0:00:02 > 0:00:04United by disaster, never to see each other again.
0:00:04 > 0:00:05Without you, I wouldn't be here.
0:00:05 > 0:00:10We're all here together, survived the same thing. It's just great.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15They shaped history together but lost touch.
0:00:15 > 0:00:19I just don't know what to say, after all these years.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22And heroes meet those they saved.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24When you see someone in trouble, you go and help them.
0:00:24 > 0:00:25You saved my daughter's life.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28You can never thank them enough for what they did.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33We went through all that and then just lost each other.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36Brought together by fate, separated by life,
0:00:36 > 0:00:39real lives reunited.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46Today, survivors of one of the worst ever oil rig disasters
0:00:46 > 0:00:49meet to share stories of miraculous escape.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52Shouting when the lights went out
0:00:52 > 0:00:55and then the place was filling up with smoke.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58- 25 years ago, eh?- Doesn't seem like five minutes, does it?
0:00:58 > 0:01:02The nurses who made history meet for the first time in 50 years.
0:01:02 > 0:01:07I believe we saved thousands of lives in the first 12 months.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11How many's been saved since, I just couldn't calculate.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15And a Frenchman who wants to repay a long-standing debt of gratitude
0:01:15 > 0:01:16to the Brits who rescued him.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19Thank you for saving my life.
0:01:24 > 0:01:29The 1980s was a boom time for the British oil and gas industry.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33Men from all over the country flocked to the North Sea oilfields
0:01:33 > 0:01:37where the rigs were generating almost £2 billion profit year.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41120 miles off the Scottish coast, Piper Alpha
0:01:41 > 0:01:46was at the centre of an oilfield pumping 125,000 gallons a day.
0:01:49 > 0:01:50It had a reputation.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54At one stage, it held the world record for the single
0:01:54 > 0:01:55producing platform in the world.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59The actual atmosphere, as far as the drilling crew was,
0:01:59 > 0:02:01we were all really quite happy.
0:02:01 > 0:02:06I was on there four years, and I got to know everyone very well.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08I knew the family, the friends, the children.
0:02:08 > 0:02:10It was like a small town.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12There was over 200 personnel on board.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16The work was hard. It was constant.
0:02:16 > 0:02:21Like any oil company, they always want everything done yesterday.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23It's never done soon enough.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26Life was generally quite good.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30But on 6th July, 1988,
0:02:30 > 0:02:34Piper Alpha's name was to become for ever associated
0:02:34 > 0:02:36with the dangers of offshore rigs.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39226 men were on board that evening.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42Drilling supervisor John Gutteridge and colleague Vince Swales
0:02:42 > 0:02:46were both on shift but in different parts of the rig.
0:02:46 > 0:02:51Our first day back on the platform after our two weeks off.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53And it was about just before ten o'clock at night
0:02:53 > 0:02:56and I decided to go back into the office.
0:02:57 > 0:02:58Suddenly, an explosion.
0:03:09 > 0:03:14It was... Motion as well as noise, if you know what I mean.
0:03:14 > 0:03:15It was just, boom!
0:03:19 > 0:03:21All hell broke loose.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24All the grating on the floor lifted up.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26I was blown onto my back.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30Rig workers had turned on a gas pump but they didn't know
0:03:30 > 0:03:31it had a broken safety valve.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35Pressurised, flammable gas erupted into a fireball.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40The fire was everywhere.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44The crew scrambled to find emergency assembly points.
0:03:44 > 0:03:49There was absolutely no chance of making it to my lifeboat.
0:03:49 > 0:03:55I couldn't even see my lifeboat. There was that much flame and smoke.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58They were waiting for someone to tell them what to do.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01But no-one knew what to tell them what to do.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05And then it was more or less "How do we get out of here?"
