Written by The panels were presented to the Hillingdon Hospitals Foundation Trust at their Open day on the 24th of Sept 2022.
The Trust thanked the members of the Embroiderers’ Guild for their work to this project and for choosing The Hillingdon Hospitals as a permanent home for the Embroidery panels
Anthea Godfrey, our Artistic Director made the presentation. Two of the panels are now on display at the Hillingdon site, and the third will be housed at the Mount Vernon site.
Boris Johnson was invited, but was unable to attend the event. He provided a short speech which was read out on the day. It said:
As the MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip I have had the honour of visiting Hillingdon Hospital many times over the years, and have seen first-hand the dedication, care and love exhibited by the staff – not only for the hospital and its patients, but for the NHS itself. And so, I think it very fitting that these wonderful tributes from the Embroiderers’ Guild will hang on these walls, to the delight of all who find themselves contemplating their beautiful craftsmanship.
No doubt many will have their own, personal reasons to be thankful for this hospital, and for the NHS, and will find those sentiments reflected here. They are a tremendous tribute to all the staff at Hillingdon and Mount Vernon Hospitals who do such an amazing job caring for our community.
Everyone at the Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust should be rightly proud of all that they have achieved – not only during the unimaginable pressure of the Covid-19 pandemic – but as we move forward with plans for a new state-of-the-art hospital at Hillingdon, opening a new vaccination centre for booster jabs, and all the while continuing to serve the community with such incredible tirelessness and commitment.
I know I will be speaking for so many of you when I add my thanks to those of the embroiderers nationwide who have each contributed to these magnificent panels, as we share in a profound sense of gratitude for all that NHS is, and does, for us all.
Boris Johnson, Sept 2022
The Guild would like to echo the thanks offered by everyone at the event to all the members who contributed to the project.
Images of all the pieces in the panels can be found on our ‘Reasons to be Thankful: Thank You NHS‘ page.
A special thanks to Anthea who does so much work behind the scenes.