Finding collections relating to d/Deaf, disabled and neurodiverse people

One of the aims of our project is to make collections relating to d/Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people more visible – and to share some of the objects our Fellows and Trainees are discovering.

Some will have quite obvious connections to disabled people’s lives – a walking stick, some braille or images of disabled people. But we will also be exploring less obvious connections too. Sometimes the significance of an object is its owner; its part in a bigger story, or the way someone with lived experience of disability has responded to it. In this way we hope to broaden the ways that d/Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent stories are told.

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WORLD TEAM CUP GB QUAD MEDAL (Medal)

2001

MOL LI 63/2010.2

ID: Gold medal with an engraving that reads: 'National Wheelchair Tennis Association 2001 GB World Team Cup GP Quad Team'. It is in a blue box and has a red, white and blue striped ribbon.This gold medal was awarded to Mark Eccleston in 2001, who represented Great Britain in wheelchair tennis. Mark grew up in...

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Rights information: Copyright: Pete Carr

Description

ID: Gold medal with an engraving that reads: 'National Wheelchair Tennis Association 2001 GB World Team Cup GP Quad Team'. It is in a blue box and has a red, white and blue striped ribbon.

This gold medal was awarded to Mark Eccleston in 2001, who represented Great Britain in wheelchair tennis.

Mark grew up in St Helens, Merseyside, and has had a long and highly successful career as an athlete, having played at the top level in both wheelchair rugby and wheelchair tennis.

He has represented Great Britain in several prestigious sporting tournaments, including:

· The 1993 Rugby World Cup and 1996 Paralympics as captain of the GB wheelchair rugby team

· The Sydney Open, the Australian Open and the 2004 Paralympics in wheelchair tennis.

An international champion, Mark became the first ever British tennis player to become World Number 1, holding his title from February 2002 to April 2003. Today, he is a motivational speaker and a mobility and disability sports specialist for Cyclone Technology, a Cheshire-based company specialising in disability sport and rehab equipment.

Interpretation: Mark's story is part of our Disability History Community Trail. It had an audio handset with Mark telling his own story built in to the display which was amazing!

Meet our Fellows and Trainees

The Curating for Change project is running eight Fellowships over 18 months and eight Traineeships over 40 days based across 20 partner museums. Learn more about our Fellows and Trainees here.

Find out more