A health manifesto was published which set out the need for a health campaign
and to educate people on certain health issues. Emphasis was placed on
capturing the attention of the public and persuading them with visual
evidence accompanied by spoken commentary. Film (which was still silent at
this time) was considered a modern, technologically advanced medium ideal
for mass communication.

It was decided to take educational films to the streets and public spaces of
Bermondsey. To ferry the footage from place to place the Public Health
Department refurbished an old disinfecting van, which was small yet robust
enough to contain all the necessary equipment and could be adapted to meet
their needs. They had to fit out the van so that the image was projected on
the back of the automobile and bystanders could view the show. This solved
one problem. However, the lack of films that could fulfil their educational
requirements was a problem. It was decided that the Public Health Department
would make its own films, with the radiographer taking the role of camera
operator.

There were good reasons to go to this effort. Firstly because, according to
the Medical Officer for Health, “the would-be purchaser can seldom get a
private view of the film before buying, and naturally is averse to buying a
“pig in a poke”” (in other words, they needed to produce excellent films
that could be easily accesed and which would capture the imagination of the
public as a whole, otherwise the audience would feel short-changed if the
film was no-good). Secondly, as going to the cinema was becoming an
increasingly popular pastime, existing productions tended to be overly
emotive and “built round some kind of sentimental love story”. The term
“sob-stuff” was coined in reference to these mawkish creations and a less
sanctimonious approach was needed. (This stance was most likely a response
to contemporary films which were made about venereal disease and which often
took a moral stance on the issue.)

Some Activities of Bermondsey Borough Council; 1931

Bermondsey was unique in developing such a varied programme of health
propaganda. The most frequently screened film from Bermondsey’s catalogue
was Some Activities of Bermondsey Borough Council, produced in 1931.
This film was made as a comprehensive cinematic catalogue of all the local
public health and social welfare efforts. It is a silent, 26-minute film. An
intertitle in the film suggests that, as a result of the council’s efforts,
the death rate was reduced from 21 people per 1000 to 13 within a 30-year
period. Bermondsey offered universal healthcare on an exceptional scale;
maternity welfare, dental surgeries, a solarium (which offered artificial
sunlight treatment), a tuberculosis dispensary and a foot clinic were all
made available by the council. These amenities and others are all shown in
session in the film. The famous cinemotor van features at the end. According
to contemporary accounts, the van was enthusiastically received by children
(it was gaily painted to attract attention). Photographs of the time testify
to its popularity, showing crowds of children peering intently at the
screen.

Health and Clothing; 1928

By 1938 there was a total of 33 films on the catalogue, although only about 20
were made under the aegis of the borough. The films were, at least
originally, silent and were simply produced using unsophisticated editing
techniques. Illustrative scenes were cut with explanatory intertitles which
remained on screen for a long time, perhaps to encourage debate and
discussion, but also, perhaps, due to lower literacy levels of the time. Health
and Clothing (1928) and Where there’s life, there’s soap
(1933) are examples of the films which had wide appeal.

Where there’s life, there’s soap; 1933

The earlier of the two is entertaining and about the benefits of appropriate
dress; “the animal baby arrives in the world fully dressed” in contrast to a
human baby, which is not. The film gives considerable attention to informing
people not to dress young children in too many layers. The second film is
all about cleanliness and shows why it is important to wash, with a section
purveying all the washing and bathing amenities available – at the time many
residents had no bathrooms in their houses. During screenings, footage that
showed the cleaning of a cow’s udders was apparently met with a raucous
reception.

The Empty Bed, 1937, takes a different approach. It was also a joint
production with the London Borough of Camberwell and is about the
consequences of not immunising your children against diphtheria, a
potentially fatal but preventable disease. The poignancy of ‘the empty bed’
only becomes clear as the story unfolds. The film does, in fact, depict a
“sob-story”; the boy dies rather horribly. It also has some highly arresting
imagery – concluding the film, a gun is pointed at the viewer with the
closing message: “YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED”.

The Empty Bed; 1937

During the 1920s and 1930s, the films were shown repeatedly in schools, clubs
and other institutions so they became familiar fixtures to local people.
However, by the 1940s, the influence of Bermondsey’s early cinematic
pioneers had started to wane; Alfred Salter retired in 1945 and died the
same year, aged 72; Ada had predeceased him, dying in 1942. Also, as a
result of war-time restrictions introduced in 1939, the films could no
longer be shown in the open air and they gradually fell into obscurity.
There were other factors too. Innovations in motion picture production, such
as the introduction of the “talkies” films that included recorded sound, and
then the rise of colour film, meant that Bermondsey’s homespun efforts became
dated.

For many working people the outbreak of war became a catalyst for social
change; dock workers, for example, benefited from the nationalisation of the
docks and their incomes became regulated and secure, the underlying social
issues prevalent in the 1920s and 1930s diminished. Then, responsibility for
the promotion of health in wartime fell to the Ministry of Information,
which chivvied people into taking responsibility for their own wellbeing.
With resources desperately needed elsewhere it became unpatriotic to avoid
immunisation – the cost of treating those who became unnecessarily ill was
an unwanted burden. Lastly, in 1948 the National Health Service was
launched, thereby putting to an end localised health provision in favour of
a nationalised service. In fact, many of the reforms in the current
government’s plans
for the NHS hark back to the pre-NHS time with proposals for greater
autonomy by health providers, improvements in local hospitals and less
centralisation.

Angela Saward is the Curator of Moving Images and Sound at the Wellcome
Collection, which is currently hosting the exhibition Here
comes good health! All about Bermondsey’s pioneering health initiatives
it continues until June 3.