Foreword by Professor Carl Chinn, MBE

I never knew my Granddad Perry when he was able to walk. Our Granddad was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in the early 1950s and one of the last times he was able to walk unaided was when he escorted Our Mom down the aisle on her wedding day in 1954.

Soon after, the MS took such a hold that Granddad lost the use of his legs and his right arm. But he never lost the use of his mind or his memory, nor of his wit or his good humour. I recall that when we were out with Our Granddad in his wheelchair that people would often look over him to Our Mom and ask “How is he?” Mom would answer angrily, “Ask him yourself. He is Arthur and he can talk for himself.”

I grew up with disability, but did not recognise it as such because Our Granddad was such an important member of our family and he was always treated as such. Nor did I recognise that Our Nan was disabled. But she was. She had lost her index finger on her right hand in an accident on a power press in a factory.

Looking back, Nan’s physical health had also been badly affected by the poverty in which she had grown up in the 1920s. Her feet were misshapen because of the charity boots she’d had to wear and she always had problems with them. But, like Granddad, we never thought of Nan as disabled because she was another key figure in our family.

Disability touches every family and every neighbourhood in Birmingham at some time. Whether this be a parent, a sibling, a friend or a neighbour who may have been born disabled or become disabled later in life. Sadly, in the past, not so many Brummies had disabled playmates at school or disabled colleagues in the workplace, this was because for a large part of the last century our society was less enlightened and many disabled people spent their school days and adult lives living in institutions.

But, throughout those years, there were many disabled people who have fought not only for their own independence, but for the independence of others. They have struggled to free themselves from institutions and go into the community to live full and active lives, to be respected as equal citizens and to be able to contribute to our proud city in the modern age.

This is a most significant history book. It tells the story of the fight for independence by what started off as a small group of disabled people in the city, but who went on to successfully campaign for and to set up their own centre at the former Bierton Road School in Yardley in 1992.

Eighteen years on, the centre is still going strong and still supporting Birmingham’s disabled citizens through information and support services.

The board members, staff and volunteers of the Birmingham Disability Resource Centre continue to work with tireless dedication to make our city accessible to all Brummies, regardless of age, disability or caring responsibilities and they should be rightly proud of the inspiration they provide to all of us as we move our great working city forward and into an age where every citizen can access work, leisure, housing and education opportunities.