Remembrance 2024: Honouring their legacy
As a charity supporting thousands of ex-Servicemen and women, the National Service of Remembrance is one of the most important events in our annual calendar.
We commemorate the brave sacrifice of all those who lost their lives for their country. We also reflect on the huge challenges faced by veterans living with life-changing injuries from their time in service.
Our Remembrance campaign this year, Honouring their legacy, seeks to capture the stories of those who served, engaging both young and old in the tradition of Remembrance. It's so important to remember our history and ensure that the sacrifices of veterans are remembered by future generations.
We're here for our blind veterans whenever they need us, providing rehabilitation and training to help them back on their feet until they are living full lives again. For as long as it takes.
Whether it is veterans who have lost their sight in service of their country or those whose sight was lost off the battlefield, often due to age-related conditions, the same feelings of isolation and fear are common to all.
Help us give blind veterans the support they need to live independently.
"This year marks important anniversaries for our veterans, not least the 80th anniversaries of key battles that turned the tide of the Second World War and 25 years since Kosovo. With these in mind, we will be particularly thinking of all those tragically lost and wounded in these conflicts, and of their families."
Chief Executive
On Remembrance Sunday, 10 November, our blind veterans will come together to share their experiences and remember old friends and colleagues. We will be remembering those veterans we have supported who are no longer with us as well as all those who have given their lives in service of our country.
A proud contingent of over 80 blind veterans and guides will join the march past the Cenotaph in London, and many more will attend moving ceremonies in their own communities. You can read a selection of their stories below.
Meet Michael
"My wife and I would always watch on television but I've never marched before. It's going to be very special."
100-year-old Michael joined the Royal Air Force in 1943 and was a leading aircraftman flight mechanic working primarily on Lancaster Bombers for the remainder of WWII.
He went on to serve in the Middle East until he was demobbed in 1946. Much later in life, Michael started to struggle with his sight and he started to receive our support in 2021.
He says: “Losing my sight was very hard for me. I’ve always been very independent and being told I couldn’t drive or read the papers anymore was tough to hear. I’ve been given a special magnifier by Blind Veterans UK to help with the reading and I hope that means I can keep reading for longer.”
“I’ve never marched at the Cenotaph before. My wife and I would always watch it and the Festival of Remembrance on television but it’s so special that I’ll be there marching at 100-years-old.”
Meet Janet
"Remembrance is an opportunity to stop and think and to remind people why we don’t want war."
Janet will be marching past the Cenotaph alongside her 14-year-old great-grandson, Dillon, who is in the Air Cadets. She says: "I'll be so proud to have my great-grandson beside me holding my hand. Marching last year was fantastic and the feeling I got from the crowds really gave me a boost and I felt truly elated when marching along."
Janet spent two and a half years with the Royal Air Force, eventually becoming a senior aircraftwoman. It was later in life that she started to lose her sight to macular degeneration. Luckily the Air Force Association put her in touch with us and she has received our support ever since.
She says: "I joined up and haven’t looked back; they’ve done so much for me. I’ve been loaned a magnifier for reading letters, I have a white stick, and talking scales to help me in the kitchen as I like cooking. The support I’ve had has given me back some of my independence."
Meet Graham
“I plan to go to my local war memorial. I will remember all the brave souls who fought, they gave their all to give us back our freedom. Without them, we wouldn’t be living the life we are today.”
Graham served in the Coldstream Guards as a musician for ten years. He says: “My music is the love of my life and the reason I joined the Army. I was young, healthy and fit and wanted to play so the Army fitted the bill."
He started to gradually lose his sight due to macular degeneration in his 50s. He says: "When I discovered I was losing my sight, I worried I wouldn’t be able to play anymore but I can still play the piano as my hands know where the notes are; as long as I start in the right position, I will end in the right position.”
He started to receive our support in 2010 and says: “Blind Veterans UK has been invaluable to me through all the years of my sight loss, there has always been someone there to support me and to offer advice. The moral support from the charity is as important to me as the material equipment. The charity is the reason I am living the life I am today.”
Meet Stephen
"I sadly lost a number of colleagues during the Falklands campaign so I’ll be thinking of them. It’s so important that the sacrifices of those who died serving this country are not forgotten.”
Stephen entered the Parachute Regiment in 1982 and almost immediately was sent out to the Falklands when war broke out in April. During the Battle of Goose Green Stephen was shot twice through the head. When he woke up on the ambulance ship he was totally blind.
Fortunately, around ten years later he found out about our charity and started receiving support. He says: “I know Blind Veterans UK will always be there if I need them. If I need any help or advice, they always point me in the right direction.”
Remembering George
Everyone at Blind Veterans UK will never forget George, who was due to march past the Cenotaph with us this year, but sadly passed away on 19 October.
D-Day veteran George, then 19, was a torpedo boat gunner in the 59th Flotilla, tasked with escorting American forces to Omaha and Utah beaches.
On Remembrance Sunday and every day, we will remember him.
Remembrance podcast
In this special Remembrance 2024 podcast, four blind veterans supported by our charity, share their experiences of service and what Remembrance means to them. From World War II to the Falklands, join us in honouring their service.
D-Day
This year is the 80th anniversary of D-Day and to mark this special occasion we have captured the stories of several of our amazing D-Day veterans, in their own words.
This Remembrance Sunday please join us in remembering all those who sacrificed so much for our freedom.
Please give this Remembrance
Help us give blind veterans the support they need to live independently.
Need support this Remembrance?
We support veterans of all generations, regardless of how or when they lost their sight. If you or someone you know is struggling with sight loss and served in the Armed Forces at any time, including National Service, then please get in touch.
Read more
Military commemorations
As a military charity, commemorations are hugely important to us and our veterans. Find out about our events.
Gift a wreath
Gift a wreath so that blind veterans can be a part of Remembrance in their own communities.
Planning to remember
Plan an activity or event to ensure the fallen and those left behind are not forgotten.
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