For visitors who wish to be navigated around the space, please click on the video below for the Hampshire gallery guided tour.

For screen reader users to follow is the wall panel text and audio descriptions for the 3D models or you can download the text as a Microsoft Word document.

Activity and inclusion in Hampshire

Stories in the Hampshire gallery relate to themes of activity and inclusion for disabled people, in the past and today. Hampshire was an early supporter of disability sport in the United Kingdom. The county has subsequently produced some of the most decorated British Paralympians who have represented Great Britain on the world stage, a small number of whom are celebrated here. This gallery features historic objects and local organisations that have enabled activity for disabled people. 

The gallery features objects and images shared with, or donated to, the National Paralympic Heritage Trust. Four videos of objects featured towards the end of the gallery were created with young people with lived experienced of disability in Hampshire. 3D scans of these items were created as part of interactive workshops facilitated at four schools in the county. 

Three of the four 3D scanned objects in the gallery are owned by the Hampshire Cultural Trust. Working with a diverse group of participants, with support from Royal Holloway University of London and the Sensational Museum, these objects are accompanied by inclusive co-created audio descriptions. These interpretations provide deeper sensory engagement for those without sight.

 
Rehabilitation

Histories of disabled and neurodiverse people are often visible within medical records and institutions. Due to wars in the late 19th and 20th centuries, there were a growing number of soldiers who needed physical and psychological care in military hospitals. Hampshire was home to some notable sites, such as:   

• The Royal Victoria Hospital or Netley Hospital, near Southampton.
• Cambridge Military Hospital in Aldershot.
• Basingstoke Neurological and Plastic Surgery Hospital, originally based in Hackwood House, later Park Prewitt Hospital.

These hospitals became known for specific fields of care, such as neurosurgery and psychiatric treatment – in the same way Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire became known for its treatment for spinal cord injuries. Developments in medical practices not only saved lives, but enabled servicepeople to leave hospital and rejoin society. 

We might wonder what activities recovering patients undertook on the wards. Perhaps they read books and newspapers, made friends with their fellow wardmates, or felt a creative spark? One example may be sweetheart pin cushions, like the model and image featured here. These objects were created as mementoes for loved ones, and could be made from commercially available kits, or completely from scratch. Creative projects helped keep the mind and body active whilst in hospital. 

 
Pin cushion

Object from the Hampshire Cultural Trust

Co-created audio description

This is a heart-shaped cushion, stuffed but firm, almost over-stuffed. It is covered with many uncomfortable-looking pins. It is heavy for its size and feels like it is stuffed with sawdust. It is a dark navy-blue plush material on top with beige-coloured material on the underside. It is around 20cm by 20cm and seems as if it is designed to be displayed, not used. 

The back of the object is beige canvas and we can read the following in ink. A. PRESENT to mother FROM. William. ALDERSHOT 15th/6/1900. The ‘Mother’ and ‘William’ appear to be someone’s handwriting, whilst the rest of the text appears to be printed as the characters are neater and more uniform. We are struck by the contrast between the spiky and busy top and the smooth bottom with the loving inscription on it.  

When we first saw the cushion, the combination of textures, and busyness and the many pins made us feel uncomfortable. When we found out that it was made by someone for their mother we wanted to know more about the history and were more sympathetic to the item.

Reflection by NPHT museum trainees Simon Stiel and Ben Laferlla

We thought it was likely the creator put a lot of work into making this object. It makes us think of our own creative hobbies, like creating videos. We feel the decoration on the cushion must represent the creator in some way. Perhaps they used the cushion to process their memories or express their patriotism?

 
Mobility aids

Technology has been key to enabling activity for physically disabled people. Mobility aids challenge inaccessible environments and provide pathways to activity. Those recuperating from injuries or accidents may suddenly have to use these aids, whilst others have used them their whole lives. 

Since their founding in 1890, Chas A. Blatchford & Sons Ltd were a key manufacturer of these devices. Blatchford worked with government ministries to improve their products.  With the founding of the National Health Service in 1948, they became the national provider of prosthetics. Blatchford created important innovations in prosthetic technology, including the ‘Blatchford Stabilised Knee’ – a joint that stabilised when standing, but swung freely when walking, allowing a natural walking pattern. In the late 1960s, Blatchford opened a new head office and factory in Basingstoke.  
 
Blatchford continue to create vital prosthetics and support disabled people in Hampshire and beyond. Blatchford sponsor Hampshire-based adaptive athlete Jamie Gane, who competes in obstacle course running. He has provided photos of his running blade prosthetic, which is specialised for athletics.  

Have a look at the two prosthetics. What are the differences? Do you think they function in the same way? Would you use them for different activities?

 
Blatchford leg

Object from the Hampshire Cultural Trust

Co-created audio description

For everyone in the group it’s apparent that it’s a prosthetic leg. When we tap it, it sounds very plasticky. Going from the thigh end, there's lots of strapping, and where you'd attach it there’s metalwork and rivets where the thigh strap attaches to the wearer’s leg. You would need lots of padding to wear this and we think it would be very uncomfortable.  
 
