A photograph of technicians refining penicillin in a laboratory, taken by James Jarche (1891-1965) for Illustrated magazine in 1943.

A photograph of technicians refining penicillin in a laboratory, taken in November 1943 by James Jarché for Illustrated magazine.

Penicillin is an antibiotic, a chemical effective at very low concentrations which can kill or stop the growth of a disease-causing microbe. Penicillin is produced naturally in moulds of the genus Penicillium, from where the drug gets its name. During the second world war two British scientists, Sir Howard Walter Florey (1898-1968) and Ernst Boris Chain (1906-1979), developed a means of producing penicillin on an industrial scale. Together with Alexander Flemming they shared the Nobel Prize in 1945. Their work on producing a 'wonder drug' saved millions of lives. In 1934, Odhams, publishers of the Daily Herald, launched the magazine Weekly Illustrated. Based on European ideas of photoreportage it was the first British picture magazine. In 1939 the magazine changed its name to Illustrated. It continued to be published until 1958.

Howard Walter Florey (1898-1968) and Ernst Boris Chain (1906-1979), developed a means of producing penicillin on an industrial scale. Together with Alexander Flemming they shared the Nobel Prize in 1945. Their work on producing a 'wonder drug' saved millions of lives.