0:04:06 > 0:04:08The unthinkable had happened.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10The blast had ripped through the control room,
0:04:10 > 0:04:13killing the very people in charge of evacuation.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16As nearby rigs watched on helplessly,
0:04:16 > 0:04:21more than 200 men were alone and leaderless in an inferno.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25The intensity of the blaze stopped boats in the area
0:04:25 > 0:04:26coming to the men's aid.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29I was thinking about my daughters, and thinking,
0:04:29 > 0:04:32"If it's going to happen, please let it happen...
0:04:32 > 0:04:34"please let it be quick."
0:04:34 > 0:04:36At different ends of the rig, Vincent and John
0:04:36 > 0:04:40fought their way through the smoke to the bottom of the platform.
0:04:40 > 0:04:41It was the last option.
0:04:43 > 0:04:44To jump or...
0:04:44 > 0:04:46Well, there was no other option.
0:04:50 > 0:04:55My chief engineer didn't jump cos he was afraid of water.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59He couldn't swim and he didn't jump.
0:05:00 > 0:05:05Apparently, he was last seen at the handrail looking at the water
0:05:05 > 0:05:07but the fire got him in the end.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12It's been...
0:05:13 > 0:05:18..an absolute hell to, sort of, come to terms with.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27167 men were killed on Piper Alpha that night.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35But they will never be forgotten.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41I mean, when we were pulled out of the water,
0:05:41 > 0:05:46it wasn't long after that that another big explosion occurred
0:05:46 > 0:05:50that basically wiped out the whole platform.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02Those who escaped could only look back at the rig
0:06:02 > 0:06:03as it was consumed by fire.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08The tragedy made headlines around the world,
0:06:08 > 0:06:10but many of the survivors retreated from the oil industry
0:06:10 > 0:06:13and were left alone with their grief.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15Close workmates John and Vince
0:06:15 > 0:06:18haven't seen each other since the disaster.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21- Looking well. - Aye! I'm not feeling it!
0:06:21 > 0:06:2325 years ago, eh?
0:06:23 > 0:06:27- It doesn't seem like five minutes, does it?- Not for me. Not for me.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30It's in my thoughts quite often.
0:06:30 > 0:06:35Not a day goes by when I don't think about something to do with that day.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39I've got some photographs that you might recognise a few...
0:06:39 > 0:06:41a few on there.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43That's how I remember you.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47For us to actually get off Piper...
0:06:48 > 0:06:51..and still have the family. I mean, it's...
0:06:52 > 0:06:55..it's...it's more than a miracle.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58You have to remember the men who didn't make it back,
0:06:58 > 0:07:01as well as the men who survived cos they had a hard time.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03It's also for their...
0:07:03 > 0:07:06for the children of the men,
0:07:06 > 0:07:10survivors and those who perished,
0:07:10 > 0:07:13because they're important people.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15Later, two other survivors
0:07:15 > 0:07:18who miraculously escaped from Piper Alpha meet up.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21And one shares a burden he's lived with for 25 years.
0:07:26 > 0:07:31We thought the radio operator should be... Should stand by his post.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43When tragedy strikes,
0:07:43 > 0:07:46the National Health Service is there for those in need.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48But 65 years ago, it didn't exist.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52Back then, free medical treatment wasn't available for everyone.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56Teenage nurses Alma Britton, Irene Cadman
0:07:56 > 0:08:00and Dena Murphy joined Park Hospital in Manchester in 1947
0:08:00 > 0:08:03when health care was a luxury few could afford.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07I was 17-and-a-half when I first went into nursing.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10And it was an awful, rude awakening.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12Babies died because the parents
0:08:12 > 0:08:14hadn't got the money to call the doctor.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19Economic constraints, really,
0:08:19 > 0:08:24determined how much medical care you can actually afford.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28They didn't question it. That's the way it was.
0:08:28 > 0:08:33So, before the NHS, health care was not available to everyone.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35Dena was deeply affected by a pensioner
0:08:35 > 0:08:37who couldn't pay for her treatment.
0:08:37 > 0:08:42A colleague and I were told to get a lady ready
0:08:42 > 0:08:44to be transferred to another hospital.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48All the way there, she was saying, "Oh, my God, love.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50"Don't take me there. I'll be dead in a month."
