Interview with Barry Morgan

Educated Greenrock School, St Chad’s school in Litchfield, College of Art Walsall, Birmingham Polytechnic, Wolverhampton University

Born 1945. Father Sergeant Major bought horse on wheels to teach BM to walk. Constantly falling over. Learning to read and write. Father worked for local authority; mother hospital cook. Two brothers and sister – treated equally. Three-wheelers. Younger brother Dennis. Topper, Beano and Dandy comics. Building bricks. BM oldest; mother lost a baby previously. Buried sister’s bucket on holiday in Rhyll. Love of parents. Dennis helping BM at school. Grandfather painter and decorator. Maternal aunt Daisie bought a mechanical Muffin the Mule. Beryl and Jennifer cousins. Father PoW for three years at Arnhem - had to kill a dog that attacked him. Grandfather’s one-up, one-down house with outside toilet. BM shared bedroom with Aunt Gertie. 1951 new 3-bed house with upstairs bathroom, cooker and boiler, garden.

 

Discipline at home. Toby Twirl, Rupert the Bear, The Eagle. Mobo spinning top. Albert The Lion song. Playing in shed until it burnt down. Father’s fight to send BM to mainstream school locally. Mr Howells at Greenrock School. Mrs Wilkinson teaching BM the French horn – got hand stuck in the instrument (anecdote). Dislike of PE – won the shot-put. Penmanship. 1s 6d pocket money a week. Skeet’s fish and chip shop. Going to cinema. Corporal punishment at school – use of taws.

 

 

 

Playing cricket one-handed. Woodland Hospital, Birmingham. Tonsils and adenoids operation age 9/10. Trip to Llandudno. BM and Tony Taylor picked up a lamb at Horsehoe Pass and took it on Midland Red coach (anecdote).

Having mumps.

 

 

 

Woodlands Hospital in Birmingham told Barry's parents that he would never walk or uses hands. Father taught him to walk by using reins and horse on wheels. Barry dragging one foot. Went to clinic every three months. Fitted with calliper with a sprung ankle. At the age of seven Barry couldn't feed himself so he had an operation on his arm in 1954. Exercises included lifting a hospital bed and squeezing a ball. Relationship with younger brother who was able to show him how to tie laces and do up his tie. Medical treatments. Fitting boots. School doctor recommended glasses. Difficulties at birth. First child died; Barry was the second weighing 7 lbs. 6 oz. Still in a pushchair at the age of seven; younger brother was running around at five. Frustration.

 

Six months learning to walk with horse and reins. By seven could walk unaided. Parents did not want Barry to go to residential school (despite doctor’s advice) and preferred him to go to a local school. The local authority threatened to prosecute the parents, and eventually father was summoned to court. After some time, it was agreed with magistrate that Barry could attend Greenrock, the local mainstream primary school with his brother. Headmaster Mr Howells was happy to have them both. Brother Dennis helped Barry to write and do sums. Barry’s father wanted him to be a vicar. The priest at the village church recommended Barry go to a church school, St Chad’s school in Litchfield. Barry became a chorister for Litchfield Cathedral. Barry was riding a bicycle to school every day – 5 miles there and back. Barry was bullied often at school. Name calling and physical aggression from other pupils had a negative psychological effect. In pottery, Barry explained to the teacher that he couldn’t use a pottery wheel, so suggested he make his pot by hand. Barry’s pot was the best in the class

 

 

 

