ON July 5 2008 the National Health Service celebrated its 60th birthday, having been launched by the then health minister, Aneurin Bevan, on July 5, 1948.

To mark that historic occasion, which was of great significance to Okehampton and the surrounding district, a valedictory photograph was taken of the board of trustees of the Okehampton and District War Memorial Hospital in East Street.

These trustees gave so much of their time to manage the hospital to the benefit of many people in Okehampton and the surrounding area.

The official opening ceremony was performed by the mayoress of Okehampton, Mrs G K Blatchford on Wednesday, October 20, 1926.

The hospital fulfilled a very pressing need and was of untold value until it closed to make way for the modern hospital off Crediton Road.

Consulting physicians, consulting radiologists, dental surgeons and dentists and many others gave their time without charge.

Mrs Rashleigh headed a committee known as the 'Linen league', which provided numerous articles of bedding, kitchen cloths, towels and many other items each year.

Another nine ladies comprised a hospital working party who visited the hospital regularly and many items were made, marked and mended.

In 1944, for example, the hospital cost £3,447 17s 14d to run for the complete year, but the money had to be raised for this.

There were individual annual donations, various collections from churches to public houses and house to house collections —Gordon Hardie of Belstone regularly gave £20.

There was also the 'egg week' and one 'American tea' raised the record sum of £255.

Also in 1944, from the accounts it is interesting to note that the daily cost of each bed was 17s 6p (82 and a half pence) and the average cost per patient per day was £12 12s 7d (£12.63).

All this could not have been done without the considerable number of voluntary helpers and the trustees must have been proud of their efforts as they posed for the photograph to mark the disappearance of the old structure and the hospital's absorption into the National Health Service.

Mike and Hilary Wreford