One of the most un-sordid stories to come from World War One was the creation in London of St. Dunstan’s Hostel for Blinded Soldiers and Sailors . Up to 1914, no provision had been made for any special attention to retraining these young men. This vacuum was promptly filled by Arthur Pearson, a wealthy publisher blinded at a young age by glaucoma and retinal detachment. He built extensive facilities for the teaching of Braille and other skills aimed at making these veterans capable of independent living. A host of volunteers taught trades that included standard skills such as typing and shorthand, but also more unusual ones such as professional massage and even poultry farming. The ophthalmologist Arthur Lawson studied the 1833 men blinded up to the time of the Armistice and found a quarter of them suffered from non-traumatic causes, mainly lues and congenital disease, even though all had passed entrance physicals. St. Dunstan’s still exists as Blind Veterans UK , as does the Royal National Institute of Blind People , both private charitable organizations.

Submitted by Richard Keeler from the Cogan Ophthalmic History Society