Construction firm Sisk has helped retrieve a time capsule laid by Diana, Princess of Wales, at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) 34 years ago.
Discovered during preparatory works for the hospital’s new Children’s 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.
Sisk was chosen for the £300m build back in February 2025.
Throughout the early stages of the project, the team worked meticulously to protect the commemorative plaque and time capsule casket. Its contents include a pocket television, a solar-powered calculator, a photo of Diana, Princess of Wales, and a Kylie Minogue CD.
The late Princess of Wales was part of a ceremony in March 1991 at GOSH to mark the laying of the foundation stone of the Variety Club Building, which she opened later in 1994. As part of this, she sealed a time capsule within GOSH’s main entrance.
Princess Diana's association with GOSH was long. The royal became the President of GOSH in 1989 and regularly visited the specialist children's hospital, bringing smiles to the faces of patients, their families and staff.
Staff at the hospital, either born in 1991 or already working at the hospital in 1991, helped to remove the time capsule.
"This state-of-the-art facility will be a national hub for childhood cancer treatment, designed around the needs of patients and their families. As we now continue with the substructure works, we remain committed to supporting the hospital’s vision for a more advanced, compassionate, and family-focused healthcare environment," Allen Westgate, Construction Director at Sisk, said.
“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," Westgate said. "We look forward now, to continue the substructure works to facilitate the new Children’s Cancer Centre building."
