Blind Veterans UK

Blind Veterans UK, formerly St Dunstan's, is a large national charity in the United Kingdom, providing free support and services to vision impaired ex-Armed Forces and National Service personnel in the UK.

Blind Veterans UK is a registered charity in England and Scotland and operates throughout the United Kingdom. It has its head office in London and centres in Brighton, Sheffield and in Llandudno, Wales.

Established in 1915, Blind Veterans UK provides free services and lifelong support to vision-impaired ex-Service men and women. Its specialist services promote and enable vision-impaired 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 Forces and is experiencing sight loss (be that due to age, accident or illness) and the charity’s duty of care extends to all beneficiaries and their families for life.

Blind Veterans UK was founded by Arthur Pearson, who had himself lost his sight due to glaucoma. Because of the increasing numbers of British soldiers returning from the front lines during the First World War suffering from blindness, Pearson established a hostel for these soldiers as well as blinded sailors and airmen. His intention was that, with training and assistance, they could go on to lead productive lives and would not have to depend on charity.

The hostel's first location was in Bayswater Hill, London. Shortly after, the organisation moved to St. Dunstan’s Lodge in Regent's Park, 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 in 1915, which said: "in a corner of London's most beautiful park is a house where miracles are worked."

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 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.

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