“Preserving hidden histories"

Aim

The Goal We are raising £4,200 to support Phillipa Vincent-Connolly in completing her Master’s degree in Disability History

The Goal

We are raising £4,200 to support Phillipa Vincent-Connolly in completing her Master’s degree in Disability History with the Open University, beginning in October 2026.

This funding will help cover tuition fees, research costs, archival access, and study materials so Phillipa can complete a unique research project exploring local disability history and lived experience.

The Research Project

Phillipa plans to produce a micro-history thesis combining:

• Local history research

• Critical disability history

• Memoir and lived experience

• Archival investigation

Her project will explore the history of disability support and education before 1970, focusing on:

• The historical role of the Shaftesbury Society

• The history and legacy of the Victoria School for Disabled Children

• The lived realities of disabled children and families during the mid-20th century

• How social attitudes toward disability shaped education and community life

By bringing together archival research, personal insight, and critical scholarship, Phillipa aims to produce work that bridges academic research and lived experience.

This project will contribute to a growing movement within disability studies to ensure that disabled people’s histories are documented by those who understand them first-hand.

Why This Work Matters

Disability history has often been written about disabled people rather than with them.

Important local institutions, schools, and organisations that shaped disabled people’s lives remain under-documented or misunderstood.

Phillipa’s research aims to:

• Recover overlooked stories from local archives

• Examine how institutions shaped disabled childhood and identity

• Preserve community history before it is lost

• Connect historical research with contemporary disability advocacy

By combining academic research with lived experience, this project will bring a powerful and human perspective to disability history.

Funding Goal: £4,200

Your support will help cover the essential costs of completing this Master’s programme.

Tuition Contribution – £3,000
Helping fund the Master’s degree with the Open University.

Archival Research & Travel – £500
Visiting local archives, libraries, and historical collections.

Books & Study Materials – £350
Essential academic texts and research resources.

Writing & Research Costs – £350
Printing, document access, and thesis preparation.

Every contribution helps ensure this research can happen.

About Phillipa Vincent-Connolly

Phillipa Vincent-Connolly is a writer, researcher, public speaker, and disability advocate with a deep commitment to exploring and preserving disability history.

Her work focuses on how historical narratives shape modern perceptions of disability — and why it is important for disabled people to reclaim their own histories.

Through her studies with the Open University, Phillipa aims to deepen her research and produce meaningful work that connects:

• Local history

• Disability studies

• Personal narrative

• Community memory

Her Master’s thesis will not only contribute to academic knowledge but also serve as a resource for local historians, disability advocates, and future researchers.

Phillipa believes that understanding the past is essential to building a more inclusive future.

The Impact

Supporting this crowdfunder will help:

📚 Preserve overlooked disability history
🧠 Support disabled scholars and researchers
🏛 Document local institutions and community stories
🗣 Amplify lived experience within academic research

Your contribution helps ensure that important histories are not forgotten.

Join the Journey

By supporting this campaign, you are helping make an important piece of disability history possible.

Together, we can ensure these stories are researched, written, and shared with the world.

✨ Help Phillipa reach her £4,200 goal and bring this vital history to life.

This Master’s will allow Phillipa to document an important but often overlooked chapter of history — ensuring the voices and experiences of disabled people are preserved and shared.

This project closed unsuccessfully on 22nd April 2026