Down the Decades
The 1930s
1939 Patricia Carey and Frederic Morena have a great idea -as they found it easier to deal with the social effects of their situation by finding friends in a similar position, maybe others would feel the same. The Fellowship is born.
The first meeting attracts 30 people. Waldo Eager CBE is appointed as the first chairman, and just over £5 is raised. Subscriptions are set at 12.5p for people with polio, and 25p for non-disabled associates.
With membership growing, the first copy of the Bulletin is produced. 60 people attend a meeting at the Lyons Corner House in London. A larger event follows: almost 400 people come to the Tea House in Kensington Gardens.
The 1940s
The Chairman - Roby Spence - writes a letter to Ernest Bevin MP, then Employment Secretary, and points out that people with polio have functioning brains as well as problems with their limbs, so why can't they work? Bevin replies that the Government will henceforth adopt a strategy of employing people with disabilities.
As bombs fall, and travelling to meetings becomes harder, The Bulletin becomes a lifeline for members and a pen pals' circle is started.
The Fellowship arranges a Victory Rally, including a party in Lambeth Palace, a sight-seeing tour of London and a West End show.
Member Michael Flanders successfully mounts a campaign which changes legislation so that cinemas become wheelchair-accessible.
A London-based Christmas party, attended by people from around the country, sparks the idea that the Fellowship should be local as well as national. From this moment, branches are established throughout the UK. The first branch is in Reading.
The Constitution is formally adopted, and the Fellowship moves in to its first office in Tavistock Place, London. There are now 2,000 members.
Peacetime brought about the opportunity for the Fellowship to Grow and need for Help by families struggling to deal with the impact Polio had made upon them.
The 1950s
 1950 The Fellowship produces a film, "A Life To Be Lived"; a dramatic account of a man who contracts polio and has a prolonged rehabilitation procedure. The film includes a short history of the Fellowship, and there is an appeal at the end.
The first of Fellowship's holiday homes - The Lantern Hotel - opens.
1951 The first Youth Conference takes place in Hampshire.
1952 The Fellowship creates The National Polio Fund which raises sufficient money to sponsor valuable research.
The first national welfare conference takes place. Members from 30 branches attend.
As the number of branches increases, regions are formed.
1955 The Polio vaccine is deemed successful and exported to the UK.
1956 Our Newcastle branch opens a hostel; a place where people with polio can live and work.
1959 Some 9 million Christmas cards and 80,000 advent calendars are produced by the Fellowship to both raise funds and employ members.
The 1960s
Early 1960s The cosmetic calliper becomes available - people with polio can now wear everyday shoes, rather than thick soles.
1960 Frederic Morena is the subject of "This is Your Life".
Patricia Carey flies in from Zimbabwe to appear on the show.
Federic Morena dies at the end of this year.
The first visitor moves in to the Fellowship's caravans in Portsmouth. The caravans are adapted for people who use respirators.
1963 The Fellowship's Burnham-on-Sea bungalow opens.
1968 The first National Sports Day takes place on a rainy day in Birmingham.
End of 60s The population of many developed counties begins to almost fully immune to the polio virus. The Fellowship decides to change course, and concentrate on helping people with polio to live fulfilled lives.
The 1970s
1970s The Government introduces the Mobility Allowance, and a leasing scheme for four-wheeled cars.
1973 The National Sports Day and Swimming Gala take place on the same day, at Stoke Mandeville Sports Stadium. The Sportsman is David Foden, and the Sportswoman is Madeleine Henry.
The 1980s
1983 The first National Indoor Games is held at Birmingham University, an annual event which continues to this day.
The Fellowship donates £100,000 towards the cost of opening a new unit at St.Thomas's - The Lane Fox Unit. This provides therapy for people with Post Polio Syndrome.
The 1990s
1998 The Fellowship produces a video about Post Polio Syndrome.
2000 to date
2005 The British Polio Fellowship became incorporated as a company limited by guarantee.
The City Bridge Trust awards the Fellowship a three year contract to improve outreach within the Greater London Area.
Sadly the Lantern Hotel in Worthing is closed due to mounting losses but its consequent sale secured the Fellowship's financial security for the foreseeable future.
2006 The Fellowship is awarded £250,000 by the National Lottery to fund a community welfare project for three years.
2007 The Fellowship now has 8,000 members.
Lifetime Membership of the Fellowship continues to cost £25.
The European Polio Union is formed with the Fellowship chosen to co-ordinate events.
The Burnham Bungalow undergoes a kitchen refurbishment funded by the Clothworker's Trust.
A new look is created for the Fellowship, and the first Members' Handbook is produced.
2008
The Fellowship hosts Regional forums for its members and the Internet Community Forum is launched
2009
The Fellowship Hosts Regional Super Forums in Coventry, Leeds, Bristol, Reading, Ealing and Stirling to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the Fellowship
These included Keynote presentations by polio specialist consultants as well as Orthothics, Carers, Weight Watchers and Complimentary Therapy workshop.
2010
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll is premiered in January. The film is a biopic of Ian Dury, starring Andy Serkis in the role of Dury. The film follows Dury's rise to fame and documents his personal battle with the disability caused by having contracted the debilitating disease polio during childhood. The effect that his disability and his lifestyle have upon his relationships is also a focal point of the film. The title of the film is derived from the classic 1977 hit, "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll".
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