UNIVERSITY of STIRLING Kenneth Pardey the WELFARE of the VISUALLY HANDICAPPED in the UNITED KINGDOM

UNIVERSITY OF STIRLING Kenneth Pardey THE WELFARE OF THE VISUALLY HANDICAPPED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM 'Submitted for the degree of Ph.D. December 1986 II CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements III Abstract v 1. Introduction: The history of the welfare of the visually handicapped in the United Kingdom 1 2. Demographic studies of the visually handicapped 161 3. The Royal National Institute for the Blind 189 4. The history and the contribution of braille, moon and talking books 5. St Dunstan's for the war blinded: A history and a critique ,9, 6. Organisations of the visually handicapped 470 7. Social service-a and rehabilitation 520 8. The elderly person with failing vision 610 9. The education of the visually handicapped 691 10. Employment and disability 748 11. Disability and inco1;-~e 825 Bibliography 870 III Acknowledgements I would like to thank the following people who either agreed to be interviewed or helped me to find some useful sources of information: Colin Low, Martin Milligan, Fred Reid, Hans Cohn, Jim Hughes, Janet Lovall, Jill Dean, Joan Hughes, Doreen Chaney and Elaine Bootman of the National Federation of the Blind; Michael Barrett, Tom Parker, Chris Hynes, Pat O'Grady, Frank Mytton, L. J. Isaac, George Slaughter, J. Nor mile and R. 0. Rayner of the National League of the Blind and Disabled; Donald Bell, Tony Aston, George T. Willson, B. T. Gifford, Neville Lawson and Penelope Shore of the Royal National Institute for the Blind; Timothy Cullinan of the Department of Environmental and Preventive Medicine of the Medical College of St Bartholomew's Hospital, University of London; Cliff Vawda of the City of Birmingham Social Services Department; Mary Todd of King's College Hospital, London; Margaret Ford, a social worker with West Sussex County Council; Patrick Phel~,· the Assistant Director, Royal School for the Elinci, Leatherhead; John Wall, Brian Eccles and Mary Lambert of the South Regional.Association for the Blind; Sally Robertson of the Disability Alliance; Astrid Klemz, a mobility officer for the blind in London; Elizabeth Wallis of the Spastics Society; Mary Guest of the British Retinitus Pigmentosa Society; Geoffrey W. Biggs of the National Mobility Centre, Birmingham; V. J. Scarr of the Disabled Living Foundation; David Clark-Carter of the Blind Mobility Research Unit at the University of Nottingham; David Grove of Shankland Cox; Miss Bronwen Rowlands of the Public IV Information Office at the House of Commons; Christopher Cloke, the Information Officer of Age Concern; David Castleton, the Public Relation's Officer of St Dunstan's; Jim Lidstone, Chairman of the Association of Visually Handicapped Telephonists; Mrs Emberton, a social worker with Hamps~ire Social Services Department; Kenneth Jernigan of the National Federation of the Blind of the United States; John Wiles of the Manpower Services Commission; the Labour Members of Parliament Laurie Pavitt and Alf Morris; J. E, Ross of the Eye Hospital, Oxford; S. Brightwell, the Cha.irman of the Croydon Voluntary Association for the Blind; Susan Clamp and Bob Mayho of the Association for the Education and Welfare of the Visually Handicapped; F. H. Castle, the General Secretary of the North Regional Association for the Blind; J. N. Innes of the Scottish National Federation for the Welfare of the Blind; Mr Ne al of the British Computer Association of the Blind; Mrs M. J. Deaper and Eric Heys of the Hampshire Association for the Cai:e of the Blind; Michael J. Tobin, Director of the Research Centre for the Education of the Visually Handicapped, at the University of Birmingham; and Christine Chin and Jennifer Oldershaw of the Reference Library of the Royal National Institute for the Blind. v Abstract The care of the blind is a long standing British tradition. Until the early years of the 20th century there was a strong dependence on voluntary enterprise. However, under the 1920 Blind Per sons Act local authorities assumed responsibility for the welfare of the blind in their areas, and after this a triple partnership between voluntary organisations, central government and local authorities became firmly established. By the mid-20th century, through a combination of voluntary and statutory endeavour, services for the welfare of the blind had reached a standard above that for any other handicapped group. The cornerstone of the service was the home teacher. How- ever, following the Seebohm Report, in 1971 the blind welfare system virtually lost its specialist service, and technical and mobility officers, along with generic social workers, became responsible for blind welfare. Services declined in many areas. More and better trained specialist workers are required. Social rehabilitation services could also be improved. However, the Royal National Institute for the Blind I s new development programme will help to improve the many services for which it is responsible. The blind could be helped in several other ways. The majority of blind people are