On the rear side of the thigh there’s a very small sticker at the top. It’s an NHS sticker that carries the date 27th November 1985. We feel like this is an old prosthesis because of how uncomfortable and heavy it seems, like a harness you might put on a horse. 
 
This leg belonged to Sir Wilfrid Newton who was Managing Director of the Mass Transit Corporation of Hong Kong and Chair of London Regional Transport and London Underground. In 1972 he lost his leg in a car accident and subsequently wore a prosthesis. For relaxation, Newton enjoyed sailing, in Hong Kong, and later as a member of the Royal Lymington Yacht Club on the Solent. 

Reflection by Jamie Gane

This prosthetic looks as though it would be challenging to use. Having some movement in the ankle makes it much easier to tackle uneven terrain - this fixed ankle looks like it would be very difficult to manage cobbled floors or sand. I also imagine the weight and strapping would be very uncomfortable over long distances. However, a lot of care and attention seems to be given to this prosthetic - it's clear that the prosthetist cared a lot about the patient and the final product looks very well manufactured.

 
Hampshire’s finest

Grassroots disability sport groups are vital for nurturing new athletes. A notable example was the Rushmoor Mallards Sport Club, which operated between 1974 and 2015.  
 
Based in Farnborough Leisure Centre, the group began as a swimming club on Sunday afternoons for disabled people and their families. It was founded by parents of disabled children, including Donald Gilbert, father of Andrew Gilbert, who competed in the 1984 and 1988 Paralympic Games. The club provided a needed space for competitive and recreational sports opportunities for disabled people.  
 
Over time, the Rushmoor Mallards developed into one of the top disability sport clubs in the country. The club aimed to accommodate people of any age and impairment. The Rushmoor Mallards began to host many other sports, including shooting, boccia, wheelchair basketball, trampolining, and athletics.  
 
Notable athletes who were part of the Rushmoor Mallards include: 

Deanna ‘Di’ Coates MBE competed in air rifle across eight Paralympic Games (1984-2012), with three gold, three silver and two bronze medals to her name. She has also coached other athletes in her retirement.

Peter Hull MBE PLY is a three-time gold medal winner in swimming at the 1992 Barcelona Paralympic Games. He has also competed in 12 full marathons, and took up wheelchair rugby with the Solent Sharks at Solent University.

Robin Surgeoner MBE PLY holds nine gold medals in different swimming events from the 1984 and 1988 Paralympic Games. Beyond sport, he performs as a poet, artist and musician.

 
Cosham’s golden girl

Monica Vaughan, from Cosham, Portsmouth, was the most successful athlete at the Toronto 1976 Summer Paralympic Games. She generously donated memorabilia, medal certificates and other materials to the National Paralympic Heritage Trust. This includes scrapbooks, which showcase her time at the 1976 and 1980 Paralympic Games.  
 
Monica Vaughan’s athletic career was shaped by local support. She first swam with Portsmouth Northsea, a local swimming club, as a teenager. She found the club was an accepting place for her, and she competed against non-disabled swimmers. Moreover, the club supported her protest against discriminatory swimming standards. In 1966 Monica had been disqualified from a butterfly race, as her stroke did not meet the Amateur Swimming Association’s standard of moving her legs simultaneously – something impossible to do when you only have one leg. Northsea challenged this ruling, resulting in changes at amateur competitions.  

Later, she competed in the Toronto 1976 Summer Paralympic Games. She won five gold medals in swimming and a silver in volleyball, making her the most successful British athlete at those Games. Her neighbours in Cosham threw a street party to celebrate her success! She retired from competing following the Arnhem 1980 Paralympic Games, where she won four golds and one silver in swimming events.  
 
She went on to become the Regional Development Officer for the British Sport Association for the Disabled (Southern Region). She supported grassroots groups like the Rushmoor Mallards, and enabled other disabled people to find sporting opportunities.  

Co-created audio description of Monica Vaughan’s scrapbook

This is a rectangular shaped photo album, a little smaller than A4. It feels well-loved or well used, certainly often thumbed through. It’s dog-eared and has a lovely old booky smell to it.  
 
On display are a mixture of newspaper cuttings, photographs with handwritten labels, and other memorabilia. We feel many different emotions on experiencing this scrapbook, documenting what looks like a very early Paralympic Games and one particular person's experience of it.
 
It is the scrapbook of Monica Vaughan, a Paralympian swimmer who competed in the Games in 1976 and 1980. We are struck by the fact that this very personal collection is a snapshot of the Paralympics from a time when they would not have had a lot of coverage, and that we are getting to see this record only now, when current Paralympians would have their photos shared immediately and have less control over their publicity.
 

Creating opportunities

People in Hampshire have found new ways to open previously inaccessible activities to more people.  
 
Mike Wood was involved in various sports via his rehabilitation at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, including archery, wheelchair rugby and field athletics. By chance, he fell in love with sailing.  In 1989 his physiotherapist suggested they sail on a nearby lake when an athletics meet was cancelled. In a 2022 interview with Sailing Today, he recalled:

They plonked me into a Sunbird [dinghy] and said ‘off you go’ – my first time in a dinghy and the first time I’d done anything outside my wheelchair. It was freedom. No one telling me what to do.