0:08:50 > 0:08:54We just thought it was the ramblings of an old lady.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58I condemn myself for feeling like that now.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02And we got there, and there were people calling out,
0:09:02 > 0:09:04and they weren't getting the help they should.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08It was, in a sense, a workhouse.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10But that lady died within a month.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13And, to this day, I could break my heart over it.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18After the horrors of war, the country wanted better.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21And in 1945, Clement Attlee's new Labour government
0:09:21 > 0:09:24set about improving the nation's health.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27The Labour Party's great victory
0:09:27 > 0:09:30shows that the country is ready
0:09:30 > 0:09:34for a new policy to face new world conditions.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38Health minister Aneurin Bevan wanted to create something
0:09:38 > 0:09:41not seen anywhere else in the world before.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43A national health service providing free care
0:09:43 > 0:09:45at the point of need for all.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47I thought it was wonderful.
0:09:47 > 0:09:52Aneurin Bevan had this dream. I hoped it all worked for him.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55I was with him all the way.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00But Bevan needed somewhere to launch his revolutionary project
0:10:00 > 0:10:02and the three trainee nurses at Park Hospital
0:10:02 > 0:10:04received some exciting news.
0:10:04 > 0:10:09Of all the hospitals, Park was chosen.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13Oh, coming to our hospital! Great! That's lovely.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16We felt very privileged.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19Gardens were tidied, uniforms were sorted.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21Wards were spruced.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25Knowing that they were to be among the first ever NHS nurses,
0:10:25 > 0:10:27the girls bonded closer than ever.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30We worked very hard, but we also had fun.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33Happy nurses made good workers.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37It was a really splendid achievement,
0:10:37 > 0:10:41both for the hospital and for us all to take part.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45On 5th July, 1948,
0:10:45 > 0:10:48Bevan arrived at Park Hospital and launched the NHS.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52The main thing I remember was him coming up the drive,
0:10:52 > 0:10:56this rather distinguished looking gentleman.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59The patients responded to him, you know.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01He was a really charming man.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04Dena, Alma and Irene were all there on that historic day
0:11:04 > 0:11:07and became pioneers in the new health service.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11I'm looking forward very much to meeting some of the girls
0:11:11 > 0:11:14that I was with at that time.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18Sometimes, you don't really appreciate how good it was
0:11:18 > 0:11:20until you have the opportunity
0:11:20 > 0:11:23to share it with somebody who was there at the same time.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27And it gives you that feeling of, "Oh, that was good!"
0:11:27 > 0:11:30The three former nurses haven't all been in the same room
0:11:30 > 0:11:32for over 50 years.
0:11:32 > 0:11:33We lost touch with one another.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36No reason whatsoever, we just did.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39Hopefully, today will sort that out.
0:11:41 > 0:11:46So, later, they meet up at the very spot where the NHS was born.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50Although we didn't realise it at the time, we were part of history.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01The trauma of a medical emergency can stay with people for life,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04but for many the most profound bonds are formed with the strangers
0:12:04 > 0:12:06who come to their aid.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08On 25th September, 2012,
0:12:08 > 0:12:12French van driver Anthony Cassiere was delivering car parts
0:12:12 > 0:12:16to the north of England when, suddenly, his life changed for ever.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28Anthony had swerved off the A1 at 70 miles an hour
0:12:28 > 0:12:31and slammed into the back of Richard Vahey's
0:12:31 > 0:12:34broken down bus, parked on the hard shoulder.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36Richard had just stepped off his vehicle
0:12:36 > 0:12:40and was yards away from the devastating crash.