School taught shoe repairs and carpentry. On Fridays, girls from Greyfriars School, nearby all-girls school, were invited to Barry’s school Chad’s School, (all boys) to take part in country dancing. Barry danced with Judith Crutchley – first experience of girls. RE teacher and headmaster most influential in changing attitudes. Rev Salter, vicar. Barry’s difficulties making friends in school, left in corner of playground. ‘People thought I was a nutter.’ Youth club. Cinema with Judith: ‘How the West was won’. Michael Clark, Kurt Jenson (Danish), Christopher Harryman friends in same who rode home from school. Barry’s parents chose Church school as preparation for theological college. Father had idea of having paper shop when Barry left school. Labour Exchange. Disablement Resettlement Officer arranged job interview the same day. Quota system at the end of 1950s. First experience of work: warehouse job found with Hauleys, which made tents for Africa. 10/6 per week, starting on Monday after getting overalls from Foster Brothers.  Brian Davies, Foreman. Lots of women at company. Canteen. 2/6 for dinner at work, sitting with Brian. Barry ribbed as youngster, friendly teasing. Enjoyed work. Went out more. Next job at Reginald Tilsley’s car company, Walsall, bodyshop apprentice, £4.10 per week. Barry showed David Hodinot he could work on a 1953 Ford Prefect. Rubbed bodywork down. Taught by foreman. Trucks needed chassis hand-painting. College of Art Walsall, spraying, assembly, dent removal. Job came up at Walsall College of technology, Laboratory technician in the Electrical and mechanical engineering dept, 1969. John Wilson, Dept head. Medical. Big chance came when Ivor Brown, course tutor, mentioned day release in electronics. ONC Electrical and mechanical engineering – radio and TV – up to City and Guilds level, paid for by college. Reaction of parents. 1982 Barry had nervous breakdown and had to retire on grounds of ill health, after being attacked.

 

 

Studying ONC in Mechanical and Electrical engineering, Birmingham Polytechnic, Perry Barr. Attached by three youths, stealing his briefcase. Broke collar bone – six-week hospital stay. Away from work for 12 months.

Saw psychiatrist. Barry returned to work. Break affected mobility of CP-affected arm. Self-confidence badly affected. Walsall College of Technology offered early retirement on grounds of ill health. Applied for jobs, though disability seemed to get in the way. Decided to buy his own house for £13,000. Decorated, helped by father, including wallpapering. Greenhouse for 40th birthday from sisters. Grew cucumbers. Applied for jobs over two-year period. Postman Pat coin-operated ride in supermarket. Company in Warrington asked to repair troublesome machine Taken on by company dealing with 20 machines, visiting once a month. Counting takings. £219 in a month at one machine. Started his own office - soon had 50 machines, and asked by original company to fix more and more machines. Second-hand rides sold by a company in Shirley. £150 each for two machines. £190 a month from one machine. Employed young assistant. Bid for siting machines at 18 Morrison's stores.  Sister and husband Ian. Sought business partner. Went to finance house. Rented business unit on an Industrial Estate. Appointed local agents for Morrison's. After nine years, decided to sell business. Millennium Project for adapting toys for disabled children - expense of 'special needs' toys. Mentor was a teacher friend who worked in Special Needs.

 

Deep religious conviction. Forgive and forget his attackers. Help of family and Dad has installed belief in finding own way round things - for example, wallpaper hanging. Good investment of pension. Independence from mother and father, and responsibility of having mortgage. Wolverhampton University course. Millennium award project to adapt off-the-shelf toys for disabled children. BA in Special Needs and Inclusion - oldest of 32 students. Teaching Certificate. Assessing needs of children (e.g. adapting laptop into a communication aid). Puff-blow switches adapted using a computer mouse, and an electric motor, enabling a disabled child to take part in class. Barry helped 14-year-old Donald by adapting radio-controlled car. Higher expectations of disabled children today than Barry's parents’ expectations. Does not believe that disabled people are better off. Does not approve of segregated disabled communities in US. Comparison with South Africa.

 

 

 

Believes Disability Discrimination Act will alienate a lot of people because of expense. Transport accessibility. DDA will be of some benefit but disabled people need to get qualifications to become involved, e.g. magistrate. Life member of Scope. Some disabled people are insular. Care staff not always caring. Does not like work of DAN (Direct Action Network). Scope's Equality Campaign one of the biggest things they have done. Every disabled person should campaign for equality. Media image of disabled people. Campaign to open a toy shop for disabled children. Organising campaign for plug adaptor for communication aids to be included on standard-make powered toys. Working with parents and professionals that work with disabled children. Disabled people need a leader in government. Riding a two-wheeled bike for the first time. Breaking leg. Doesn’t think of himself as a disabled person. Reacts against offers of help, e.g. in a restaurant. Like to ask for help, rather than help being offered without asking.

