Historic footage from local hospice opening revealed

A VHS video showing original footage of the opening of Florence Nightingale Hospice has recently been discovered.

The video was handed into the Hospice by one of the nursing team and, thanks to the Aylesbury branch of Snappy Snaps, has been converted to a digital format and is now able to be viewed online.  The footage shows the original news feature covering HRH Duchess of Kent’s visit to the Hospice in December 1989.

The Hospice originally opened with 12 beds and a Day Hospice unit.  Over the years, with further fundraising campaigns, the building has been extended to increase the size of the Day Hospice room, add space for a Lymphoedema Clinic and to provide office space for the growing team of community nurses.

“We were thrilled to receive this mystery video, simply marked ‘Hospice Opening’ and to watch the original footage.  HRH Duchess of Kent called it a ‘hospice with a heart’ and that ethos has not changed over the last thirty plus years,” says Bonnie Doe, Marketing Manager at the charity.

The charity has been reviewing its archive of historical items, press cuttings and photos and is inviting supporters to come in to view their memorabilia and to share their own memories on two Charity History Days on Tuesday 2nd and Friday 5th August, between 10am and 3pm at their Head Office on Walton Street in Aylesbury.

“We have some great photos of our supporters and their fundraising activities, from the very beginning in the 1980s, right through the 1990s and into this century,” says Bonnie.  “But we don’t have names for all the fantastic volunteers and fundraisers, or details of the stories behind the events so we would love to speak to as many people as possible about their memories of supporting the charity and the Hospice.”

Find out more by visiting www.fnhospice.org.uk/charity-history-days or call 01296 429975.

The video can be viewed at https://youtu.be/K1rkWwXNB38