0:12:40 > 0:12:41It looked like carnage.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44Everything scrambled everywhere, there was smoke, there was oil,
0:12:44 > 0:12:46loads of vehicles behind me
0:12:46 > 0:12:48screeching and stuff like that and stopping.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51And then all I thought about was phoning the emergency services.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55Thanks to Richard's quick thinking,
0:12:55 > 0:12:59his call to 999 meant help was dispatched within seconds.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04We attend lots of road traffic collisions throughout the years
0:13:04 > 0:13:07but this was a really difficult one to deal with.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10Crushed beneath three tonnes of twisted metal,
0:13:10 > 0:13:13Anthony came to in excruciating pain.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15His left leg had been forced beneath the car seat,
0:13:15 > 0:13:19almost cutting it in half and causing massive blood loss.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23Paramedic Alison Slater was horrified by the crash scene.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28I've seen vehicles with a lot less damage
0:13:28 > 0:13:30where everybody's been killed in it.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33And that was just unbelievable that he was still alive talking to us
0:13:33 > 0:13:35when we got there. It was just devastation.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38Because of his limited English, Alison struggled to give him
0:13:38 > 0:13:41the urgent medical treatment he required.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44Unable to communicate, bleeding heavily and close to death,
0:13:44 > 0:13:47he started to panic.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49We can't speak French.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52We can't tell him what's going on. We can't reassure him.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56The only English I can understand him saying was, "Don't let me die."
0:13:56 > 0:13:59Incredibly, the next fireman on the scene
0:13:59 > 0:14:01was exactly who the team needed.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04French-speaking Jack Boas immediately realised
0:14:04 > 0:14:07what was happening and rushed to Anthony's side.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11We started the conversation going, which is very important,
0:14:11 > 0:14:14I think, from our point of view, to calm him down.
0:14:14 > 0:14:15It was a godsend.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19It was fantastic. He could communicate, tell him the plan.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21"Don't be scared, you're going to be fine."
0:14:23 > 0:14:26Thanks to Jack's comforting words, the team were able to get on
0:14:26 > 0:14:30with cutting him free of the wreckage and onto an air ambulance.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33Jack visited Anthony in hospital after his shifts
0:14:33 > 0:14:37and spent hours at his bedside. They've since become close friends.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40It's my angel. Now.
0:14:40 > 0:14:45Nine months on and ten operations later, Anthony's leg is mending
0:14:45 > 0:14:48thanks to the team of strangers who pulled him back from the brink.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52The first in the chain was bus driver Richard,
0:14:52 > 0:14:53who made the 999 call.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58You couldn't physically help him. You couldn't...
0:14:58 > 0:14:59um...
0:14:59 > 0:15:01do anything for him.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04It would have been nice to put pressure on the wounds, stuff like that.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08It was just so mangled in the back of the bus, I couldn't, physically, get to him.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11Richard still has vivid memories of the crash but has never heard
0:15:11 > 0:15:13the life-saving call he made.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17- 'Tell me exactly what's happened?' - 'A driver in a van just hit me,
0:15:17 > 0:15:19'has hit me, actually full-whack...'
0:15:19 > 0:15:22- 'I understand.'- 'He's trapped in the vehicle. Trapped in the vehicle.'
0:15:22 > 0:15:23I'm sorry.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28HE EXHALES
0:15:28 > 0:15:31But listening to the call has made Richard realise how one
0:15:31 > 0:15:34moment can change a life for ever.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37It might... It might have been me that day.
0:15:37 > 0:15:38HE SNIFFLES
0:15:44 > 0:15:46It'd be nice to see him.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48Just make sure he's OK.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53SPEAKS HIS OWN LANGUAGE
0:15:57 > 0:16:01Today, Jack is once again translating for Anthony as he returns to the UK
0:16:01 > 0:16:04to thank the men and women who saved him.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07When visiting Anthony in hospital, erm,
0:16:07 > 0:16:11his main concern was not his legs but he asked about the driver
0:16:11 > 0:16:15in the bus. And he says he'd like to apologise to him.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18- I think Anthony just wants to shake his hand.- How are you?
0:16:18 > 0:16:24- How are you?- I'm so sorry.- It's OK. Don't worry about it, honestly.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27I'm just glad to see you're physically OK.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30We're getting there with him, definitely.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34Thank you very much for calling 999.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37- I'm so sorry.- No, it's...
