A TIME capsule sealed by the late Princess Diana has been dug up during a construction project which is underway at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH).
Irish firm Sisk is the leading contractor on the project to build a new children’s cancer centre at the central London hospital.
Work began in July with the first four months set to be spent demolishing the existing cancer centre at the site.
The team at Sisk were assisted by GOSH staff to retrieve the time capsule sealed by Princess Diana during their construction work (Pic: Sisk)This week the firm was tasked with carefully retrieving a time capsule laid by Diana, Princess of Wales at GOSH 34 years ago.
Discovered during preparatory works for the new cancer centre the capsule “offered a rare and nostalgic glimpse into life in 1991 and paid tribute to the legacy of Princess Diana’s involvement with GOSH” a Sisk spokesperson confirmed.
“Throughout the early stages of the project, the team worked meticulously to protect the commemorative plaque and time capsule casket," the firm said in a statement.
The contents of the capsule include a pocket television, a solar-powered calculator, a photo of Princess Diana and a Kylie Minogue CD.
Princess Diana took part in a GOSH ceremony held in March 1991 to mark the laying of the foundation stone of the Variety Club Building, which she then returned to formally open in 1994.
As part of this, she sealed the time capsule within GOSH’s main entrance.
Princess Diana sealed the time capsule during a ceremony at Great Ormond Street Hospital in 1991 (Pic: Sisk)Princess Diana became the President of GOSH in 1989 and would regularly visit the specialist children's hospital and its patients.
Staff at the hospital, who were either born in 1991 or were already working at the hospital in 1991, helped the Sisk team to remove the time capsule this month.
“We were happy to protect the plaque and time capsule casket throughout the project enabling and advanced works with a view to support GOSH in the retrieval of this precious reminder of Princess Diana and what life was like in 1991,” Sisk’s Allen Westgate said.
“We look forward now, to continue the substructure works to facilitate the new Children’s Cancer Centre building,” he added.
