Producing iron lungs at the Morris Motor Works, Cowley, Oxfordshire
The caption on the reverse of the photograph reads: “Iron lungs for Australia - Work on the production of a consignment of 167 “iron lungs” for Australia proceeding apace at the Morris Motor Works at Cowley, Oxford. It will be remembered that Lord Nuffield, the car magnate, recently undertook to supply every hospital in the British Empire with an “iron lung”.” The first iron lung in the UK was designed in 1933. In 1937, Australia was facing an epidemic of poliomyelitis, with iron lungs being one of the main methods of treating the illness’s complications. 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.
