25 Years of Disability West Midlands - part two

A Brief History — Part Two from Pinpoint Magazine 2002

In celebration of our 25th birthday, Pinpoint editor Pete Millington, returns to the first years of our history:

In the first part of this history we outlined the early years of the West Midlands Council For Disabled People (WMCDP) which evolved into Disability West Midlands in the early 1990s. In the light of further research into the archive and very comprehensive presentations at our 25th Celebration event by John Harrison and Ken Bales, I hope that readers will allow me to back-track slightly so that all significant events can be acknowledged.

Amongst the founding members of the West Midlands Council For The Disabled back in 1977 were the first two chairs of the organisation, Ted Marsland and John Harrison. Ted, remembered more grandly as Professor Edward Marsland, was the vice chancellor of Birmingham University in the 1970s and provided both a credible figurehead for the organisation in it's early years as well as being an effective and committed chair person. Ted Marsland retired as chairperson in 1983 and sadly died in 1996.

John Harrison was another major influence in the early days of, what was then WMCDP. At that time John was a consultant at Moseley Hall Hospital in Birmingham, with responsibility for Hillcrest - the West Midlands' only purpose-built Health Service unit for younger disabled people. John was approached by Ted Marsland and Ruth Wolfe who were seeking support for a new group which could spread knowledge and understanding of disabled living. It was seen as an opportunity to improve liaison across the boundaries traditionally imposed by professionalism, public administration and particular impairment groups.

Recognising that some of the Black Country boroughs in particular also wanted to become involved in an umbrella organisation, WMCDP members resisted setting up an organisation restricted to the city of Birmingham. Hugh and Mary Barker from Dudley and Tom Glasgow from Solihull were amongst a core group of people from around the West Midlands County who supported the regional remit.

The challenges of a region with a population the size of Denmark or Scotland might have been immense but the founder members remained undaunted. Two part time staff were employed in 1978 and the organisation set out to establish some sort of public image, staging conferences and study days and starting a quarterly newsheet which later became known as Pinpoint.

The organisation's first grant of £3000 from the Regional Health Authority dates back as far as the late 1970s and finances were to improve markedly during 1981, the International Year of Disabled People, owing an increase in staff levels for a short period. However, the following year was to be less optimistic with a downturn in funding which saw WMCDP almost go out of business with it's small staff group having to be made redundant.

Thanks to the continuing commitment of it's growing membership and a substantial new source of funding coming from the Manpower services Commission through it's Community Programme, seminars, study days, publications and information services were reinstated and the newsletter was developed into a highly professional looking glossy magazine with a circulation of 4000.

Whilst some of the language and jargon has changed over the years, Pinpoint always had strong user involvement and increasingly reflected the wider sense of militancy amongst disabled people's movement. In the Spring 54 edition of Pinpoint, the introductory editorial highlighted a desire for WMCDP to view itself as a 'minority pressure group':

"But we shall never forget that we speak for all those handicapped men, women and children who are concerned about their futures, and we shall fight for their interest. In a healthy society everyone is equal".

In terms of the changing voice of disabled people within WMCDP, the Orwellian year of 1984 could almost be seen as a watershed, with Pinpoint continuing to move towards a debating and campaigning stance with an increasing amount of discussion within its pages around social security, legislation, community care and government policy. The editorial  panel at that time consisted of Theresa Jackson, Hugh Barker, Jacqueline Cameron and the curiously named Cyril Spector.

Incidentally, the latter named member of the 1984 editorial panel, Mr Spector, appears to have been somewhat of an unsung hero in the annals of DWM history. His participation on the editorial board was short lived and in 1985 his place was taken by Betty Cohen. My belief is that Cyril Spector could have been a pseudonym of either Hugh Barker or Tom Glasgow - perhaps older members will know answer?

By the summer of 1986, the organisation's information service was operating on a full time basis and employing Francis Fontaine as the new information officer, assisted by Doris Spiers and based in a room at Moseley Hall which was later to become the hospital chapel (auspicious origins?) The good omens continued with the appointment the following year of Edward Murtagh as Information Officer and then, in the spring of 1989, Joe Hennessy as the organisation's Director.

During this period, John Harrison had retired as chair of WMCDP, to be replaced in this role by Bob Taylor. Often cited as one of our region's best known disabled people, Bob was the director of Birmingham International Airport for many years and is now the Lord Lieutenant of the West Midlands, often to be seen hosting members of the Royal Family on visits and walk-abouts in our region.

In the next edition of Pinpoint we conclude the history of Disability West Midlands by looking at its development throughout the 1990s, examining both the highs and lows of a symbolic decade in which anti­discrimination legislation was first introduced in the UK and DWM became an organisation constitutionally controlled by disabled people.