We are very excited to be hosting the National Paralympic Heritage Trust with a community art project with the theme of costume designer, opening and closing ceremonies.  With a focus on use of textiles – flags and colours.

We will have two evening sessions in April.  The first on Monday 17th April 2023 where we will hear about the National Paralympic Heritage Trust NPHT and the work they do with the chance to see some of the costumes and flags from olympic ceremonies.  Then an interactive talk with Paralympian Helene Raynsford about her experiences and life as a Paralympian on Monday 24th April 2023. 

The climax of the project will be to work with an artist for a day creating a piece of collective textile art on the theme of costumes and ceremonies at the Paralympics.  Kristina Veasey will be with us on Saturday 3rd June 2023 

Join us to meet with Fiona Darling-Glinski, Learning Officer who will explain more about the National Paralympic Heritage Trust and the work they do.  She will also along items from the collection to help inspire the project. 

17/04/2023 19:00 – 17/04/2023 21:00

Helene Raynsford, a former member of the British wheelchair basketball team, became the first ever Paralympic rowing gold medallist by winning the women’s single sculls event at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games where rowing made its Paralympic debut. She will talk to us about her experiences and share some items which will inspire the art project on 3rd June.

24/04/2023 19:00 – 24/04/2023 21:00

The culmination of the project takes place on Saturday 3rd June. Join us for a one day community art project led by Paralympian Kristina Veasey inspired by Paralympic ceremonies and costumes.

You are very welcome to join if you have an interest in costumes, ceremonies, the Paralympic games or textile art in general.   All of these events are fully funded so there will be no cost to attend any of the sessions. 

03/06/2023 10:00 – 03/06/2023 16:00

The National Paralympic Heritage Trust are inviting you to take part in an exciting project called “Stories from Buckinghamshire”. This project serves to share our local history and connect our British Paralympic heritage with the communities who supported the Paralympic Games from the very beginning. 

This remarkable story, which began when Sir Ludwig Guttmann came to Stoke Mandeville and revolutionised the treatment of spinal injuries patients by including physiotherapy and crucially, sport to the rehabilitation programme, involved many local people working behind the scenes. Now, in recognition of this historic community effort, we are inviting volunteers to help us uncover and record more of the stories which brought the world the Paralympic Games.

On this project, schools and communities will be invited to meet Paralympians, work with disabled artists and learn from our collection which is rich in medals, costumes, photographs and memorabilia. 

There are a number of ways in which you can get involved as a volunteer on this project. For example, you might like to,

• help to identify access facilities for participants at local venues,
• assist the artists and Paralympians at local workshops and events,
• photograph material created during an event to be displayed on the website,
• help to create exhibition banners for the Pop-up Museum,
• research local Paralympic history events to support the project delivery,
• help set up and serve refreshments at local events,
• engage audiences in the work of the Trust and this project through the delivery of activities associated with the Pop-up Museum at local events.

Call for Stories

The Paralympic Games is a local story and one that depended for its success on the people living in the communities in this area. We at the National Paralympic Heritage Trust, want to recognise the historic community effort of local people by uncovering, recording and sharing the stories which brought the world one of the most significant sporting events ever created.

Do you have memories of when the Paralympic Movement first began? Of when Sir Ludwig Guttmann came to Stoke Mandeville and revolutionised the treatment of spinal injuries patients by including physiotherapy and sport to the rehabilitation programme, and nurtured the healing power of competition in his patients? 

Did you come out to support the first Wheelchair Marathon that took place on the Buckinghamshire roads in 1984? Or were you one of the many local people who offered spare bedrooms or camping spaces to the athletes and officials who took part at the 1984 Paralympic Games at Stoke Mandeville? Perhaps you have memories of when The Finmere Horse Show became an annual fundraising event and was instrumental in enabling disabled sports men and women to compete for their country at the Paralympic Games. Or are you one of the many people who embraced the London 2012 Games and helped to create what is still recognised as the most successful Paralympic Games to date?

If you have stories, memories or photographs that relate to any part of the journey associated with the development of the Paralympic Movement, please contact us via the NPHT website: