South England news

The latest news for and from our blind veterans in the North of England including Lancashire, Yorkshire , Cumbria. and Northumberland. 

Lottery win and generous donation!

February 2024

A huge congratulations to blind veteran Jim on his recent big win in our weekly lottery!

Jim won the top prize of £1000 and in an incredible act of generosity, decided to donate £500 of his winnings back to our charity. He popped in to our Rustington Centre of Wellbeing to share the lucky news. Join us in saying a massive thank you to Jim!

Why not try your luck too? Enter our lottery now! - Play our Weekly Lottery today | Blind Veterans UK

Camaraderie and poignancy at the London Cenotaph march

November 2023

Our veterans gathered for Remembrance weekend as the nation remembers Korea and Iraq.

More than 40 Members marched at the Cenotaph in London on Remembrance in November, while others attended events at our centres or laid wreaths on our behalf at local events across the whole country. 

This year saw many important anniversaries for our veterans, not least the 20th anniversary since the invasion of Iraq and 70 years since the end of the Korean War.

The weekend in London started with a small gathering at the grave of our founder Sir Arthur Pearson for a service at 11:00 on Armistice Day. Member Brian Eldridge once again carried the standard at Hampstead Cemetery and the service was led by the local vicar.

The majority of those marching the following day then gathered for an informal reception at the Victory Services Club. It was a great opportunity for everyone to meet with old friends and make new ones. Many of the guides assisting our Members the next day were able to join too.  

Member Peter Kay made the extraordinary gesture of bringing handcrafted models of the Cenotaph, cut himself and painted by his wife, as a gift for every blind veteran marching.

Peter started receiving support from the charity in 2021. He says: “Before I lost my sight, I was really into woodwork and craft. I thought that was out of the window and was close to throwing all my tools away, but Blind Veterans UK has given me the confidence to rediscover my hobby and shown me there are ways to still do things, it may just take more time.”

His wife has created a Facebook page called ‘The Blind Artisan’ through which Peter is able to sell small woodturned and laser etched items similar to the Cenotaph models he created. He very kindly donates the profits to us.

On Remembrance Sunday our contingent gathered on Horse Guards Parade with wreaths being carried and laid by Dennis Smith and Mark Pile. Second World War veteran Dennis, who is 97, was marching at the Cenotaph for the very first time and described it as “the proudest day of his life”.

We have written in Review before about Mark and his brave battle with terminal cancer and many of you will have read about his skydive earlier this year to raise money for the charity. Mark also carried a wreath as he marched with his son Ben for the last time. He said: “Being at the Cenotaph this year was incredibly important to me, it gave me the opportunity to remember those who died in conflict one last time. 

“The overwhelming support from the nation as we march past is a truly special thing to experience. I’ve been told I don’t have long left so this was the last time I got to stand beside my fellow blind veterans and I was determined to be there."

Mark Vidler marched at the Cenotaph in London for the first time.  

Mark served with the 3rd Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment between 1984 and 1991.

It was later in life that Mark started to lose his sight following an operation to remove an orange-sized brain tumour from his pituitary gland. After two rounds of surgery, most of the tumour was removed but Mark’s peripheral vision was severely affected.

Fortunately, Mark found out about Blind Veterans UK last year. He says: “They’ve been amazing. My support worker Neil sorted me out with a laptop where everything on the screen is bigger than normal so I’m able to use it to do research and keep in touch with friends and family."

“It really was emotional, and as well as my mum I thought about my dad and grandad who was in the 8th Army as a desert rat during the Second World War, as well as my fallen comrades. It was an amazing experience and I can’t wait to do it again.”