WA2K Radio is now on the air, Part 3

A Dainty Dish, to Set Before the Queen.

Let all merry children subscribe to complete
The House for Sick Children in Great Ormond Street !
They want Sixteen Thousand to make it all right—
A pretty round sum—let each mite give its mite;
The Chddren of England will raise, you 'll soon see,
A Fund to thus honour the Queen's Jubilee.

After a long campaign by Dr Charles West, the Hospital for Sick Children was founded on 14 February 1852 and was the first hospital providing in-patient beds specifically for children in England. Despite opening with just 10 beds, it grew into one of the world's leading children's hospital through the patronage of Queen Victoria, counting Charles Dickens, a personal friend of Dr West, the Chief Physician, as one of its first fundraisers. The Nurses League was formed in February 1937.

Audrey Callaghan, wife of James Callaghan (prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979), served the hospital as Chairman of the Board of Governors from 1968 to 1972 and then as Chairman of the Special Trustees from 1983 until her final retirement in 1990.

Diana, Princess of Wales, served as president of the Hospital from 1989 until her death. A plaque at the entrance of the hospital commemorates her services, as well as a bust in the lobby of the hospital chapel.

The Charles West School of Nursing transferred from Great Ormond Street to London South Bank University in 1995.

In 2002 Great Ormond Street Hospital commenced a redevelopment programme which is budgeted at £343 million and the next phase of which is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2016. The redevelopment is needed to expand capacity, deliver treatment in a more comfortable and modern way, and to reduce unnecessary inpatient admissions.

In July 2012, Great Ormond Street Hospital was featured in the opening ceremony of the London Summer Olympics.