The Trust's July 2019 Newsletter

8th July 2019

Welcome from Nigel Purse, NPHT Chairman

Welcome to the fourth edition of our Newsletter. It is amazing how much can happen in six months in the life of a small charity. On 29th March we welcomed 300 guests to the launch of the National Paralympic Heritage Centre at Stoke Mandeville where Sir Philip Craven MBE, Paralympian, spoke of his wheelchair basketball experiences in the 1960s and Eva Loeffler OBE shared fond memories of her father, Professor Sir Ludwig Guttmann. Dr Dennis Guttmann, the son of Professor Sir Ludwig Guttmann, along with many others were greatly moved by the displays celebrating the birth of the Paralympic Games initiated by his late father. In a matter of three months we have already welcomed 15,000 visitors.

A display of Dr Guttmann inside the National Paralympic Heritage Centre
 
From January to June our Paralympic Heritage: Stories from Bradford exhibition at Cartwright Hall saw 25,000 visitors. This exhibition has now evolved and has been divided into new local stories for Cliffe Castle in Keighley which will be running from June to November and Gunnersbury Park Museum, Ealing which is now open until September. If you missed the exhibition at Cartwright Hall you can still enjoy it through a virtual tour on our website here:


 
Two years into our five year Heritage Lottery Fund project we have undertaken a review of our work and targets. It is impressive how a small team can achieve so much and I am pleased to say we are pretty much on target with a few extra achievements such as getting a PhD underway, in the History of the Sports Wheelchair, in collaboration with Glasgow University.
 
Over the next twelve months we must focus on fundraising and long-term sustainability, never easy for a new organisation, but we have the determination to get there.

About Us

We bid a sad farewell to Katy-Jayne Lintott at the end of July and thank her for getting our learning and volunteering up and running as well as the operation of the Heritage Centre. Embracing the values of the Trust she has built up valuable local and national partnerships, created tours and handling collections, managed our first exhibition in Norwich and supported display development elsewhere. We wish her well in successive work and will miss her great sense of humour and ability to enthuse a crowd. 

Events

Cartwright Hall Art Gallery

Cartwright Hall has hosted a wide range of events during the exhibition attracting several hundred participants, highlighting the incredible achievement of many disabled Paralympians from across the region.

Pop-up museum

Our small pop-up museum has a calendar of events to attend over the coming months. Most recently we visited Lee Valley Water Park as part of the International canoeing championships to share the history of Para-canoeing and to undertake market research for the permanent heritage centre planned at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Velopark. We received great feedback, ideas and several enthusiastic volunteers for the future. 

Visitors to the Incredible Me day having a go at adaptive cycling in the grounds of Cartwright Hall Special Olympians holding a banner at Incredible Me Day at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery Paralympians, Paul Cartwright and Kevan Baker at the exhibition

What's coming up

Please share our upcoming events with your friends, family and colleagues 

29th July, 11am & 2pm
Tours of the National Paralympic Heritage Centre with BSL interpretation.

14th August, 2-3pm - Meet the Paralympian 
We are delighted to welcome Paralympian adaptive rower, Naomi Riches at the National Paralympic Heritage Centre.

14th September, 11am-5.30pm - Waterside Festival 
We are looking forward to attending the Waterside Festival in Aylesbury with Paralympian, Derek Derenalagi who will be opening the event.

Exhibitions

Paralympic History: Stories from Bradford and Keighley

Celebrating a new array of Paralympians and disabled athletes the Cartwright hall exhibition has moved to Cliffe Castle. Suspended in the glass dome, lit at night by a magical light display, is Paul Cartwright’s prototype 1985 three wheeled racing wheelchair. It is like a beacon and work of art, highlighting the pioneering work of our country’s early Paralympians.

Interior photo of the dome at Cliffe Castle Museum showing Paul Cartwrights racing wheelchair suspended in the air.

Paralympic History: Stories from Ealing and Hounslow

Our first exhibition in London brings together some of our early collection in the form of Hugh MacKenzie-Stuart, who lived in Ealing and wrote 'The Cheeks in my Seat', with some of the new stars Natasha Baker, equestrian, and Dimitri Courtya, fencing. Including a celebration of grass routes disability sport activity and achievement.

The Paralympic Heritage Centre at Stoke Mandeville Stadium

We are incredibly proud of our small museum, its richness of collections and high level of access. We have already supported events such as the National Inter-Spinal Unit Games, welcomed schools and community groups through tours, talks and handling collections, and a copy of the displays is being shared with 3000 Scouts in a European camp in the Netherlands this summer.  We currently have a small display case devoted to short-term displays. Plans for the next year include a display from one of the London 2012 Children’s Promise. By the Autumn we shall have a virtual tour available online opening out the access to it even more.

History

Paul Cartwright has donated two of his racing bikes and his all-in-one Lycra racing suit from 1985, the first of its kind.  We met Paul through the Bradford exhibition and his history is now available on our website.
 
Roger Jefcoate MBE DL has a fascinating story in connection with the National Spinal Injuries Centre, specifically the invention of electronic equipment that brought independent living to many, which we are in the process of capturing.
 
Margaret, the widow of the late Leslie Veale, who was the pioneering coach behind wheelchair fencing, has shared the incredible story of Leslie’s involvement in wheelchair fencing and donated some of his memorabilia. His story will appear soon on our website.

Thanks

Thank you to everyone who donated to our Spacehive appeal we reached our target! Funds are now being collected and the project will be delivered soon.
 
Thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers and work placements whose help is invaluable to the Trust. 

Keep in touch

We at the NPHT love sharing what we are up to. However, if you no longer wish to hear our news and what we have planned for the future then please contact us. Our Privacy policy can be found here. Vicky Hope-Walker, NPHT Chief Executive Officer, [email protected]

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