The Sochi 2014 Olympic Games sees Great Britain send one of its largest ever teams, with athletes from Yorkshire at the heart of the nation’s medal challenge. Eleven athletes from Yorkshire are amongst the squad of 56 which are representing Team GB in Sochi this month.

From Thirsk in the north to Sheffield in the south, the White Rose County will be represented by snowboarders, free skiers and biathletes in the Black Sea Resort in Russia from 7th February.

Yorkshire’s Olympians are:

Freeski

By the end of this month, every household in England should have received a leaflet from the NHS entitled “Better information means better care”. The leaflet contains important information regarding our medical records, and represents the biggest proposed change in the way they are handled.

The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh(RCSEd), the UK’s oldest surgical Royal College, has recently announced that it has been awarded a grant to extend and redevelop its Surgeons’ Hall Museum.

Originally developed as a teaching museum for students of medicine, it has been open to the general public since 1832, making it Scotland’s oldest medical museum. It contains the UK’s largest and most historic collection of surgical pathology artefacts, including anatomical specimens and surgical instruments.

From the bestselling author of The Queen’s Knickers and Father Christmas Needs a Wee, comes a brand new picture book written by Nicholas Allan, in association with the International Children’s Heart Foundation.

UK manufacturing is “booming again”, according to the latest survey conducted recently. The sector has seen its strongest growth in over two years, with five consecutive months of expansion.

Output and new orders rose at British factories at their fastest rates for nineteen years, with rising demand from domestic customers being accompanied by a return to growth of the euro zone.

The NHS will be 65 years old this week, and celebrations have already begun taking place nationwide. Despite some criticism over the last 65 years, the NHS has certainly come a long way. Although free healthcare is something that people take for granted these days, the birth of the NHS was a major milestone when it began in 1948. NHS founder, Aneurin Bevan believed that good healthcare should be available to all, regardless of wealth, and it was a remarkable achievement considering that the nation was still recovering from the Second World War.

Gavril Abramovich Ilizarov was a Soviet physician, who became famous for inventing the Ilizarov apparatus for lengthening limb bones. Ilizarov was born in Poland to a Jewish family from the Russian Empire. Shortly after his birth the family moved to Azerbaijan, where he grew up. He then went on to graduate from Derbent Medical Rabfac (an educational establishment set up to prepare workers and peasants for higher education) and also Crimea Medical School.

Sheffield has long been recognised for its iconic steel industry and its vital role in the war effort during both World Wars.

During World Wars I and II, whilst the men of Sheffield fought for their country, thousands of women were conscripted into the steel factories of Sheffield. The women, often in their twenties, left behind their normal lives of running homes and raising children in order to contribute to the war effort and keep the factories running.

The Month of March sees the people of Sheffield take part in “The Great Pie & Peas Up”, in aid of St Luke’s Hospice.

Events are being hosted in homes, workplaces and communities in an effort to raise much needed funds for a new In Patient Unit. This facility is urgently needed to provide the best possible specialist care for Sheffield people who have life limiting illnesses.

2013 marks the centenary of Harry Brearley’s invention of Stainless Steel. This development revolutionised the modern world, and put Sheffield on the map as the “Great Industrial Powerhouse”.

Sheffield is famous around the world for its contributions to the steel industry, and now celebrates by hosting a series of events to mark the anniversary.

Exhibitions and events confirmed as part of the 100 Years of Stainless Steel programme so far include: