The Tredegar Medical Aid Society, founded in South Wales in the late 19th century, became a powerful model for what a national health service could look like. Funded by small weekly contributions from local workers, the society provided free medical care to thousands of residents, including access to doctors, dentists, nurses, and even specialist treatment. It ran its own hospital and central surgery, offering care based on need, not ability to pay. This grassroots system of mutual aid and community-funded healthcare deeply influenced Aneurin Bevan, who served on its committee in the 1920s and later drew on its structure when designing the NHS.

Tredegar was not alone. Across Britain, similar friendly societies, cooperative clinics, and municipal hospitals were already proving that collective healthcare could work. These local schemes demonstrated the feasibility of universal access, professional standards, and public accountability.

When Bevan launched the NHS in 1948, he scaled up what places like Tredegar had already achieved, transforming local solidarity into national policy.