Archives and collections

From photographs of spinal injuries patients at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in the 1940s, to modern prosthetic racing blades, our archives and collections will reveal to you the fascinating stories of our National Paralympic Heritage.

The NPHT has service agreements with the Centre of Buckinghamshire Studies and Bucks County Museum Trust to catalogue and care for our collections using nationally recognised standards. This important work is supported by the Wellcome Trust and Heritage Lottery Fund as a project called ‘Spinal to Sport’. Below is a gallery of some of the photographs currently catalogued.

We are very keen to develop our collection and if you would like to donate or loan items to us please contact our office in the first instance, telephone: 01296 489929 or email: [email protected]. The process of depositing items to us is explained in this downloadable pdf.

We would also love you to get involved and share your stories and items and add them to our collection. Find out more below.

What's new in our collection

Take a look at the latest addition to our collection Read more

Archive catalogue

Sports and medical papers, brochures, leaflets, medals, photographs, films and x-rays from the early 1940s onwards. Read more

Collections catalogue

Clothing, mascots, sports equipment and personal mementos, from individuals, Paralympians and sports organisations. Read more

Latest

Tignes-Albertville 1992 Paralympic Winter Games

This was the first winter Paralympics to be celebrated concurrently with the Olympics, hosted in the same city or region. Although these were publicised as the Tignes-Albertville Paralympic Winter Games the events all took place in Tignes.

Nagano 1998 Paralympic Winter Games

In addition to being the first Paralympic Winter Games held outside Europe they were only the second Games to be hosted by the same city as the Olympic Winter Games.

Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Summer Games

Atlanta, awarded the right to host the 1996 Paralympic Summer Games in September 1990, saw the first corporate sponsorship programme, marketing the Games as a commercially viable event. Twenty-six sponsors at Worldwide, Official Sponsor and Official Supplier levels covered over two thirds of the cost of the Games.

Lillehammer 1994 Paralympic Winter Games

The Lillehammer Games of 1994 were held only two years after the 1992 Tignes-Albertville Games as the scheduling was changed so that the Winter Games took place two years after the Summer Paralympic and Olympic Games.

What we do

The National Paralympic Heritage Trust was established on 11th November 2015 to protect and share British Paralympic Heritage.

The delivery team

Trustees

Virtual research volunteer

Would you be able to help us keep the content on our website fresh and up-to-date?

Ice Sledge Hockey player, Naomi Adie

Naomi Adie is an Ice Sledge Hockey player for the Peterborough Phantoms

Timeline

Paralympic Games Timeline

1960s: Part of the Olympics

In Rome 1960 the International Games were held for the first time in the Olympics venue immediately after the Olympic Games. They are now seen as the first “Paralympic Games”

Interview with Nick Webborn, Chair of the BPA

Interview with Professor Nick Webborn, Chair of the British Paralympic Association and Clinical Professor of Sport and Exercise Medicine at the University of Brighton

Events assistant

Are you interested in helping people to discover more about the evolution of the Paralympics and disability sport?

Chloe Hixson's volunteer story

We are lucky to have some great volunteers who help us in the work we do. Chloe Hixson, joined us as an Access Assessor and more recently has helped as a Virtual Volunteer