Appointed Day 1948 Poem by Joyce Hemsley

Britain will always remember
the fifth of July, forty-eight...
the day the Health Service
came into being; how could
we forget such a date?
Everyone thrilled at the
gift to the State ~ a scheme
fair and equal to all.
Prime Minister Attlee with
Bevan beside him,
helped post-war Britons
as never before.

Sixty years have now come
and gone, with the Health
Service surviving the storm,
its candle still burning brightly
but may be in need of a little
reform. A Service Britons
are proud of; a lifeline for me
and for you, giving freedom
of choice to every citizen...
without it, what on earth
would we do?
Joyce Hemsley.