be adequately dissolved in the water; concentrated plasma could be obtained by adding less distilled water.

Keep fit class, Pioneer Health Centre, St Mary's Road, Southwark, Greater London

Location

Period

Themes

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