 

 

 

Work experience - self-employed and employed. Period of being unemployed. Feeling of discrimination. Company in Warrington gave Barry a chance on repairing amusement ride after seven engineers failed. Barry employed a girl for administration, man for workshop work, and agents around country. Disabled people in a better place to advise people than some professionals. Loading on car and public liability insurance because of disability. BA in Special Needs and Inclusion – oldest of 32 people students but made friends. Didn’t take extra time in exams, though offered. Public speaking for first time. Impairment was an advantage because youngsters on course hadn’t experienced disability. Involvement in parents’ groups. Father loved cricket. Barry used to play golf with his father. Complaint against Oxley Moor Golf Club, not allowing Barry to play on greens. Friends protested. Amateur Radio Society of Great Britain. Friends through parents’ support work, and through work with Scope. Residents Association. Involvement with Church dates from St Chad’s School, Litchfield, school for Litchfield Cathedral. Community involvement in toy adaptation project. Moved into house in 1984. Friends. Remembers Judith, school friend, but emigrated to Australia. Losing love of his life. Had reunion seven years ago. 60 now.

 

Parents supported Barry in being as independent as possible. Support from Barry’s siblings. Travel in Britain, Canada to see brother and Australia, after 35 years. Always politely refuses offers of help, e.g. bag carrying, tray carrying. Likes photography. Friends at school, cinema, tenpin bowling, in pub, dances. Scouts. Borrowing tents from school, Rhyll. Testing hovercraft. Met girl guides from Stoke on Trent. Midlands Spastics Society, fieldworker. Day Centre in Victoria Road. Sherrards Training Centre, Welwyn Garden City. Associated with Scope for 44 years. Vice Chair for Partnership Committee. Plays bowls. Disabled people have to give things a try and get reason if turned down. DDA is one positive thing, but has taken nearly 50 years. Public transport has improved but has a long way to go.

 

 

 

Inclusive education. St Chad’s School in Litchfield, a Cathedral School. Left in 1959 aged 16. Got a job for 10s 6d a week. Went to Midlands Spastics Society in Harborne in 1962. Sherrards Training Centre in Welwyn Garden City.

Born 14 January 1945. Difficult birth. Doctor’s advice. Father was a prisoner of war had seen at first hand conductive education in the forties, developed by Hungarian scientists. Learning to walk. Operations at Woodlands Hospital in Birmingham. Exercises. Battle in court to go to local school. Barry’s brother Dennis. Name-calling and bullying at school. ‘Educationally sub-normal’. Teacher’s attitudes. Registered as a disabled person at job centre. Making Horley mops. Ten shillings and six pence a week pay. Apprentice spray painter. Walsall College of Technology as a laboratory technician. City and Guilds. Birmingham Polytechnic ONC in mechanical and electrical engineering. Disablist attack - psychological and physical effects. Decorating own home. BA in special needs and inclusion at Wolverhampton University. Scope Millennium Award.

 

Walsall College of Technology. The Midlands National Spastics Society in Harborne. Day centre in Victoria Road, Harborne. Carpentry and basket weaving. Sherrards training centre in Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire.

Capstan lathe and drilling machines. Becoming an agent for repairing children’s rides. Merryhill Centre. Contract with Brewer’s Fayre. Barry owned 274 coin-operated rides. Dispute with taxi driver over charging disabled customers extra. Bus driver’s reluctance to use ramps. Phil Bateman, Chairman of the West Midlands Passenger Transport. The Walsall Observer. Adapting toys for disabled kids.