The friends organisation of a hospital celebrated its 50th anniversary with a visit from the HRH the Duke of Gloucester.

The Friends of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, in Stanmore, welcomed the Duke, who is patron of the organisation, for the celebrations at the site in Brockley Hill.

Members of the voluntary organisation, some of them former patients of the hospital, were at the ceremony to celebrate 50 years of work which includes raising nearly £1million for the hospital.

The Duke said: “It is a real pleasure to be here to congratulate you all.

“You are the human face to the hospital and you provide a personality to an institution which has a very serious business.

“All the volunteers here make a huge difference and the friends are a vital part of the hospital.

“You help real people with real problems in their hour of crisis and give them reassurance.”

The group was founded in 1963 and since then has provided money for many projects including a swimming pool and patients centre.

Loelia Harris, 83, has been a member of the friends for 41 years and first became involved after her children were treated at the hospital.

She said: “I’m very proud of the friends and of the hospital as a whole. It’s such a family atmosphere here and everyone is willing to help.

“I think the friends do a very important service and we are here for the patients and the families if they need support."

Friends chairman Keith Reeve said: “We try and do as much as we can for the hospital and we have tremendous volunteers at the friends.

“It is a great honour for the Duke to come here and show his support and we look forward to another 50 years of helping the hospital.”