Building record 0939801000 - National Spinal Injuries Centre, Stoke Mandeville Hospital

The National Spinal Injuries Centre established in 1944 by Dr Ludwig Guttman, hosted annual paraplegic games from 1954 (B4).

The National Spinal Injuries Centre (NSIC) at Stoke Mandeville Hospital was founded in 1944 in Mandeville Road, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. It is the oldest and one of the largest spinal injuries centres in the world. The centre was founded by Professor Sir Ludwig Guttmann, a neurologist, to treat servicemen who had sustained spinal cord injuries in World War II. Prior to the development of centres like these, the majority of people with spinal cord injuries died from complications within a year of their injury.
In 1948 Guttmann began using sport in rehabilitation programmes and organised a competition on the 29th July for 16 paralysed men and women to coincide with the opening ceremony of the 1948 Olympic Games in London. The Stoke Mandeville Games for wheelchair athletes began; this is generally considered as the moment that the Paralympic movement was born.
Guttmann received a knighthood for his contribution to the Paralympics and for his rehabilitation techniques; this work still continues today.
The centre suffered structural damage and faced possible closure due to inadequate funds to fix damaged wards. However, a fundraising campaign to create a purpose built spinal cord injuries centre was carried out. The new facilities opened in 1983 (B25).
This record includes National Record of the Historic Environment Information provided by Historic England on 4 June 2025 licensed under the Open Government Licence (B26).