However, he found there were few opportunities or provisions for those with complex disabilities. In 1993, he founded the Disabled Sailors Association (DSA) in Gosport. By 1996, he had designed and built the first yacht that any disabled person could board as the sailor or passenger. The DSA now buy and adapt, or completely manufacture, yachts and dinghies to make sailing accessible. 
 
Similarly, ski slopes in Aldershot - previously used by the Army - became sites of adaptive skiing in Hampshire. Hubert and Joan Sturgess started the British Ski Club for the Disabled (BSCD) in 1974. After witnessing blind people skiing with sighted guides in Switzerland, they believed something similar could be provided on artificial slopes in the UK.  
 
Snowsport opportunities for disabled people today are facilitated by clubs like Adaptive Snowsport Aldershot, who were one of the first clubs supported by the BSCD. They have become the first disabled ski club in the country to achieve Snowsport England’s Snowmark accreditation status for quality clubs.
 

Technology enabling activity

From mobility aids to online dance classes, technology can include many people in physical activity. This made us think about what other barriers can be dismantled with technology. How will this help us make the world more inclusive and equitable? Inclusivity includes considering the range of ways people communicate and get involved! 

Co-created audio description of the Minicom II

Object from the Hampshire Cultural Trust

It’s a text telephone or a teletypewriter: a telecommunication device for the deaf, or TDD. It’s a system to enable deaf or hard-of-hearing people to use a landline phone and it dates from the mid-1980s. The way it works is that you take your handset and you put it on the receivers or cradle. The Minicom emits a sound when the keys are pressed and that can be converted into text for the other Minicom user at the end of the line. It appears on their screen. They can then type and what they want to say will appear on your screen.  

Two people who both had a Minicom could talk to one another, and the text they were typing would scroll along the screen of the other person, in capital letters. We see the parallels between this and how we now use mobile phones to text one another. We wonder whether this might have been the first time deaf people could use a telephone. Also, companies would have Minicom lines that would provide information to Minicom users. 

We feel warmly towards this period of time when technology such as this seemed to offer great hope and when progress in computer hardware was rapid. We think about the great advances in assistive technology since then and wonder what is yet to come. 

Reflection by Lucy Aitken

As a deaf child, I thought the Minicom was a magical machine that could connect me with my grandma. The fact that I could read what my grandma was typing back in real time was incredible. The text on the narrow screen would be illuminated in bright green which made it feel futuristic. Even though it wasn’t designed as a toy, I had a lot of fun playing with the raised keys of the keyboard.
 

What does inclusion mean to you?

NPHT worked with four schools in Hampshire as part of this project. We shared curation and digital creation skills, which museums use in their work. We hope by sharing our processes, we can make our sector more inclusive. 
 
A series of six workshops for each school included curatorial sessions, involving the selection of objects relating to activity or inclusion, and learning about the different ways that museums tell stories. Objects were recorded in a photography session where students used a process called photogrammetry. This involves taking a series of 2D images to create a 3D map, which generates a 3D model of the object. Images were taken using a digital camera or using the application Polycam on phones or tablets. 
 
We have included reflections and videos of the young people’s 3D model creations using their own words and modes of communication.

What does activity mean to you?

Being active means different things to different people. For many, it may be traditional sports like football, hockey or basketball. For others, it could be household chores or gardening. Any and all movement has a positive impact on a person’s physical or mental health. This is something that local Hampshire charities aim to champion. 
 
Move Momentum is an inclusive dance charity based in Hampshire, founded by Louise Todino in 2016. They provide inclusive and affordable sessions in a range of dance styles to different audiences. Liberate Dance, for instance, provides weekly wheelchair dance classes in Winchester, co-founded by Amanda Watkinson and Vickie Simmonds. Move Momentum also runs sessions for special educational needs and disabilities students, for older people and in care homes. 
 
Energise Me aims to reimagine what physical activity looks like so everyone can be active in a way that suits them. Their goal is to create happier and healthier communities across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.  
 
They organise the Hampshire School Games: a series of activities, events and competitions across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The School Games create positive experiences of activity, showcasing plenty of different ways to be active, whilst having fun and supporting young people’s development. 
 
By championing non-traditional ways to be active, we can encourage people to move more while creating fun and engaging experiences, regardless of a person’s barrier to traditional sports or exercise. 

 
Thank you

This work has only been possible through collaboration, and we thank the following individuals and organisations:

• Hampshire Cultural Trust for use of their objects
• Students and staff at Dove House Academy, St Francis School, Prospect School and Treloar College for taking part in digital workshops
• Energise Me and Move Momentum for feedback and images
• Monica Vaughan, Mike Wood, and Peter Hull MBE PLY for sharing their stories, feedback, and images
• Jamie Gane and Lucy Aitken for object reflections and images
• Museum trainees Ben for object photogrammetry, and Thomas and Simon for image audio descriptions and recording
• Work placement students Electra and Kaitlyn for supporting image audio descriptions
• Volunteers David Reynolds for audio recordings and Maggii Holmes for photography

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