A permanent life-size bronze statue of Sir Ludwig has also been commissioned and will be unveiled, along with the bust, on June 24 to stand outside the National Spinal Injuries Centre in recognition and celebration of his groundbreaking and vital work he undertook.

The late Sir Jimmy Saville is among those who contributed to the funding of the statue, pledging £30,000 ($47,000/€37,000).

The £10,000 ($15,000/€12,000) bust is being funded by Aggreko, the exclusive supplier of temporary energy services for London 2012.

"We had always wanted to make a bust," said Mike McKenzie, the chairman of the Poppa Guttmann Trust.

The Trust, which is devoted to people suffering from spinal injuries, is named after "Poppa", which is what Sir Ludwig was known as.

The donation has come from Rupert Soames, Winston Churchill's grandson, who heard about the project.

"We had the idea a couple years ago but then we had to raise the money along with the statue," said McKenzie.

"Rupert had come along to dinner one evening and had no idea about the project but immediately said he would support it.

"We were just astonished."

Artist Jacko, a former patient at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, has made the bust of Sir Ludwig, a German neurologist who fled to Britain from the Nazis in 1939 and who died in 1980.

"It's about raising awareness of the incredible work that Ludwig did to help people," said Jacko.

"Before he came along, people with spinal injuries had such a short life expectancy.

"He revolutionised medical treatments.

"He should really be considered a national icon."

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