The National Spinal Injuries Centre was founded in 1944 by Dr Ludwig Guttmann at the request of the British government. Dr Guttmann introduced sport as part of wounded soldiers’ rehabilitation programmes, leading to the first edition of the Stoke Mandeville Games, which opened on July 29th 1948, the same day as the opening ceremony of the London Olympic Games.

Two British teams with 14 former servicemen and two former servicewomen competed in archery at the first games. From then on, the Stoke Mandeville Games were to be held annually, and in 1952 Dutch ex-servicemen joined the movement and the International Stoke Mandeville Games were established.

In 1960, the International Stoke Mandeville Games were staged for the first time in the same country and city as the Olympic Games. They have gone down in history as the "First Paralympic Games".

The International Stoke Mandeville Games were organised by ISMWSF (International Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Sports Federation), which is now part of IWAS (International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation), a member of EPC.