Judy Fryd

Judy grew up in London and went to Minchenden Grammar School before going on to study Economics and Political Science at Ruskin College, Oxford. While at Ruskin College Judy met John Fryd who she later married in 1936 before they moved to Leeds. Both Judy and John were very active members of the Labour Party throughout their lives. They were involved in the creation of the charity that is now known as Mencap. They were also associated with many other charities and organisations.

Once relocated to Leeds, Judy and John had four children; Felicity, Patricia, Peter and Linda. Felicity, their oldest (born in 1938), had a learning disability and this sparked Judy's realisation that there was no support systems in place in order to help those with learning disabilities along with their families. When Felicity was around three, Judy and John realised that 'something was not quite right' due to the fact that their daughter wasn't able to use her language to communicate in the way that other children her age were. As a result of this, Felicity was taken to the local Child Guidance Clinic where she was assessed. The doctor concluded that Felicity had an IQ of 43 and seemed content to leave the matter there, not offering support or solutions as to how best to help Felicity. After several failed attempts to put Felicity into regular education, Judy managed to get Felicity a month trial at a boarding school for the "mentally handicapped" in Surrey. Yet on the first day, Judy and John were informed that Felicity was not suitable for the school due to her challenging behaviour and requested her to be removed immediately.

'Judy was deeply angered and frustrated by the lack of support and provision available'.[1] As a result of this, in 1946 Judy wrote a letter to Nursery World Magazine asking all parents also having difficulties with a "backward child" to get in contact. There was a huge response with over 1,000 parents responding and consequently a group was formed of parents who pleaded their cause to local health and education authorities. This group grew into the Association of Parents of Backward Children (APBC), the forerunner of Mencap.

Much of what Judy achieved came too late to directly benefit her own daughter, Felicity.

Felicity began to realise that she struggled in ways that her brothers and sisters did not and this led to increasingly disturbed behaviour. She was admitted to an ill-suited mental hospital in St Albans at the age of 12 which grouped her with other 'psychotic' individuals who in reality had very different problems to her. These issues persisted until late on in her life as doctors were unable to offer the right support for her needs. Felicity died in 1993 from pneumonia aged 55.