The Accidental Documentary Maker

It started with a scientist friend and his nurse wife recounting how a healer had saved his life. I was fascinated, but among my first thoughts: what is a healer? In the early part of the last century, Harry Edwards asked himself the very same question when psychics told him he was “born to heal.”

Like Edwards, it was not long before I was immersed in the practice. My longstanding plan to semi-retire and write books (I’m a journalist and children’s author) finally materialised, but yielded few pages written – and instead, hundreds of healings given.

I first learned about Edwards when I took the Healing Trust’s two-year healing course. He was the charity’s first member and president who literally set the standards. I read a few of his dozen and a half books and found them practical and inspiring. His straightforwardness resonated; his framing of healing as a fundamentally simple practice. There were useful pointers aplenty for a newbie healer.

“Casualness is the enemy of distant healing.”

“Every healing effort must be purposeful and directed. At the same time we need to avoid the other extreme of emotionalism and stressful mind concentration.”

My years of journalism had taken me around the world, including to Asia for 15 years, covering everything from World Cups and Olympics to economics and markets. I had worked as a reporter, editor and television presenter. So how did I end up making a documentary about Harry Edwards?

The initial plan was to produce a 10-15-minute film for The Healing Trust’s YouTube channel, and I started by scanning what was out there. The answer? Not much, certainly nothing that I thought did justice to such an important and fascinating historical figure: A man who filled the Royal Albert Hall three times, who took on the medical and religious establishment, and who dedicated the second half of his life to responding to millions of pleas for help.

It’s been a wholly satisfying experience, not least delving through the archives at Burrows Lea (there’s a portrait of Edwards with a note taped on saying more or less: “His daughters asked to take this down because it is unflattering.” They were right!) I’ve met some wonderful people from Harry Edwards Foundation, past and present. HEF’s encouragement has been hugely appreciated.

I’ve also interviewed some terrific characters: the incomparable Matthew Manning, whose practice was inspired by and remains wedded to Edwards’ – and a great couple, Vincent and Jean Hill, who were literally wedded by Edwards (he was a Spiritualist minister able to conduct ceremonies). Lea Brodie was a delight on the subjects of healing and Edwards — who also married Lea and her husband.

Even his detractors conceded that Edwards was an agreeable, down-to-earth fellow. He loved his cigarettes and his cake, his jokes and his jigsaws – ordinary as well as extraordinary. Near the end of his life, BBC Radio Four entitled an excellent programme about him: “Healer Extraordinary.” (Sadly, it’s locked away in the archives but can be accessed at the British Museum.)

My aim is not to introduce Edwards to a new generation of healers but to a new generation, period. To provide an enjoyable and informative 90 minutes for both his home base and the many who know little or nothing about him, or healing – whose interest is piqued by a man who generated “miracle” newspaper headlines for decades and improved the lives of so many people while staying true to himself.

As his daughter Felicity Medland put it in her book: "His worldwide success as a healer and his now quite considerable fame did nothing to change him."

What has left an impact during my research? There was so much focus in his lifetime on whether his healing explained the countless recoveries, that the wonder of the recoveries themselves was often overlooked. Imagine the relief of the families of children for whom medicine had no answer at the time – and the children whose futures were transformed by Edwards and his team. So many heart-warming stories…

Edwards worked tirelessly to bring healing into public view, but his focus never shifted from service and the deeper spiritual connection it fostered. As interest in healing grows, I hope this film helps illuminate his legacy and encourages renewed curiosity about the quiet, transformative practice he championed.

The Accidental Healer is due for release in late 2026 (marking 50 years since his death) or most likely in early 2027. Details at www.harryedwards.life. This article appeared in The Healer, a publication of Harry Edwards Foundation.