Chairman – Emeritus Professor Peter Ellaway BSc PhD Chairman.  Currently Emeritus Professor at Imperial College London and Honorary Consultant at the London Spinal Injury Centre at RNOH Stanmore, Professor Ellaway’s early academic career was spent at University College London. He then moved to Imperial College London as Professor of Physiology researching mammalian sensori-motor control.In 2012 he became Chairman of the INSPIRE Scientific Committee and also sits on the ISRT Scientific Committee.

Professor Jane Burridge.  As Professor of Restorative neuroscience at the University of Southampton, Professor Burridge leads the Research Group ‘Rehabilitation and Health Technologies’ with a particular interest in trialling electrical brain and peripheral nerve stimulation with robotic training. She graduated as a physiotherapist in Bristol then studied for a PhD at Southampton before working as a research physiotherapist in Biomedical Engineering at Salisbury District Hospital.She is also a talented musician, both playing and teaching the flute.

Dr Paul H Chappell BSc PhD CEng FIET FIPEM MInstP SMIEEE.  A Senior Lecturer at the University of Southampton and a member of the Electronics and Electrical Engineering Research Group in Electronics and Computer Science, Dr Chappell’s research interest is in the field of Biomedical Engineering. He currently teaches postgraduates and final year undergraduates, covering the subjects of medical electronics, power electronics and electromechanical design.Paul has published one hundred and sixty papers in this field.

Professor Michael Duncan Craggs PhD BSc(Hons) MSB CBiol CSci MIPEM.  Emeritus Professor of Applied Clinical Neurophysiology at UCL Medical School and Director of Neuro-spinal Research & Consultant Clinical Scientist for the Functional Assessment & Restoration Service at The London Spinal Cord Injury Centre, RNOH Stanmore, Professor Craggs is one of the World’s leading authorities on the clinical development and application of medical devices.In 2007 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine.

Professor Nick Donaldson MA PhD CEng MIEE MIPEM.  After graduating in Engineering and Electrical Sciences at Cambridge, Professor Nick Donaldson worked for the Neurological Prostheses Unit at the Medical Research Council where he helped develop the renown Finetech-Brindley Bladder Controller for people with Spinal Cord Injury.Since 1992, he has been Head of the Implanted Devices Group (IDG) at University College London (UCL) where he teaches ‘Medical Electronics & Neural Engineering’.

Dr Maggie Donovan Hall MPphil PhD.  As a Health Psychologist at the University of Southampton, Dr Maggie Donovan-Hall’s work involves a combination of research and teaching and leading the large MPhil/PhD programme. Her research projects have involved different patient groups with a focus on Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) for people living with Spinal Cord Injury.She works in a multidisciplinary team of therapists, engineers, bio-engineers, prosthetists and consultants.

Dr Roger Fitzwater*.  After qualifying at the Welsh National School of Medicine, Dr Roger Fitzwater chose to become a member of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and was subsequently appointed a GP trainer, the youngest of his peer group. In 1988 he was elected as an examiner for the RCGP, an accolade sadly quashed by a partial T11 Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury.He went on to become an Honorary Research Officer at the RNOH Spinal Injuries Unit.

Mr Matthew H Fraser BM FRCS. Following graduation at the University of Southampton, Matthew undertook core training in General Surgery and Orthopaedics in Bradford and Birmingham before specialised training in Spinal Injury and Rehabilitation in the NorthWest Spinal Cord Injury centre in Southport, Merseyside under Mr Kookal Krishnan.
In 1993 he became a Consultant in the newly purpose built centre which has a special interest in High level ventilation-dependent tetraplegia with a successful Domiciliary Ventilation and Assistive Technology programme. From 1996 to the present he has worked at the Queen Elizabeth National Spinal Injury Unit in Glasgow which has an integrated Research programme with the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde (Scottish Centre for Innovation in Spinal Cord Injury www.scisci.ac.uk). He has published more than 30 papers in the field and continues to have research interests in Neuro-urology and Neuropathic pain.

Emeritus Professor Stephen Lillicrap DSc FInstP Cphys.  Professor Stephen Lillicrap is Emeritus Professor of Medical Physics at the University of Bath. He recently retired after 27 years as Head of Medical Physics at the Royal United Hospital, Bath and Director of the Bath Institute of Medical Engineering.He has served as Editor of the Journal of Physics in Medicine and Biology, is a past president of the British Institute of Radiology. He has served on several international bodies including WHO, UN, IEC and EC.

