https://www.gosh.nhs.uk/news/peter-pan-and-tinkerbell-statue-fly-away-for-now/

Peter Pan and Tinkerbell fly away for now

13 Nov 2023, 10:11 a.m.

Peter is playfully leaning backwards on one leg, with his left hand stretched up to the sky. On his index finger is a thimble, which his trusty friend Tinkerbell is trying to wrestle off. In Peter’s other hand he has a palm of invisible fairy dust which he is blowing onto passers-by as they walk through the doors of Great Ormond Street Hospital.

During November 2023 our iconic Peter Pan and Tinkerbell sculpture will be moving from their current home at the main entrance to Great Ormond Street Hospital, as we prepare for the construction of the Children’s Cancer Centre and build a new amazing entrance for the hospital.

Once the Children's Cancer Centre is complete, Peter and Tinkerbell will return to their prime location on Great Ormond Street at the new main entrance.

History of the statue

The bronze statue of JM Barrie’s famous and lovable character’s was originally installed outside Great Ormond Street Hospital in 2000, with Tinkerbell and the thimble being added in 2005.

The Peter Pan and Great Ormond Street connection

In 1929, with the popularity of both the Peter Pan play and the novel firmly established, JM Barrie unexpectedly and generously gifted his copyright of Peter Pan to GOSH.

Barrie had already supported GOSH for many years and in 1929 he was approached to sit on a committee to help buy land, so that the Hospital could build a much-needed new wing. Barrie declined but said that he ‘hoped to find another way to help’.

Two months later, the hospital board was stunned to learn that Barrie had donated all his rights for Peter Pan to GOSH.

Read more about the story of Peter Pan at GOSH.

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