Blind Veterans UK, formerly St Dunstan's, is a large British charity, providing free support and services to vision-impaired ex-servicemen and women and

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

personnel. Blind Veterans UK is a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

in England and Scotland and operates throughout the United Kingdom. It has its head office in London and centres in

Llandudno Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community (Wales), community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 UK census, the community � ...

and

Rustington Rustington is a village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex. Rustington is approximately at the midpoint of the West Sussex coast and midway between Chichester and Brighton. The A259 runs along the north of Rustington, west ...

Description

Established in 1915, Blind Veterans UK provides free services and lifelong support to ex-servicemen and ex-servicewomen who have visual impairments. Its specialist services promote and enable these veterans to regain their independence, meet new challenges and achieve a better quality of life. Blind Veterans UK supports anyone who has served in the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...

and is experiencing sight loss (be that due to age, accident or illness), and the charity's

duty of care In Tort, tort law, a duty of care is a legal Law of obligations, obligation that is imposed on an individual, requiring adherence to a standard of care, standard of Reasonable person, reasonable care to avoid careless acts that could foreseeab ...

extends to all beneficiaries and their families for life. Blind Veterans UK has pioneered many advances in care for the blind and partially sighted; for example, it co-developed the first talking books with the RNIB.

History

Blind Veterans UK was founded by Arthur Pearson, who had lost his sight due to

glaucoma Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that can lead to damage of the optic nerve. The optic nerve transmits visual information from the eye to the brain. Glaucoma may cause vision loss if left untreated. It has been called the "silent thief of ...

. Because of the increasing numbers of blind British soldiers returning from the front lines during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Pearson established a hostel for these soldiers as well as blinded sailors and airmen. The intention was that, with training and assistance, they could go on to lead productive lives and would not have to depend on charity. The Blinded Soldiers and Sailors Hostel's first location was in Bayswater Hill, London. Shortly after, the organisation moved to St Dunstan's Lodge in Regent's Park (the site of Winfield House), along with its first 16 members. The committee's work was praised by the London press at the time – a reference to the Lodge appeared in ''

The Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'', founded by Herbert Ingram and first published on Saturday 14 May 1842, was the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. The magazine was published weekly for most of its existence, switched to a less freq ...

'' in 1915, which said: "in a corner of London's most beautiful park is a house where miracles are worked." American opera singer Pauline Donnan worked with the newly blind soldiers there, teaching vocal techniques and assisting some in finding singing or teaching jobs. On Pearson's death in 1921, the chairmanship fell to Ian Fraser, who had been placed in charge of the charity's after-care activities by Pearson, providing assistance and social events such as reunion meetings for the blinded veterans after they had left the hostel in Regent's Park. Fraser had served during the First World War in the

King's Shropshire Light Infantry The King's Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in the Childers Reforms of 1881, but with antecedents dating back to 1755. It served in the Second Boer War, World War I, World War II and Korea ...

and was blinded by a bullet on the Somme. Having become generally known by the name of the building in which it was based, the organisation then formally changed its name to St Dunstan's in 1923. Fraser remained as chairman until his death in 1974. St Dunstan's opened its flagship training, convalescent, care and holiday centre in Ovingdean, Brighton, in 1938. The Brighton centre was one of the first buildings in Britain purpose-built for those with a disability and every aspect of its construction was specially designed for blind and partially sighted visitors and residents. Shortly after its opening, ''The Architect and Building News'' praised the centre's "magnificent views over the Downs and out to sea", as well as the thought that had gone into making the building ideal for the blind. The centre's residents included World War I veteran Henry Allingham, born 1896, who was briefly the oldest man in the world until his death in 2009. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the charity admitted those who had lost their sight through their work in the auxiliary services, women's services and munitions factories, besides service personnel from Poland, Netherlands, United States, Canada and South Africa. Due to concerns about potential air raids on Brighton during

the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

, the charity evacuated its operation from Brighton to the town of

Church Stretton Church Stretton is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, south of Shrewsbury and north of Ludlow. The population in 2011 was 4,671.

, Shropshire, where it occupied the Long Mynd HotelReport by Thomas Morton on unveiling of commemorative plaque. and other buildings, setting up an industrial training centre and a hospital. In 1946, it returned to Brighton. As of August 2023, the centre was moving again to

. The charity moved to its current

central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...

headquarters in Harcourt Street,

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

, in 1984. In 2000 the charity changed its constitution to allow veterans to join regardless of whether their sight loss was directly related to their service. In 2012, the charity formally became Blind Veterans UK, to help ensure the organisation and its work was "better recognised and understood".

Activities

Blind Veterans UK works to provide vision-impaired Armed Forces and National Service veterans with the services and tailored support they need to lead independent lives after sight loss. The charity's work ranges from helping veterans relearn vital life skills and providing them with the tools they need to be independent in their own homes, to offering new learning, training and recreation opportunities and providing long-term nursing, residential and respite care. It continues to assist veterans blinded in service, including men and women deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2012, Blind Veterans UK launched its No One Alone campaign to find people who are unaware that they may be eligible for its assistance. Research from the charity estimated that there are many thousands of ex-Service men and women in the UK who are eligible for its support. Blind Veterans UK runs a wide variety of activities from its centres in Rustington and

, including photography, gardening and arts and crafts. Blind Veterans UK has a long-running writing competition, with those supported by the charity submitting their own original stories. The competition has had celebrity judges in the past, including Doctor Who star

Jon Pertwee John Devon Roland Pertwee (; 7 July 1919 – 20 May 1996), known professionally as Jon Pertwee, was an English actor. Born into a theatrical family, he became known as a comedy actor, playing Chief Petty Officer Pertwee (and three other roles) in ...

. The charity also has a sporting reputation, organising blind sports like

goalball Goalball is a team sport designed specifically for athletes with a visual impairment, vision impairment. Participants compete in teams of three, and try to throw a ball with bells embedded inside it into the opponents' goal. The ball is throw ...

as well as conventional sports such as shooting, archery and rock-climbing. Two representatives of Blind Veterans UK, Tony Parkinson and Ray Peart, participated in the 1976 Toronto Paralympics. Some Blind Veterans UK representatives have participated in extreme sports, including Billy Baxter, who holds the world record for fastest blind motorcyclist, and has served as the official Town Crier of

, North Wales by Llandudno Town Council since 2014. In 2018, a former

Royal Marine The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

, Steve Sparkes, became the first blind person to row the Pacific Ocean.

References

External links

Official website
{{Coord missing, East Sussex 1915 establishments in the United Kingdom Blindness organisations in the United Kingdom Brighton and Hove British veterans' organisations Charities based in London Charities for disabled people based in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1915

Description

History

Activities

References

Further reading

External links