Fife war veteran reconnected with Navy heritage thanks to charity

A Fife war veteran with sight loss has reconnected with his Royal Navy heritage thanks to a specialist video magnifier from charity Scottish War Blinded.

Jim Thompson (95), has age-related macular degeneration, an eye condition, which has left him struggling to read.

In World War Two Jim served in Gibraltar working on the signalling tower and then in contraband control with the Royal Navy Patrol Service for two-and-a-half years. He then undertook minesweeping duties in the Bristol and English Channels until he was demobbed in 1946.

The father-of-two has always kept in touch with his Navy roots, and was frustrated to find his sight condition was making it difficult to read his monthly Navy News magazine.   

But since becoming a member of Scottish War Blinded last year, Jim has been receiving expert support from the charity’s rehabilitation team.

Now kitted out with an Optelec Traveller HD video magnifier – a portable, lightweight device that can zoom in on text and change colour contrast to suit reader requirements –  Jim is delighted to be enjoying his Navy memorabilia once more.

Jim, who lives in Dalgety Bay, said: “I have a black spot in the centre of my eye that I can’t see with, but I can get a picture in my peripheral vision. In my right eye I have cataracts.

“I get the Navy News magazine which I like reading, I like keeping up to date with what’s going on. But I was trying to use a handheld magnifier to read it and I was struggling for ages until it ended up tiring my eyes.

“Now that I’ve got the Traveller with the stand I can read it again. The magnifier’s perfect for me, I’m enjoying it. It’s been a lifesaver. I get a lot of letters so it helps me to read those too.”

Fiona McCormick, Scottish War Blinded Rehabilitation Officer, assessed Jim at home, and worked closely with him to establish the ideal specialist equipment to help him maintain his independence – including the Traveller HD and specialist portable lighting. All provided free of charge by the charity.

Jim said: “Fiona’s been very good. She came to visit me at home with a range of pieces of equipment to try out and the support I’ve been receiving from her has been lovely. I can’t fault it. 

“Scottish War Blinded have also set me up with the Freedom LED lamp, I think it’s brilliant. The brighter it is, the better it is for my sight. I have a smaller one too. I use that for smaller work, it complements some handheld magnifiers I have.

“The charity also gave me suitable anti-glare glasses as well to help when the sun it out. I just think all the help I’m getting is brilliant. Some of this equipment can be quite expensive, but there’s Scottish War Blinded helping me with it for free.

“I hope my sight doesn’t get worse, but I know Scottish War Blinded will have things to help me if it does.

“The support and access to specialist equipment is important because it gives you more interests in your life.”

Jim hopes getting to grips with new specialist equipment will also help him to carry on engaging with some of his other interests, such as natural history.

As well as expert advice from Scottish War Blinded’s rehabilitation team, the charity’s free support also means that he has support from one of its two outreach workers for Fife, Stephen Greig. 

The veteran also enjoyed a reunion lunch at the Balbirnie House Hotel, Markinch, for the charity’s Fife-based veterans with sight loss last year.

He says he is looking forward to getting involved with more Scottish War Blinded events in 2020.

Scottish War Blinded gives free support to former servicemen and women of all ages, no matter if they lost their sight during or after service.

Visit www.scottishwarblinded.org or call 0800 035 6409 to refer a veteran to the charity.