Factory producing iron lungs, Morris Motor Works, Hollow Way, Cowley, Oxfordshire

Photograph taken 28 March 1939 © Source: Historic England Archive ref: med01_01_0323

Men working on the production of a consignment of 167 iron lungs for hospitals in Australia. The first iron lung in the UK was designed in 1933. In 1937, Australia was facing an epidemic of poliomyelitis (Polio), with iron lungs being one of the main methods of treating the illness’s complications. Lord Nuffield, a car manufacturer, having seen the iron lung in operation, offered part of his factory in Oxford to be taken over for the production of 'respirators', an affordable version of the iron lung. Over 1,700 of these respirators were distributed to hospitals following his offer to provide free iron lungs to any hospital in the Commonwealth that requested one.

Location

Oxfordshire Cowley

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.

Factory producing iron lungs, Morris Motor Works, Hollow Way, Cowley, Oxfordshire

Location

Period

Themes

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