The Royal Marsden Hospital hosted a Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s, Onslow Square earlier this month following the fire which caused tens of millions of pounds worth of damage in January.

Cally Palmer, the hospital’s Chief Executive paid tribute to the team at St Paul’s who opened up the church for patients and staff and later served refreshments to everybody.

She said, ‘The team at St. Paul’s were exceptional – clearing the Church to allow it to be used as a triage centre for our patients.

‘This took the provision of sanctuary to a completely different level. And as many of you will have seen there were comparisons in the media to St Pauls in the blitz.

‘We’ve now decided at the Royal Marsden that St Pauls should be a formal part of our emergency plan.’

She added, ‘There were so many acts of simple human kindness that day. People opened their doors to us, and provided food and shelter on a cold January afternoon.’

HTB Vicar Nicky Gumbel welcomed the 280-strong congregation, which included many local councillors and dignitaries.The service was led by Revd. Chris Lee, Senior Chaplain of The Royal Marsden.

Music was led by HTB Director of Classical Music, Simon Dixon and included Cesar Frank’s Panis Angelicus, sung by the choir, and cellow solo The Swan, played by Jo Garcia.

Reflections were given by Assistant Commissioner Dave Brown of the London Fire Brigade, Senior Sister Jen Watson of the Critical Care Unit at the Royal Marsden, and Prof Martin Gore, Medical Director at the Royal Marsden.

Closing words were said by Tessa Green, Chairman of the Royal Marsden. She said, ‘Every cloud has a silver lining. However terrible the fire, we were in many ways fortunate.

‘Now, we focus on an enviable opportunity to make a great hospital better than ever before, buoyed on by the overwhelming support we have received.

‘To you – the fire fighters who gave us back our hospital – to St. Paul’s, The Royal Brompton, Ambulance and Police services who helped us during the crisis – to the Royal Borough residents, who put up with all the disruption to get us running as soon as possible – our warmest thanks.’

St Paul’s Onslow Square looked very different for the service from how it had on January 2 when the fire occurred. Following the renovations, there is a new carpet, freshly painted walls, a new sound system and new lighting.