It is a sign of the times that the name "St Dunstan" does not have the resonance it did when many of us were younger. One cannot argue with the charity's decision to change to "Blind Veterans UK" which conveys its aims directly. One other side-benefit is that that distasteful Noel Coward joke will lose currency.
Whatever the name, the demands on the charity continue to increase. As fundraiser Kirsten Munro pointed out in a recent letter, "Growing numbers of ex-service men and women are now experiencing age-related blindness, and younger soldiers are still returning home with eye injuries sustained in current conflicts. We anticipate that this year we will have record numbers of veterans using our services."
There is a Welsh connection in that one of the charity's three support centres (the other two are in Sheffield and Brighton) is in Llandudno.
2 comments:
"....We anticipate that this year we will have record numbers of veterans using our services."
Quite a legacy for Blair's wish for this country to go to war on what turns out to be no evidence of weapon's of mass distruction.
It is more likely that the majority of these injuries were sustained in Afghanistan, and in a way are a tribute to advances in military casualty services. More people are coming home, albeit injured, who in earlier times would not have survived.
Post a Comment