A whole host of hospital staff have been involved with our Paralympic Heritage; from the early days, supporting the rehabilitation of spinal patients at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, through to the medical teams who support the athletes competing in the modern Paralympic Games.
The hospital staff are an important part of our Paralympic Heritage as they play a vital role in helping athletes to prepare for the games and keeping them fit and healthy. Disabled athletes can suffer with a unique set of health issues, for example, people with spinal cord injuries may not be able to sweat, meaning they are prone to overheating during sports activity and this is something their team of medical staff will look out for. Even athletes with the same disability can have different support needs so each athlete needs individualised care and support from the medical staff. The GB Paralympic team has over 30 people in medical support roles across all sports. Find out more about the hospital staff and their Paralympic stories below.
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Margaret Anne Aldous (née Bennett) was a medical photographer at Stoke Mandeville hospital in the 1950s capturing images at the National Spinal Injuries Centre and the early Games. Read more
Mary worked as a nurse at Stoke Mandeville from 1953 her husband, Jimmy, had worked there since 1949. From 1970 they ran the rehabilitation hostel in the hospital called the Halfway House. Read more
Ida 'Brom' Bromley worked as a physiotherapist at Stoke Mandeville from 1954 until 1977 Read more
Keith started working at the Stoke Mandeville Sports Centre when it opened in 1969, eventually becoming Assistant Manager. Read more
In September 1943, Dr Guttmann took charge of the Spinal Injuries Unit at Stoke Mandeville. Rehabilitation through sport was his method and so out of this competitions were held. Read more
Douglas started worked for Aylesbury Council and was seconded to help with the organisation of the 1984 Paralympic Games at Stoke Mandeville. Read more
Robert worked at the Stoke Mandeville Sports Centre and was heavily involved in the organisation of the 1984 Paralympic Games. Read more
Eva is the daughter of Sir Ludwig Guttmann. She trained as a physiotherapist and worked briefly alongside her father at Stoke Mandeville in the 1950s. Read more
Wagih El-Masri came to Stoke Mandeville in 1971 and trained under Sir Ludwig Guttmann Read more
Joan Newton was a nurse at Stoke Mandeville from 1948 to 1952, when she left to marry Harry who was one of the patients she had nursed on the spinal ward. Read more
Joan was Sir Ludwig Guttman's assistant at the Spinal Injuries Unit at Stoke Mandeville Read more
Dr John Silver first worked for Professor Sir Ludwig Guttmann at Stoke Mandeville in 1956 and then succeeded him as the director of the Spinal Injuries Centre. Read more
Jean Stone worked as an occupational therapist in Scotland and worked with the GB and Scottish teams at the Paralympic and Commonwealth Games. She helped organise the 1984 Paralympics at Stoke Mandeville. Read more
Dot Tussler started at Stoke Mandeville in 1982 and is now one of the longest-serving physiotherapists working at the hospital. Read more