Professor Ian Swain BSc PhD CEng FIET CSci FIPEM.  Professor Swain is Director of Clinical Science & Engineering at Salisbury District Hospital, Professor of Clinical Engineering at Bournemouth University and Clinical Director of Odstock Medical Ltd. He read Electronic Engineering at Southampton and completed his Ph.D “Adaptive Control of an Arm Prosthesis” in 1982.He was a Research Fellow in Neurological Rehabilitation. He has 7 patents and has written 150 papers on biomedical engineering.

Mr Robert Tylor* Trustee & Lay Member.  In 1989 Mr Robert Tylor sustained a T2 Complete Spinal Cord Injury as a result of a road traffic accident. Since 1990, he has been a volunteer with the INSPIRE Foundation, first sitting on the member’s Executive Committee then on the Scientific Committee when it was formed in 1995. He became a Trustee in 2005.Though not a professional therapist or researcher, he has contributed enormously towards research programmes for the INSPIRE Foundation.

Mr Rob Barrett*

Rob Barrett has worked for the Lloyds Banking Group for over 25 years and heads up their IT Accessibility function as well as co-chairing their disabled employee network, he is also a founding member of the International Association for Accessibility Professionals. Rob sustained a C5/6 Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury as a result of a diving accident in 1984 and was at the very first meeting of Odstock ex-patients, when the INSPIRE Foundation was hatched. He has been actively involved ever since and was elected as a Trustee in 2005.

Mr Surendra Bandi

Mr Surendra Bandi is a consultant in spinal injuries and the clinical lead at the Duke of Cornwall Spinal Treatment Centre. He completed Orthopaedic training at the University of Health Sciences, India where he remains a member of the visiting teaching faculty. He was a research fellow in spinal surgery at Stoke-on-Trent and then focused on spinal injuries and rehabilitation at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital, Oswestry. He now specialises in musculoskeletal problems, neurological disorders, pain, spasticity, medical education and research; he has published papers widely in peer reviewed journals. Surendra became a Trustee of the INSPIRE Foundation in January 2014.

Dr Stephen Duckworth OBE, PhD, MSc, LRCP, MRCS, FDSRCS

With a background in medicine and academia, Dr Stephen Duckworth has worked in a wide array of strategic level positions in Industry, Government, the FTSE, international consultancy and services to improve life chances for disabled people. During his time as Director of Serco, he led the ‘Welfare to Work’ team helping disadvantaged people returning to work. He has been responsible for large budgets and was Board Member on the Olympic Delivery Authority with a budget of £9.2 billion. Stephen sustained a C3/C4 spinal cord injury in 1981 with some residual use of his right arm. He is married to Rose and they have four sons; their family home is ten miles from Salisbury. He became a Trustee of the INSPIRE Foundation in 2015.

Mr David McCreath* – Chairman of the Board of Trustees

David McCreath was a practising Solicitor from 1963-2010 with experience in Local Government and private practice, latterly as a partner then consultant with Traill & Co in Blandford, Dorset. He specialised in Personal Injury, Matrimonial and General Litigation and Conveyancing. He still sits on the Committee of the Dorset Law Society. He also served for 10 years (until 1997) as Chair of Governors Parkstone Grammar School for Girls and was a Planning Officer for the Local Residents Association. He is a talented linguist speaking French, German and Italian.

David suffered a C2/3 non complete fracture in an RTA in 1985 and was left with mild tetraplegia. One of founder members of INSPIRE, he served both on the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees and was elected Chairman in 2005.

Mr Anton Prantl*

After graduating from the Polytechnic of Central London in June 1982, Anton set off on a motor-biking tour of Scandinavia. Unfortunately he had a road accident in Norway and extended his vacation with a six-month sojourn at Stoke Mandeville Hospital for rest-and-rehabilitation.

Anton is referred to as an out-patient to Salisbury’s spinal treatment centre and is a founder member of INSPIRE.

Currently he works at the Wiltshire Centre for Independent Living in Devizes.

Mr Jonathan Rudge* MSc

After attending Eton College, Jonathan Rudge went up to St Andrew’s University in Scotland. In 1981, he sustained a C5/6 Spinal Cord Injury as a result of a road traffic accident while at university.

Having previously worked in IT he is now undertaking a biology Ph.D. at Reading University, researching breast cancer. He was elected to the INSPIRE Foundation Executive Committee in 1995, and became a Trustee in 2005.

