With only a week to go till the London 2012 Paralympics begin, we thought we would take a moment and remember past Blind Veterans UK members who participated in a wide range of sporting activities long before the formal beginnings of the Paralympics.

The term Paralympic was first officially used at the 1988 games, however the first Olympics which brought together athletes who were blind, amputees and in wheelchairs was that in Toronto in 1976, at which past Blind Veterans UK  member Tony Parkinson and current member Ray Peart took part. Also did you know that the birthplace of the Paralympic movement is usually recognised as Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire where Sir Ludwig Guttman organised the 'Stoke Mandeville Games' for Second World War veterans, however Blind Veterans UK has had a pioneering role of using organised competitive sports as a form of rehabilitation.

Read the full story here on our blog.

Be sure to check out our Flickr feed below for interesting photos we uncovered from the archive!