About us

We help blind veterans to live a life beyond sight loss

Who we are

We're Blind Veterans UK, formerly St Dunstan's, and we believe that no one who's served our country should battle blindness alone.

That's why we're here to help with a lifetime's practical and emotional support, regardless of when people served or how they lost their sight. We get our members back on their feet, recovering their independence and discovering a life beyond sight loss.

What we do

We give all blind veterans access to the finest quality of services to help them discover life beyond sight loss. This includes providing lifelong welfare support, rehabilitation, training, long-term nursing, residential and respite care.

Our birth

Sir Arthur Pearson, who owned the Evening Standard and founded the Daily Express, established a charity in 1915 which became known as St Dunstan's. Having lost his own sight through glaucoma, he was shocked at society's attitude to blindness. He decided to help those who had lost their vision in the recent First World War by giving them the care and rehabilitation they needed to lead constructive, self-sufficient lives.

Blind Veterans UK today

Nearly a century later, St Dunstan's has become Blind Veterans UK. We not only care for ex-Service men and women blinded in action, but for veterans who have lost their sight through accident, illness or old age.

We've changed our name to help more people understand who we are and what we do, so we can continue to help blind veterans for another century - especially with the influx of admissions from service men and women blinded in Iraq and Afghanistan.

To find out more about our services to members, please download our Service User's Guide.

How we help blind veterans

We help blind ex-Service men and women lead independent and fulfilling lives by supporting them with our expertise, experience and full range of services.

We give veterans much-needed support to adjust to sight loss, overcome the challenges of blindness and enjoy daily life. Our charity has been offering physical and emotional support to vision impaired members of our military since 1915.