0:16:37 > 0:16:40It's very, very...
0:16:40 > 0:16:42important for me...
0:16:42 > 0:16:44SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE
0:16:44 > 0:16:47- For him to apologise. - No, I'm just glad you're OK.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50- No problem, no problem.- Yeah.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54Anthony still has one more big thank you for
0:16:54 > 0:16:58the team who saved him and has made something which says it all.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00LAUGHTER
0:17:00 > 0:17:05Union Jack and my...my heart.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07- Thank you for saving my life. - It was a pleasure.
0:17:07 > 0:17:08< RICHARD: You're welcome.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10Is his leg going to be OK then?
0:17:10 > 0:17:14They mentioned in the hospital it would be a year before
0:17:14 > 0:17:18- he'd be able to walk again.- Right. - At the moment, it's nine months.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22- Fantastic.- And he's walking.- The rest of your life to look forward to now.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26Meeting Anthony today just reminds you why we do the job that we do.
0:17:26 > 0:17:31To see him here today looking fit and well, it's really fantastic.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35I think it's made a tremendous difference for Anthony
0:17:35 > 0:17:39to meet everybody who was involved in such a dramatic event,
0:17:39 > 0:17:42and closure has been the major word of the day and, er...
0:17:42 > 0:17:46for him, it will help him, there's no two ways about it.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58The National Health Service is an institution
0:17:58 > 0:18:02which defines Britain, and for 65 years, it's provided care when
0:18:02 > 0:18:05we've needed it most, without a hefty price tag.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09Health Minister Nye Bevan chose Park Hospital in Manchester
0:18:09 > 0:18:14to be the place the NHS was born on the 5th of July 1948.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18Before that, there were some people who couldn't even get treatment
0:18:18 > 0:18:21because they didn't have the money to pay for it.
0:18:21 > 0:18:27I was very privileged indeed to feel part of something that was new
0:18:27 > 0:18:33and so much better and my friends, who I had started work with,
0:18:33 > 0:18:36they were all part of it.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40Retired nurses Irene Cadman and Alma Britton have remained in touch,
0:18:40 > 0:18:43but for the first time in 50 years, they're meeting their colleague,
0:18:43 > 0:18:48Dena Murphy, to relive their moment in history.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51- Oh, look who's come to see us! - Hello. Look at you two.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55- Do you think we're wearing well? - Well, I know darn well I am!
0:18:55 > 0:18:58- You've got some photographs. - Yes, I have.- Oh, great.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01I don't know if you've seen these before?
0:19:01 > 0:19:07- Guess who?- Oh, yes.- Now, looking back, you think of him as he was
0:19:07 > 0:19:09that day.
0:19:09 > 0:19:14All beams and smiles, you realise he had achieved what he set out to do.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16- Absolutely. - He was a man with a vision.
0:19:16 > 0:19:17He was a man with a vision
0:19:17 > 0:19:20and he was one of the few people who can actually get there.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22We were fortunate that he chose Park.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24That's right.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26It's not often one gets the chance to actually stand
0:19:26 > 0:19:28and watch history being made.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31- It was a pretty amazing day. - Yeah, totally. Absolutely.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35Because the NHS was such a radical idea, the Government created an
0:19:35 > 0:19:39ad campaign explaining it to the general public.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43It's all yours whenever you want it with your own choice of doctor.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46And that goes for the whole family.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49It needed to be advertised, didn't it?
0:19:49 > 0:19:51I don't think people believed it at first.
0:19:51 > 0:19:55But it came in...huge success.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58- I couldn't agree more.- To me, what's amazing
0:19:58 > 0:20:02is this man, Bevan, wakened up with an idea in his head...
0:20:02 > 0:20:08and from that idea grew a whole, complete, turnaround of the concept
0:20:08 > 0:20:11of how people were looked after when they were ill.
