Stoke Mandeville Hospital

Stoke Mandeville Hospital stands on the edge of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, where the parishes of Aylesbury and Stoke Mandeville meet. Founded in 1830 as a cholera hospital, it now serves a wide area across the county. The site includes a large National Spinal Injuries Centre, one of the world’s leading specialist units. Sir Ludwig Guttmann arrived in 1943 to direct the centre and pioneered the use of sport in spinal rehabilitation. His work led directly to the Stoke Mandeville Games, which in 1960 became the Paralympic Games. The hospital’s reputation rests on its spinal unit and the birth of the Paralympic movement. Guttmann organised the first games on 28 July 1948, the same day as the London Olympics. Dutch veterans joined in 1952, making it an international event. The hospital later built the Stoke Mandeville Stadium, opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1969. In 1983 Princess Diana opened a refurbished International Spinal Injuries Centre. Visitors find a busy NHS hospital with modern wards and specialist units. The hospital radio station, founded in 1978, broadcasts on FM and online to patients and staff. Trains run from Aylesbury station to London and nearby towns, and local buses link the hospital with High Wycombe and Leighton Buzzard. The site also hosts the Mandeville mascot, named in honour of the hospital’s Paralympic legacy.