X-Rays: The Early Days

X-Rays were discovered quite by chance in Germany in 1895. In Britain the news of these new rays that could see right through you was greeted with a mixture of fun and fear. But while enterprising manufacturers advertised special X-Ray-proof clothing for the public, a handful of enthusiasts grasped the medical value of the discovery and founded the earliest hospital X-Ray departments. What none of these pioneers could know were the terrible dangers to the body of accumulated radiation. Four radiographers, who survived those early days, recall what it was like to be amongst the first 'X-Ray men.'