Revitalised ‘Aneurin Bevan’ gives view on his legacy

While impressed by the past 70 years’ advances in treatment, and full of praise for medical professionals, the 21st century ‘facsimile’ of the famous Welsh Health Minister gave special mention to the healthcare engineers, whose dedication and commitment he said had kept healthcare facilities running ‘through thick and thin’.

Introducing Jon Buckeridge as Aneurin Bevan – the famous Welsh MP and Health Minister who drove through plans for, and in 1948 famously established, the NHS, IHEEM’s outgoing President, Pete Sellars, said he had been privileged – at IHEEM’s Welsh conference in late August – to hear Nygaire Bevan, great niece of Aneurin Bevan, vividly recall some of her memories of the him during a celebratory dinner held in Cardiff to mark IHEEM’s 75th anniversary and the 70th year of the NHS. Pete Sellars said: “Particularly having heard Nygaire Bevan speak so affectionately about her illustrious forebear, I wanted to start this year’s IHEEM conference slightly differently, with an opportunity for us to hear from Nye Bevan his reflections on the early NHS, as well as on the service’s key milestones and achievements over the past 70 years. So, over to Aneurin Bevan.”

Aneurin Bevan’s engrossing presentation was, it transpired, jointly commissioned by IHEEM and Step Exhibitions, and sponsored by Static Systems Group. Jon Buckeridge, who –  with a strong ‘Valleys’ accent, and a striking resemblance to the ‘great man’ – gave a commanding speech, is the  founder and artistic director of Parable Arts, a classically trained actor, writer, and director, based in the West Midlands, who specialises in ‘storytelling’, has presented at the Edinburgh Fringe, and tours the UK with his own shows and presentations.