Nurses making beds on the floor in an underground air raid shelter, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Oxford Road, Manchester, Greater Manchester

Photograph taken 5 December 1940 © Source: Historic England Archive ref: med01_01_1376

Nurses preparing their beds in one of the underground air-raid shelters. Manchester Royal Infirmary was damaged twice by bombing in World War Two, in October and December 1940. Part of the nurses’ home was damaged by bombing in October 1940; nurses had been in air raid shelters in the basement and so no one was hurt. The tower of the teaching block was damaged and many windows were blown out during air raids in December 1940. The teaching block soon collapsed, and extensive demolition followed.

Location

Greater Manchester Manchester

Period

World War Two (1939 - 1945)

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.

Nurses making beds on the floor in an underground air raid shelter, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Oxford Road, Manchester, Greater Manchester

Location

Period

Themes

Tags