Dr Richard Smith MSc FRCP MBBS BSc (Hons) PG Dip SEM

Dr Richard Smith is a Consultant in Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Medicine at Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust.  He is also the Deputy Clinical Director for the Musculoskeletal Directorate (Spinal Services, Wessex Rehabilitation, Rheumatology, Dermatology, Orthopaedic and Maxillofacial surgery).  Amongst his many and various accolades he was for ten years the Doctor to World’s Strongest Man series and Medical Director and Instructor ALS UK.  He is a member of many professional bodies including the British Association of Sports and Exercise Medicine, the Council of the British Institute for Musculoskeletal Medicine, the British Society of Rheumatology, the Australian Rheumatology Association.  He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians London and Secretary of Sports & Exercise Medicine at the Royal Society of Medicine.  Richard was elected to the Board of Trustees on 5^th April 2016.

 

 

 

 

Professor Ian Swain BSc PhD CEng FIET CSci FIPEM – Scientific Advisor

Professor Swain is Director of Clinical Science & Engineering at Salisbury District Hospital, Professor of Clinical Engineering at Bournemouth University and Clinical Director of Odstock Medical Ltd. He read Electronic Engineering at Southampton and completed his Ph.D “Adaptive Control of an Arm Prosthesis” in 1982. He was a Research Fellow in Neurological Rehabilitation. He has 7 patents and has written 150 papers on biomedical engineering. He is the non-voting Scientific Advisor to INSPIRE’S Board of Trustees.

Mr Malcolm Wylie – Honorary Treasurer and Trustee

Mr Malcolm Wylie was educated at Highgate School going on to train and qualify as a Chartered Accountant in the City of London. He then worked there, specialising particularly in insolvency and landed estates and had many famous and colourful clients! He later became a partner with Fletcher & Partners in Salisbury and has been associated with the INSPIRE Foundation since 1987.

He was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2010 and acts as the charity’s financial advisor.

Baroness Masham of Ilton, Countess of Swinton, DL, DSG
Baroness Masham of Ilton, Countess of Swinton, DL, DSG is a crossbench member of the House of Lords and the senior female life peer. She is a prominent Roman Catholic convert and a patron of the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology. She was disabled in a riding accident in 1958, and subsequently became a champion for causes related to disability. She is an active member of the House of Lords, where she takes a particular interest in issues surrounding disability, health and penal reform. In 2011 she was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the Royal College of Nursing. She competed in several Paralympic Games, winning medals for table tennis in 1960, 1964, and 1968. She became a Patron of the INSPIRE Foundation in July 2014.

Mr Clive Pryke
Clive Pryke was born in Cheshire in 1948. He trained with the Stockport Art Guild and his love of the traditional English countryside inspired him to paint landscapes in watercolours and oils. With increasing demand for his work, he turned professional in 1982 and relishing the Devon countryside, he opened his studio in Bickleigh near Exeter. He has since had many exhibitions throughout the UK, the United States and France. His paintings have been sold all round the world and form part of many private collections. Clive moved to the Vale of Evesham, in 1992 and presently has a studio near Broadway in Worcestershire. It is open to the public by invitation.He first became associated with the INSPIRE Foundation in 1989 when he agreed to paint two versions of Salisbury Cathedral, ‘Autumn on the Avon’ and ‘A Summer’s Day’. These pictures are now available as limited edition prints and are becoming increasingly popular and much admired. Clive has been a Patron of the INSPIRE Foundation since 1991.

Mrs Gillian Matthews MBE JP
As a young mother of four children including twin boys aged three, Gill Matthews broke her back (complete T5) falling from her horse ‘Sunsketch’ at the Larkhill Point to Point in 1965.  She cheekily recalls the horse was uninjured and went on to win the Royal Artillery Gold Cup in 1967.  After six months rehabilitation at Stoke Mandeville, she went on to represent UK in four Paralympic Games and in 1988 became the Paralympic World Champion Table Tennis player in Brisbane. Gill served as a Dorset JP and Magistrate from 1978 – 2006 and was made an MBE in 2004 for her Services to Charity.  For many years she has been a key figure in the planning of disabled facilities at the Bath & West Show.  Having already served as a Trustee for eight years, we were delighted when Gill agreed to become a Patron of the INSPIRE Foundation in November 2013.

