Rose Robertson The organisation has its roots in 1965 when Rose Robertson (1916 - 2011), a former
World War II SOE agent set up Parents Enquiry, inspired by events she had seen whilst working with the
resistance in
occupied France. Rose was herself
heterosexual, her maiden name being Laimbeer, Rose had married George Robertson in 1954, he died in 1984. Rose launched Britain's first helpline to assist, inform and support parents and their lesbian, gay and bisexual sons and daughters three years before the
Sexual Offences Act 1967 decriminalised
homosexuality in
England and Wales in a period of severe
homophobia, when
LGBTQ+ people regularly experienced
prejudice,
harassment and
oppression. Rose used her own home and money to help young LGBTQ+ people in need.
Parents Enquiry Rose Robertson was receiving over 100 phone calls and letters a week from highly distressed gay teenagers, many of whom had self harmed. Rose often mediated between parents mostly successfully, who had rejected their own sons and daughters due to their child's sexuality. news papers and at the
Peter Tatchell Foundation. The Manchester Parents Group had produced a video introduced by Sir Ian McKellen in 1990 in which Rose Robertson appeared, one of the last surviving
VHS Video copies, although in worn condition was digitised by a volunteer in 1999 for preservation.
National Movement The helpline that Rose created ran for three decades and Rose's work inspired parents in various parts of the country to set up their own groups and helplines. Among the first were those in Manchester, Leicester and Scotland. By 1993 it was felt that there was a need for a national organisation to act as an umbrella group to support and co-ordinate the local groups and to respond to the increasing request for information from the media, social services and other organisations and individuals. and
Peter Tatchell. ==See also==