Blind veteran awarded for inspiring his community

Blind veteran Bob is “proud” to have been recognised with one of our Founders Awards for ‘inspiring his community’.

Military career

Bob, 86 and from Hampshire, was called up for National Service to the British Army at 18 years of age. He was trained as a signaller at Rhyll in North Wales and then moved to Aldershot where he completed the parachute selection.

He joined the 33rd Parachute Field Regiment Artillery and was dropped in Egypt during the Suez Crisis in November 1956. After this he returned to the UK and was retrained on 75mm Howitzers and was deployed to Aden. Bob was discharged as a Lance Bombardier in 1958.

Sight loss

After Bob’s service he was employed as a cartographer but retired in 1994 when his sight loss meant he could no longer continue. He started to lose his sight at 57 years old which was caused by damage to his optic nerves. He says:

“One day I said to my wife, 'I can see your eyes but where has the rest of you gone.' It was extremely frightening when it first happened."

Bob began receiving our support in 2004.

Bob's award

Bob was presented with his award for inspiring communities at our recent military dinner held at HMS Sultan in Gosport.

His Community Support Worker, Angie, says:

“When I first met Bob in 2019, he was running a regular lunch club for fellow blind veterans in the local area with the support of his wife Ann. For the last ten years, the couple have provided veterans with a lunch and great company. The only time the club didn’t run was during the Covid pandemic, but they were keen to get it up and running again as soon as possible."

Speaking about his award Bob says:

“This award means everything. It is a celebration of everything I have done over the past 20 years since becoming a blind veteran and I’ve done a lot over the years.

“I’ve always done voluntary work, I do anything I feel I can put the effort into, it’s just natural instinct to me to want to help and support others. I am very proud to have been recognised.”

Our Founders Awards mark the anniversary of the founding of Blind Veterans UK when Sir Arthur Pearson opened the doors to war-blinded veterans in 1915 for the very first time. They recognise the inspiring contributions of blind veterans and their family members who share the same boundless spirit as the charity’s founder.