John Glen MP – Member of Parliament for Salisbury and South Wiltshire
John was born in Bath in 1974 and was brought up in rural Wiltshire. After attending King Edward’s School Bath, he won a place at Oxford University where he read Modern History. There followed a career in industry in UK and USA and in politics. He was also a Magistrate (JP) at Horseferry Road, Westminster from 2006 to 2012. John was elected as MP for Salisbury and South Wilts at the 2010 General Election and became Parliamentary Private Secretary to Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in September 2012. He became a Patron of the INSPIRE Foundation in 2010.
Link: John Glen MP

Anne Luttman-Johnson
Anne Luttman-Johnson is a solicitor working for Irwin Mitchell as a Client Support Manager. In 1984, while studying for her law degree, she sustained a spinal cord injury (T11 complete) in a car accident.After qualifying as a solicitor she spent one year in private practice before moving to London to work for the Spinal Injuries Association (SIA). She spent 5 years with SIA developing their Legal Claims Service, and helping injured people and their families obtain specialist advice on claiming compensation. In 1995 she set up her own business as an expert witness, advising courts on the cost of disability.In 2004 she started her current job providing support to the firm’s spinal cord injured clients, advising on a wide range of issues, including housing, benefits, mobility, equipment needs, personal and social life. In addition she lectures on the cost of disability.

In her spare time Anne enjoys travel and sailing, which she was able to combine when she sailed across the Atlantic in a tall ship in 2006 and from India to Singapore in 2014. She sings with a local choral society, and has been known to take to the stage in her village pantomimes.

Lady Newton
A graduate of Exeter University, Lady (Jan) Newton has taught in a variety of schools, colleges and tertiary education centres. Her students have ranged from Vietnamese refugees to hardened British soldiers intent on improving their communication skills.For the last sixteen years she has been a lecturer at Brockenhurst College in Hampshire. Her interests are genealogy, gardening and fashion and she has recently developed a passion for Pilates! Jan became a Patron of the INSPIRE Foundation in January 2014.

The Lord Vincent of Coleshill GBE KCB DSO
Field Marshal Richard Frederick Vincent, Baron Vincent of Coleshill, GBE KCB DSO was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1951 and rose to become became Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) the senior uniformed member of the armed forces in 1987. He then served as Chairman of the NATO’S Military Committee. He joined the House of Lords in 1996 as a cross bench pier and has served in a variety of military and academic roles. From 1996 – 2004 he was Chairman of Imperial College London. Lord Vincent became a Patron of the INSPIRE Foundation in 1996.

Lieutenant General (Retd) Professor Sir Paul Newton KBE CBE MPhil
Sir Paul Newton spent 38 years in the Army, retiring as a Lieutenant General. In his last uniformed appointment he was a member of the Army’s Board of Directors charged with “leading and driving change”. He accepted a new post as Professor of Strategy at the University of Exeter in 2012, where he has created an Institute dedicated to teaching and researching applied national security strategy.A Senior Associate Fellow of the Royal United Services Institute, he also chairs the International Board of Babcock International (Defence and Security). Sir Paul agreed to become a Patron of the INSPIRE Foundation in February 2014.Link: Sir Paul Newton

The Lady Amherst
Nicola Cecil was born into an Army family and enjoyed a nomadic childhood travelling with her parents and younger sister. After school and University in Bristol, she embarked on a career in international financial marketing before marrying her husband William. There followed a rather long break to raise her children, Amber, Jack and Katharine! Nicola has ridden since the age of nine and her whole family now has the equestrian bug. She runs a Livery Yard from her home near Winchester and her long involvement with horses became the catalyst for her association with the INSPIRE Foundation. She became a Patron in 2013.

Ms Toyah Willcox
Toyah Willcox is an author, singer and world renowned star of screen and stage.  Over a period of thirty years she has released eight Top 40 singles as well as twenty albums. She is married to the guitarist Roger Fripp and they share a beautiful home in Worcestershire.Toyah was born with Scoliosis a twisting of the spine which was corrected over a number of years with surgery. She became acquainted with the INSPIRE Foundation while undergoing treatment at the Duke of Cornwall Spinal Treatment Centre. In 2003 she took part in the TV series ‘I’m a Celebrity, get me out of here’ as depicted in this photograph and raised a considerable sum of money for the charity. She remains a loyal and much admired Patron.

Mrs. Genevieve Holmes, MVO
Genevieve was born in London in 1962 and lived her early life in Berkshire. Her parents Gerald & Janet Benney were instrumental in launching the charity polo which the INSPIRE Foundation has been running for nearly twenty years. Genevieve’s first serious job in 1982 when she became the ‘Fan Mail Secretary’ to the Prince of Wales. She was later promoted to Personal Secretary to H.R.H. The Prince of Wales a position she held until 1994 and for which she was made a Member of the Victorian Order. At the same time she married and has since had three children. She subsequently started a fledgling artistic career and in 1999 also became Secretary to the Action Medical Research Charity in the South East area. She agreed to become a Patron of the INSPIRE Foundation in July 2014.