My father, Peter Gosnell, who has died aged 96, spent a lifetime confounding perceptions of disability. He maintained his interest in art, history, music, sport and travel, campaigned in a conservation battle and, while working in government service, was at the forefront of the drive for equal employment rights in the 1950s.
Peter joined the civil service in 1951 as a braille shorthand typist in the then Ministry of Housing and Local Government. He had been registered as a blind person two years earlier. He was one of the first six braillists to apply for promotion, of whom three were successful. Peter was the first to be placed in a post as secretary. He continued to blaze a trail and rose to be executive officer in the staff training division.
