Mencap founder honoured with blue plaque at Hertfordshire home
Judy Fryd launched the learning disability charity in the 1940s when her eldest daughter showed signs of developmental delay
Historic England will unveil a blue plaque to founder of Mencap, Judy Fryd, at her home on Westfield Avenue in Harpenden, today.
It was here, at her dining room table, that Fryd founded Mencap, the charity dedicated to supporting people with a learning disability to live their lives to the full.
The national blue plaque will be unveiled by Judy Fryd’s family, including her daughters, granddaughter, and great granddaughter; Linda, Pat, Elly, and Olivia,
Caroline Joyce 'Judy' Fryd, was born in North London in 1909. After leaving school, she worked as a secretary and joined a union, speaking on a soapbox at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park about secretarial work and women in the labour force.
Her early activism led her to study economics and political science at Ruskin Hall (now Ruskin College) in Oxford, and it was there that she met fellow student John Fryd. They married in 1936 and later settled in Harpenden, where they raised four children.
When her eldest daughter, Felicity, showed signs of developmental delay, Fryd was confronted by a system that offered little hope. In the early 1940s no mainstream school would accept Felicity.
She taught Felicity at home and began to connect with other parents through the letters pages of The Nursery World magazine, writing under the pseudonym 'Cinderella'.
In November 1946 she formed the association that would later become Mencap, which marks its 80th anniversary this year.
Mencap chief executive Jon Sparks said the blue plaque was "a fitting tribute to an incredible person", describing Ms Fryd as "trailblazer whose campaigning transformed life for people with a learning disability".
Felicity died from pneumonia in 1993, and Fryd herself died in a nursing home in 2000 at the age of ninety. She was appointed MBE in 1967 and CBE in 1996, and in 2009 was honoured with a commemorative Royal Mail postage stamp.
Claudia Kenyatta CBE and Emma Squire CBE, Co-CEOs of Historic England, said: “Judy Fryd created something which has transformed the lives of many, including her daughter’s. She felt so strongly that her daughter deserved better, that she helped to change our country’s laws and set up an organisation which has given a voice to people with a learning disability for over 80 years.
"This plaque celebrates the impact Fryd has had on society and the lives she has improved through her dedication and determination.”
Elly Downes, Judy Fryd’s Granddaughter said: “Judy Fryd was and always will be, first and foremost, my Grandma. To her children, Felicity, Pat, Peter and Linda, she was a devoted mother, and to John Fryd, a loving supportive wife.
“She’s always been one of the most important people in my life and I will always love her to infinity and beyond! We have always had to share her with Mencap and thousands of people with learning disabilities and their families, her other family and lifelong passion, and are honoured to have done so.
“She led an ordinary life in an ordinary semi-detached house in Harpenden, and was very much respected by her neighbours, friends, and the community. But, 80 years ago in 1946, she did something extraordinary from her dining room table – she spent 60 years working tirelessly for people with a learning disability to be given rights, recognition, and fairness in a world where differences were never fully embraced.
“This work continues in her name and my family and I are so proud of how far things have come and will continue to support the ongoing work of Mencap in our ever changing world.
“We could not be more delighted that she and her home have been honoured with a Historic England national blue plaque. This is not any old house, but a very special place indeed, full of love and warmth, and history, which we will continue to cherish.”