BLINDED SOLDIERS AND SAILORS. [To one EDITOR or see Simms:W . ]
Sze.,—Will you allow me to tell your readers of plans which have been made to care for and help soldiers and sailors who have been blinded in the war P And may I begin by stating that the King and Queen and the Prince of Wales have all expressed their warm approval of and sympathy with the steps which have been taken? The Blinded Soldiers' and Sailors' Care Committee (the members of which are the Hon. Arthur Stanley, Dr. A. W. G. Ranger, Miss E. W. Austin, Mr. P. Tindal Robertson, Mr. Henry Stainsby, and myself) have been so fortunate as to secure, through the generosity of Mr. Otto Kahn, the loan of St. Dunstan's, Regent's Park, as a temporary home for these unlucky fellows. St. Dunetan's is an ideal house for the purpose, as it is very commodious, has separate quarters for officers, and possesses fourteen acres of grounds which open into Regent's Park. Structural alterations unfortunately prevent the immediate occupation of St. Dunstan's, and Mrs. Lewis Hall has been so kind as to place 6 Bayswater Hill at the disposal of the Committee for the present.
Here, and later at St. Dunstan's, the men will learn to be blind. They will receive instruction in Braille reading, type- writing, and other things which help a blind man to make good. But the Blinded Soldiers' and Sailors' Hostel will not be a mere school or institute. Instruction will be varied by amusement ; many of the popular favourites of stage and music-hall have promised to help at the free-and-easy entertainments which will take place every evening, and many noted speakers and public men have promised to lunch at the hostel, and give a short talk afterwards on everyday topics. Walks and motor drives will be part of the daily round. An open-air club will teach those of the men who wish to live in the country poultry-farming, marketing, small- culture, and way-finding. Leading men and women of the blind world, both sighted and sightless, have promised their advice and co.operation. The hostel is being supported jointly by the Red Cross Society, the Order of St. John, and the National Institute for the Blind.
The National Relief Fund has given a preliminary grant of
25,000 to be spent in training and placing its inmates in suit- able occupations. There is no need, therefore, to make an appeal to the generous public for subscriptions to defray the general expenses involved, but contributions to a special fund for providing the men with typewriters, writing-frames, and other expensive apparatus are asked for, and the Secretary will gratefully acknowledge any sums sent towards this purpose.
The staff consists of members of voluntary aid detachments, under the supervision of a trained matron. Sufficient assist- ance for immediate requirements, both with regard to teaching and relaxation, is forthcoming, but the Secretary will be glad to hear from persona who would like to take the blinded soldiers for motor rides, and the regular loan of one or more cars for the use of the staff will be most gratefully accepted.
Chairman, Blinded Soldiers' and Sailors' Cars Committee,
6 Bayswater Hill, S.W.
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