Bringing Nightingale's wheelchair home to London.

UPDATE - 15 February 2023

I am delighted to be able to inform everyone that we have reached our initial fundraising target of £12,000, thanks to a number of donations via this page and directly to the Florence Nightingale Museum. Well done and thank you to all who donated or shared our story!

Our fundraising success includes a large donation from the Company of Nurses Charitable Trust, who kindly responded to our press appeal and were keen to fund the transportation, and bring the historic wheelchair back to the UK; adding it to the much-admired collection of 'Nightingalia' at the Florence Nightingale Museum.

Brenda Griffiths, Foundation Past Master of the Company of Nurses, and Chair of its associated charity, The Company of Nurses Charitable Trust said, “ We are delighted to be able to support the Museum and return this historic item to London. Florence Nightingale was, of course, an iconic Nurse and The Company is privileged to contribute this heritage to her memory. As nurses, we are also pleased to highlight a little-known fact - that she needed the help of this wheelchair for most of her life on return from Scutari. It demonstrates that use of a wheelchair need not diminish aspiration or ability. Look what she achieved! “

Dame Christine Beasley, Chair of the Florence Nightingale Museum Trust, and former Chief Nurse of England added, "We are hugely grateful to everyone who has supported our appeal, and thankful for the Company of Nurses generosity, which has allowed us to take speedy and decisive action to secure this important heritage object. Our team look forward to working with the community to interpret the object, and it is pleasing that we have also secured funds that can be used to ensure the wheelchair is well looked-after in the long-term."

This fundraising page will remain active whilst we arrange transport and installation arrangements, acting as a way of keeping supporters informed of latest developments. Please do look back for further updates. Any additional donations will be used to support further conservation and care, associated community projects, and display requirements. You can still be part of this success story!

END. SEE BELOW FOR APPEAL LAUNCH.

Most people consider Florence Nightingale to be the world's most famous nurse, but did you know that whilst serving her country in the Crimean War, the conflict that catapulted her into the international limelight, Nightingale contracted a life-changing illness that frequently left her bed-ridden, and suffering from chronic fatigue?

Despite the challenge of ongoing disability, Nightingale went on to establish the nursing profession as we know it today. Amongst other achievements, she established the world's first professional secular nursing school in London, wrote the best-seller 'Notes on Nursing', advised hospitals worldwide on hospital design, and pioneered the use of statistical data and info-graphics, spearheading the evidence-based approach to nursing we all trust and admire today.

Our museum now has the chance to acquire her wheelchair from the Alan Mason Chesney Medical Archives, Johns Hopkins University, USA. We are keen to secure the wheelchair, recognising that this unique and important object will allow us to visibly portray Nightingale's battle with her health; inspiring others with similar challenges to also excel and achieve. Few women in history have achieved so much that has helped so many.

We need your help to raise £12,000. This amount will cover conservation-grade packaging and transportation to bring the wheelchair home to the UK, where it will become part of the largest and most important collection of 'Nightingalia' in the world. Your support will also allow us to tell the story of the object in an inspiring and engaging way. Indeed, anyone donating over £1000 will be offered the chance to take part in the creation of a short film, explaining why they feel this object is educational, inspirational and must be preserved for future generations.

The object has been recently conserved and restored by the dedicated team at Johns Hopkins who are willing to donate the wheelchair to the Florence Nightingale Museum Trust if we can raise these funds quickly. The wheelchair has provenance from the early Twentieth Century, when it was purchased and gifted to the archive, for the purpose of inspiring nursing students who have always revered Nightingale.

Dame Christine Beasley, Chair of the Museum said, "This is a unique and exciting opportunity to acquire an object that we are sure will prove to be popular with visitors. The timing for this potential acquisition couldn't be better, as we are currently working on an exhibition that will celebrate the work of those who nurse within the armed forces. This means the object will be displayed immediately upon arrival. We just need help to secure the funds." David Green, Director of the Museum added, "I've been aware of this object for a long time and the opportunity to add it to our collection must not be missed. In many ways it's iconic. The wheelchair, which Nightingale must have relied upon so much, has been overseas for over a century. It's now time for us to pull together and bring this piece of history home to the UK, where it can play its part in inspiring others, giving further representation and recognition of those with disabilities within our collections and storytelling."

More information about The Florence Nightingale Museum Trust: The Florence Nightingale Museum is an independent charity (registration number 299576) based on the site of Nightingale's original nursing school at St Thomas' Hospital London. Our museum celebrates the life and work of the most famous nurse, and her lifelong career as a humanitarian campaigner. The museum attracts visitors from all over the world who want to learn more about 'The Lady with the Lamp' and her Victorian world, including many school children. We explore her legacy, her influence on nursing, public health, and science, and the continuing relevance of her work. We are a small charity without financial support from the government or any other grant-giving body. www.florence-nightingale.co.uk