From the Mirror archives

July 5, 1947

Today’s photo shows Labour Health Minister Aneurin Bevan being given a tour of the 400-bed Park Hospital Davyhulme, Manchester, to mark the inauguration of the NHS. It was the first hospital in the world to offer free healthcare to all. Sylvia Beckingham, 13, was the first patient to be treated by the NHS and recalls the moment she met Mr Bevan. “He asked me if I understood the significance of the occasion and told me that it was a milestone in history,” she said.