X-raying new recruits at a Navy base
A man filling in a card at a desk before having an X-ray at a naval base. A mass radiography system scheme for the early detection of active tuberculosis (TB) was put in place in the 1940s. First used by the navy, the scheme was later adopted by the Royal Air Force and the army. It meant 200 X-ray photographs per hour could be produced on a “miniature cinematograph film”, which could then be projected onto a full-size screen for examination. If abnormalities in a patient’s chest were detected, they would be referred for a full-scale X-ray and treatment. It was later suggested that the scheme should be expanded to include schoolchildren and immigrants. In 1941, when this photograph was taken, there were 50,964 notifiable case of TB recorded in England & Wales and 23,200 deaths.
