The Medical Research Council Cyclotron Unit (MRC CU) situated at Hammersmith Hospital, London, is widely recognised for its pioneering developments in radiochemistry. The MRC CU became one of the largest and most comprehensive PET centres in the world. More recently, under the umbrella of a public/private partnership between the MRC and Amersham Health (now part of GE Healthcare) this centre has continued to advance PET research.This article reviews the 50-year history of radiochemistry development and application for medical research at Hammersmith.