elderly and doctors and others should use an outreach approach to help these people. Often simple modifications in home lighting can dramatically improve visual performance. The majority of the partially sighted with acuity in the range 3/ 60 - 6/ 60 should be redesignated registered blind. In this way more of them could be helped by the specialist VI organisations. Currently the blind do not receive a pension and a blindness allowance should be introduced to compensate them for the extra costs of blindness. The Thatcher Government'.s social security reforms will not help the blind substantially. It is essential that the blind are integra~ed into society, and a comprehensive programme of integrated education and a strengthened employment quota would help to achieve this. These are important components of a progressive social policy for the blind. 1 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION: THE HISTORY OF THE WELFARE OF THE VISUALLY HANDICAPPED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM In this long, introductory chapter I intend to examine in some detail the history of the welfare of the visually handicapped in the United Kingdom from the earliest times until the present day. This exercise will provide a useful introduction to subsequent chapters and will also help to set them in context. In blind welfare the main development has taken place in the 20th century, although the influences which determined its _origin and growth can be traced much further back and in this history I will concentrate on six main areas: first, I intend to examine voluntary action in what can be called the pioneer phase of blind welfare; second, I intend to consider social policy in the pioneer phase; third, I intend to examine the expansion of social policy for the visually handic~pped between the two world wars; fourth, I intend to -- look at volU?,tary organisations and their relations with statutory authorities between the wars; then, in the rest of the chapter I want to look at developments during the Second World War and, finally, developments since the war. Throughout I will attempt to show how services have developed and how the response to need has changed. I will now consider voluntary action in the pioneer phase under six broad headings: first, I will make some general observations; second, I will describe the contribution of the blind pioneers and the foundation of national voluntary organisations; third, I will consider voluntary activity in the area of education and the co-operation with 2 statutory bodies; fourth, I will consider the problem of co-ordination and the extension of community care; fifth, I will look at voluntary developments during the First World War and, finally. I will sum up the achievements and failures of private enterprise in the pioneer phase. Some general observations concerning voluntary action in the pioneer phase of blind welfare Even though the Elizabethan Poor Law Act of 1601 had established relief for the necessitous blind as a statutory duty, no comprehensive legislation for their welfare was passed until more than three centuries 1 later. However, in that period voluntary effort was active: in the 18th century, philanthropists were particularly concerned with helping the old and infirm by establishing pension schemes and almshouses for the blind. Much of the voluntary action in blind welfare was the result of local charitable effort to meet the personal needs of the destitute or the friendless. In the 19th century many of the local societies which sprang up had a religious basiJ, and people set out with a missionary zeal to read the Bible in every home in their area where a blind person could be traced. The volunteers soon discovered that spiritual aid was not the only call upon their devotion, and voluntary societies were constantly adding to their commitments as they found new needs. The objects of one of the first Indigent Blind Visiting Societies in London, which was established in 1834 by Lord Shaftsbury and Lord Ebury, gives some idea of the nature of their service: 'to assist and ameliorate the condition of the aged and destitute blind poor in London and its vicinity, by providing them with daily reading of the Scriptures at their habitations, with conductors to Church, and with temporal relief in necessitous cases. ,2 3 Later, when embossed literature became available, the visitors, many themselves blind, added the teaching of braille or moon type to their ever widening activities, and by the 1880's there were nearly 3 eighty Home Teaching Societies, some employing paid teachers. Many of the local voluntary societies provided pastime occupations and other amenities for the unemployable blind, and offered facilities for friendly social contacts. Most of the voluntary societies were dependent upon unpaid, sometimes irregular help and sometimes a society was kept going only by the vitality and enterprise of its secretary. This had serious consequences if a successor could not be found, occasionally leading to the foundering of the voluntary association.

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