0:20:11 > 0:20:16And it... It was an immense stride for this country as a whole.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18And it happened in that little hospital there
0:20:18 > 0:20:20and we were there on that day.
0:20:22 > 0:20:27Alma, Irene and Dena saw first-hand how the new NHS changed Britain.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29Very, very quickly...
0:20:29 > 0:20:32we got a much healthier...
0:20:32 > 0:20:34population...
0:20:34 > 0:20:36and it was very fast.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38Because things were AVAILABLE.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43And it was pretty blooming wonderful.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47Suddenly, you could go to the doctor, you know.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49You could go to the dentist.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52It was incredible, really.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55I believe we saved thousands of lives
0:20:55 > 0:21:01with the NHS in the first 12 months. How many's been saved since,
0:21:01 > 0:21:03I just couldn't calculate.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08From sick children and pregnant mothers to emergency surgery
0:21:08 > 0:21:12and organ transplants, the Health Service has grown beyond
0:21:12 > 0:21:15what anyone could have imagined in 1948.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19It now helps over 600,000 people every day.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23Life expectancy has gone up and infant mortality has gone down.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26It's far from perfect, but today, almost 2 million people work
0:21:26 > 0:21:31in the NHS, dedicated to providing life-saving treatment for all.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34The three former nurses are returning to the hospital
0:21:34 > 0:21:37where the Health Service and their careers began.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39At least that's one thing that hasn't changed...
0:21:39 > 0:21:45- What?- The tower.- Ha! That says it all, doesn't it?- Yes.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48- I remember...- Getting in at the last minute, looking up at the clock...
0:21:48 > 0:21:52- "I'm late."- "Nearly 11 o'clock." - "I'm late, I'm late!"
0:21:52 > 0:21:57- Charging in.- We were young, daft and had tremendous enthusiasm for life,
0:21:57 > 0:22:00- I think.- And very resilient. - Well, we had to be.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03- I suppose so, yeah.- That's right.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06For Alma, Dena and Irene, returning to the place
0:22:06 > 0:22:10where it all began has brought the memories flooding back.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13This hospital was so nice for a young person to be...
0:22:13 > 0:22:18- It was.- Although we didn't realise it at the time...
0:22:18 > 0:22:21- No.- ..we were part of history.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25It has been a trip down memory lane and lovely to come back
0:22:25 > 0:22:32and see that the good work that we started has been continued.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35It makes you feel very proud, really.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37That you were part of it at the beginning.
0:22:48 > 0:22:54At 10pm on the 6th of July 1988, a gas pump with a broken safety valve
0:22:54 > 0:22:57exploded aboard the oil rig Piper Alpha,
0:22:57 > 0:23:00120 miles off the Scottish coast.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04As flames engulfed the platform, one man tried to raise the alarm.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13But radio operator, David Kinrade, was forced to leave his station.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22There was shouts and uproar...when the lights went out and then
0:23:22 > 0:23:26the emergency lights went out and the place was filling up with smoke.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29Scaffolder Joe Meanen scrambled through the chaos to the
0:23:29 > 0:23:30helicopter deck.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34To escape the growing inferno, he had to jump off the rig.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38It's every man for himself and you've got to do it.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41If you stayed there, you'd be dead.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44On the other side of the helideck, David Kinrade was desperately
0:23:44 > 0:23:49looking for a way out when another explosion rocked the rig.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51And after I'd been thrown down on the floor by this explosion,
0:23:51 > 0:23:56I got up and through the smoke I ran across the helideck and leapt off.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03David and Joe both survived
0:24:03 > 0:24:06a 180-foot jump into the freezing North Sea.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11Picked up by rescue boats and hospitalised with burns
0:24:11 > 0:24:14and broken bones, they were among the lucky few.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17167 men died that night.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22But David has spent 25 years being haunted by memories
0:24:22 > 0:24:23of the disaster.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27I don't know... I don't know how to explain it.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30Er...
