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Thank you, everyone. Gladys was married to Herbert Parr. I have no copies of any certificates. I am doing this research for my friend partly as a favour and partly out of interest, having done so much on my own tree over the years. It is nice to do something different for a change. I have asked him to ask his extended family for copies of any certificates they may have.  I have put the tree on my Ancestry account if anyone wants to have a look. I will try to get some more information and put it on here. Many thanks again for your helpful replies.
Liz 

Thanks very much, Maudarby.  He sounds charming, doesn't he? My Isaac was a farmer and born about 1781, so thankfully it doesn't sound as if this is the same one!  Phew! The family escutcheon escapes unblemished!

 

Hello Slightly Foxed, very sorry about the long delay replying - only 3 years! I keep forgetting my password etc and it gets embarrassing having to keep asking for a new one! I remembered it by sheer luck this time.

I will ask my mother in law about Rev thingumybob.

 

Thank you, Lydart and Lady Di - I am not sure how much difference this lady could have made if she had fought for her rights to an education, a job and I really doubt she would have felt able to actively look out for a husband.  Even yesterday, when I asked her why she had never married, she was surprised and answered "Who'd want me with a gammy leg??"  Even so, I think it's attitude that counts and it seems everyone around her, family, friends, acquaintances, all simply accepted that this was how it was going to be.  Just one person refusing to accept the status quo might have made a difference.   

Can anyone tell me how long people have been campaigning against disability discrimination please?  I'm doing a writing course and for my current assignment I interviewed a 99 year old lady yesterday. This lady contracted polio aged 5 (she is now in her 90s) and has had to wear callipers ever since.  She told me, quite matter of factly, "In those days, if you were disabled, you were nothing," and went on to explain that everyone assumed she would never be much good for anything, so she was pretty much written off.  She sat no exams, never had a job and worst of all, from her point of view, she never got married and had children.  It was just always assumed that in spite of being able to travel around on her own, on foot and on public transport, in spite of being fit enough to help her mother with her younger siblings, somehow she was not good enough to study, take an exam, or look after a family of her own.  Can you tell I'm a bit peeved?? 

I've been looking for some sort of history of disability discrimination to use as research for this and further writing and would be really grateful for any advice or input.

thanks,

Mrs Lizzy