NPHT receives 'Archives Revealed' grant funding

Thursday 6th March 2025

At Paris 2024, we celebrated the most gender balanced Paralympic Games in history (since 1960). The Paralympic Games has since its inception been inclusive of male and female athletes, in a way that the Olympic Games has not. The very first competition at Stoke Mandeville, in 1948, included both men and women. Women have been integral to the Movement and as Women’s History Month approaches, the NPHT is thrilled to announce that we’ve been awarded the ‘Archives Revealed’ grant for our cataloguing project: ‘The Jean Stone Collection - celebrating influential women in the Paralympic Movement’.

© WheelPower collection/ National Paralympic Heritage Trust

This exciting new project, in partnership with Buckinghamshire Archives, allows us a first-time glimpse, into the late Jean Stone’s legacy as a leading figure in shaping the Paralympics as we know it today - one of the world’s largest and most inspirational sporting events. Around 100 boxes of administration documents, merchandise, policy paperwork and correspondence, will be captured, alongside her personal photographs and unique objects. Jean’s work continues to inspire generations of disabled athletes, and this project will ensure her pioneering achievements are properly recognised and preserved for future generations.

Cllr Clive Harriss, Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure says:

“Buckinghamshire has a fantastic and rich paralympic heritage and Buckinghamshire Council is delighted that it can support NPHT to make such an important part of that history more accessible. Jean Stone’s archive will enable researchers to better understand her important role in both developing the Paralympic movement and making Stoke Mandeville a centre of excellence in international disability sport.”

What is ‘Archives Revealed’?

‘Archives Revealed’ is a collaborative funding programme between The National Archives, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Pilgrim Trust and the Wolfson Foundation, dedicated to cataloguing and unlocking archival collections in the UK – the only grant programme in the UK with this purpose.

Making History Accessible

Founded 10 years ago, the NPHT is dedicated to uncovering, preserving, and sharing Paralympic heritage, while celebrating the UK’s national status as the birthplace of the Paralympics. The NPHT shares the programme’s aims to increase the accessibility of important historical documents and collections. For us, this doesn’t just apply to what we do, but how we do it. NPHT’s engagement plans for the project include the creation of a community curation group made up of young women with lived experience of disability. This group will be involved in interpreting the collection, connecting national audiences to the stories it tells, and celebrating women’s achievements in Paralympic history more widely. This initiative also aligns with NPHT’s ongoing mission to redress the lack of disability representation in heritage collections, while fostering a more diverse and inclusive sector by collaborating with disabled communities, research institutions, and heritage partners.

Vicky Hope-Walker, CEO of the National Paralympic Heritage Trust says:

“We are thrilled to be awarded National Archives funding for the first time to support our vital work uncovering and making national Paralympic collections accessible to all. The grant will allow us to document, recognise and celebrate the unique contribution of the late Jean Stone MBE, a true pioneer of the Paralympic Movement, who dedicated her life to disability sport. With a career spanning 60 years, Jean had a direct impact on the lives of so many athletes nationally and internationally.”

Through this project, the NPHT continues its commitment to making Paralympic history and the achievements of individuals like Jean Stone more accessible to all, ensuring that their legacy is celebrated and remembered for years to come.