HEALTH campaigners urged people yesterday to join a historic recreation of the Jarrow march to defend the NHS.

Thousands are set to take part in the People’s March for the NHS, which leaves Jarrow on August 16 and follows the historic route of the 1936 Jarrow March for jobs.

It will stop at 20 towns and cities before reaching London on September 6.

Along the route campaign groups and unions will rally and welcome the marchers.

Campaigner Simon Grover will be joining the march at St Albans.

He said: “The NHS brought me in to this world, and is quite likely to be involved when I leave.

“As it’s now 70 years old, most of us in this country have known nothing else.

“And when you’ve grown up with something, when it’s always been there, it can be hard to imagine losing it. But that’s what we’re faced with now.

“I believe that high-quality public services should be there when you need them most and free at the point of use.

“The NHS should be kept in public hands, not sold off in bits to the private sector.

“To fend off the pressure to privatise, we all need to show our support for our precious, publicly funded NHS. That’s why I’ll be joining the march when it comes through St Albans.”

Regions of the Trades Union Congress are appealing for support for the marchers, including by joining them and walking sections of the route.

March organisers are urging people to get involved with the Twitter hashtag #march4NHS.

The original Jarrow march took place in 1936 as unemployment ravaged Britain following the Great Depression.