Queen Mary’s Hospital archivist receives Civic Award in recognition of saving local history
Gordon Jones, chairman of the Queen Mary’s Hospital archive and museum group, was honoured by the Mayor of Wandsworth with a Civic Award at a glitzy town hall ceremony in November in recognition of the significant contribution he has made to life of the borough.
10 years ago Gordon took on the task of preserving many of the historic artefacts and documents at Queen Mary’s as the development of the new hospital gathered pace, establishing a constitution, charity status for the group and relationships with a number of archive organisations across the country. Gordon’s work has seen the Queen Mary’s archive classified by the National Archive as being of national significance, covering not only medical history but many aspects of military, social and political history.
In his 10 years as chairman of the archive and museum committee, Gordon has overseen the opening of the opening of the new Queen Mary’s Hospital museum and has secured funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund for the Queen Mary’s oral history project. The project has seen the committee interview 60 people who have been a patient or worked at the hospital during its 95 year history. The project will draw to a close next summer, when the 60 recorded histories will be published on the Queen Mary’s website.
On receiving his award, Gordon said:
“Documenting the work of Queen Mary’s has been a pleasure. Since opening in 1915, the hospital and its staff have worked continuously to retain the accolade of being one of the best limb fitting and amputee rehabilitation centres in the world. These Archives not only narrate the history of a world renowned establishment, but also tell the story of a small group of people, amputees, whose experiences may have gone unnoticed if it was not for the work of the Archive Group and its dedicated volunteers.”
Di Caulfeild-Stoker, divisional chair of the community services Wandsworth division, said:
“I am absolutely delighted for Gordon, this is very well deserved recognition for the tremendous amount of time and effort he and his team have put into bringing the history of Queen Mary’s Hospital to life. Without his leadership and dedication, an important part of local history could have been lost forever.”
Jane Attrill, Head of rehabilitation services, said:
“This is a fantastic reward for Gordon, he has put so much of his own personal time into preserving the history of Queen Mary’s. Patients and visitors are always telling us how much they enjoy the new museum on the ground floor and the history displays around the hospital.”
To find out more about Gordon and the archive and museum committee’s work check out the Queen Mary’s websitewww.queenmarysroehampton.nhs.uk
Notes to editors
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