0:24:30 > 0:24:36It was just a feeling of, was there something more I could do
0:24:36 > 0:24:38or I could have done at the time?
0:24:40 > 0:24:43Er...
0:24:43 > 0:24:46Just thought that the radio operator really should be,
0:24:46 > 0:24:49should stand by his post.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53Joe saw their actions in a very different light.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57If I hadn't made it, I would have hoped nobody who had survived
0:24:57 > 0:24:59had felt guilty.
0:24:59 > 0:25:00You know, because...
0:25:01 > 0:25:06..that was my philosophy of it, you know. They should go on...
0:25:06 > 0:25:11having got a second chance and go and embrace it and move on.
0:25:11 > 0:25:15For four of the survivors from that dreadful night in July 1988,
0:25:15 > 0:25:19the reunion is a chance to share memories of friendship and loss.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22- I remember the smile! - I know! Thanks very much!
0:25:22 > 0:25:25- How you doing?- Nice to see you.
0:25:26 > 0:25:31- Did you go back, after all? - No, never.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35- I've never even been in a helicopter again.- Me neither.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39About three months later, they asked me if I wanted to go out.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42Within a week, I'd decided there was no way I was going.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44And I've...
0:25:45 > 0:25:48- ..like you, never been in a helicopter since.- No.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52For David, it's the end of a 25-year wait to ask if he should have
0:25:52 > 0:25:54done anything differently.
0:25:54 > 0:25:56I feel terrible about the fact that, er...
0:25:56 > 0:26:00I was the radio operator on duty. I don't know whether you're
0:26:00 > 0:26:03supposed to sit in the radio room and wait until the thing disappears.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07So, you think you should have gone down with the ship, do you?
0:26:07 > 0:26:10Down with the ship, sort of scenario, yes.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13As all radio operators in the merchant navy are supposed to do.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16Yeah, well I was merchant navy trained, you see.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20To blame yourself, it's very...it's being hard on yourself.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23You jumped off the helideck, for goodness' sake, you know...
0:26:23 > 0:26:26- I didn't have any option. - Well, you didn't but you did it.
0:26:27 > 0:26:31You know, you... We've got nothing to feel guilty about.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34No, not at all. We all done what we had to do.
0:26:34 > 0:26:38And nobody should feel guilty at all about that, you know.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41Thank you, Joe, thank you.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45It's a great burden to be lifted off my shoulders.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52And it's all individual but we're all here together and
0:26:52 > 0:26:56survived the same thing and it's, it's just great to see you all.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58Yeah, mate, yeah.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00Thanks, Joe.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03Put your hands on there, boys.
0:27:04 > 0:27:09I think we've all coped very well considering the damage
0:27:09 > 0:27:14what was done to mind and spirit on that, on that night.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18And it's good to see them in good form.
0:27:18 > 0:27:20The best thing that's come out of it is what Dave said,
0:27:20 > 0:27:24and we've taken a bit of a burden off his shoulders.
0:27:24 > 0:27:25I think we all feel good about that.
0:27:25 > 0:27:30I think it's going to put a new perspective on life for me.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34Erm, I think it's something I had to try and put behind me
0:27:34 > 0:27:38and put to rest and I had not really made any effort or
0:27:38 > 0:27:41attempt in the last 25 years to do that.
0:27:41 > 0:27:42Feelings of guilt...
0:27:45 > 0:27:48No, I'm hoping he's shed some of that today.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52No, perhaps he'll go forward on what's he learnt.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55We'll never forget those men who lost their lives
0:27:55 > 0:28:00and the suffering of their families and children.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05This is something we will live with all the rest of our lives.
0:28:19 > 0:28:20Next time...
0:28:20 > 0:28:26They made Royal history in 1953, but haven't seen each other in 60 years.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28I wondered where you'd got to.
0:28:28 > 0:28:29LAUGHTER
0:28:29 > 0:28:33And saved from the deadly cold North Sea by a stranger.
0:28:33 > 0:28:37If he hadn't been there, I wouldn't have been alive today.