Original footage of the opening of Florence Nightingale Hospice discovered

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

The video was handed in at 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 can now 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 would like to hear from anyone who was involved in the early years of the Hospice and the charity.

“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.”

If you have any stories, photos, or other memorabilia to share, please contact Bonnie Doe on bonniedoe@fnhospice.org.uk or call 01296 429975.