Sense tribute to the co-founder of the charity

The co-founder of the charity Sense, Peggy Freeman has died at the age of 94. She was one of the parents who helped to set up the National Deafblind and Rubella Association in 1955, the organisation which later became the charity Sense.

Born in Sutton Coldfield, she is survived by her four children, sons Ian and Robin, and daughters Ann, who lives in Australia, and Bunty, who is deafblind and lives a in a Sense residential home in Birmingham. Her late husband, Peter Freeman, died in April 1992. 

Peggy Freeman contracted Rubella in 1952 just before becoming pregnant with her fourth child, Bunty who was born on 29 January 1953. Doctors assured her that her baby would be alright but Bunty was born deaf, blind and with heart problems. Peggy had no one to turn to for help until a teacher of deaf children introduced her to other parents of deafblind children. 

She met another parent, Margaret Brock, whose son was similarly born with Congenital Rubella Syndrome and together they formally set up the first parents’ Rubella Group in 1955.  

The group began with ten founder families. Today Sense employs more than 3,000 staff and meets the needs of thousands of dual-sensory impaired people from babyhood to old age.

Gillian Morbey the chief executive of Sense and Sense International and president of Deafblind International said: “At a time when people thought deafblind children couldn’t be educated or live full lives Peggy battled, not only for her own daughter, but what has become the whole Sense family. She is our last great ‘trooper’ from the early days of Sense and will be sadly missed.”

Peggy Freeman received an MBE in 1967 for services to deafblind people for her role in co-founding Sense.