Wenlock Olympian Artefacts on Display in British Museum
A selection of artefacts from the Wemlock Olympian Society are now on display in the British Museum as part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.
The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Medals exhibition tells the story of the production of the medals for the 2012 London Games, from the mining of the metal to the creation of the designs by David Watkins and Lin Cheung and production by the Royal Mint. This display is part of the Cultural Olympiad and is supported by Rio Tinto. Examples of both the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic victory medals – shown here publicly for the first time – are the high point of the display.
Historical context for these medals is provided by 19th- and 20th-century objects highlighting the longstanding links between Britain and the Olympic and Paralympic movements. Britain played a crucial role in the creation of both the modern Olympics and Paralympics. ‘Olympian Games’ first took place in the Shropshire town of Much Wenlock in 1850.
These games greatly inspired Frenchman Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who attended the 1891 Wenlock Olymian Games and founded the modern Olympic Games in 1896. The Paralympic Games derive from games held in 1948 at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Buckinghamshire, for people injured in the Second World War. The mascots of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games are named Wenlock and Mandeville in recognition of these earlier games.
Artefacts provided by the Wenlock Olympian Society include a medal presented to the society by Baron de Coubertin in 1891, a tilting cap, a quiot and a selection of images.
As well as the 19th-century Shropshire item the display included medals from the 1908 and 1948 Olympic Games held in London and the 1960 and 1984 Paralympic Games. These include the silver cup won by Alfred William Oldfield at the National Olympian Games held in Much Wenlock in 1874, which has been lent by a descendant of the winner. Margaret Maughan has lent the gold medal she won for archery at the games now recognised as the first International Paralympic Games, held in Rome in 1960, and John Harris has contributed the gold medal he won for discus at the International Paralympic Games of 1984, the last of these games to be held in England until 2012.
The exhibition runs until 9 September 2012 Room 37 Admission free
For information about the display please visit www.britishmuseum.org or call 020 7323 8299.
For information about the Wenlock Olympian Society visit www.wenlock-olympian-society.org.uk