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| Leaflet Name + Description |
Download Link |
| Leaflet about the story of BlindVoice UK |
Download in PDF 6.0 |
| Reflecting on
Marilyn Clenaghan’s
Oral History
Interview |
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| Louis Braille, one of the truly great men of all
time, died a hundred years ago, unknown to the
world. But his simple "touch" alphabet of raised
dots for reading and writing by the blinddeveloped
when he was only 16- has since
spread his name to every corner of the earth
and unlocked the once hopeless doors of
darkness for millions of the world's sightless. |
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| Moorfields Eye
Hospital - With the formation of the NHS in 1948,
Moorfields lost its status as a voluntary hospital
and in 1956 was officially named as 'Moorfields
Eye Hospital'. This document explains about the hospital. |
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| Interviewers
and
Transcribers
Reflections; Val Hydes - Interviewer, Marilyn Clenaghan -
Interviewer & Heather Campbell -
Audio Transcriber |
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| North Riding
Infirmary - The brand new North Riding Infirmary opened in
triumph in June 1864 with four main wards each with
12 beds. |
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| David Abraham
&
The Perkins Brailler:- David Abraham came to Perkins by a circuitous
route. Born in Liverpool, England, he was a
member of the Royal Flying Corps during World
War I. In the Corps, Abraham learned about
mechanics and the need for precision and
accuracy. |
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| Helen Keller: The story of Helen Keller is the story of a child
who, at the age of 19 months, suddenly lost her
hearing and vision, and who, against
overwhelming odds and with a great deal of
persistence, grew into a highly intelligent and
sensitive woman who wrote, spoke, and labored
incessantly for the betterment of others. |
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| Blindness Through the Decades
The Oral History of Sight Loss in the
Tees Valley from 1945 to date. |
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| My Story
by
Jim Smallwood: Born in 1928, and lost my sight on the 24th November 1940 – a day
before my twelfth birthday. It was an accident and I suffered an
immediate loss of sight and was admitted to the North Riding Infirmary
for emergency operative treatment. |
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| BlindVoice UK
What is Oral History? Oral History offers a unique view of the
past. What makes Oral History
distinctive is that a story is being told. |
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| Sunderland Eye
Infirmary: Established in June 1836 as the Sunderland and
North Durham Eye Infirmary, the hospital
commenced life as a single room in High Street
East, Sunderland. |
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| Teesside & District
Society for the Blind: Revival after the war. The Institute’s Social
Club, which was run by its own Sub-Committee,
was closed on 18 July 1940 because of wartime
restrictions. It only met on Thursday nights and
the blackout that was introduced during the
war made it too dangerous for blind people to
travel there during the evenings – even though
most blind people lived in a permanent
blackout. |
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| Thomas Rhodes
Armitage: Blind people in all parts of the world owe a
great debt to Louis Braille, but those in Britain
hardly owe less to Thomas Rhodes Armitage; for
it was through his tireless energies that the
embossed type which bears Braille's name was
popularised in this country. |
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| My History 1945/1975
by
Tom Barbour: In 1945 I was 18 years old and had been working as a telephonist at J.
Newhouse Ltd., a departmental store which occupied part of the site
where Debenhams stands today in Middlesbrough. I commenced my
employment there in 1943 and so was probably the first blind
telephonist in the area. |
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| Extract taken from
The Unesco Courier March 1952: The Blind are Achieving a
Fuller Role in Everyday Life
by
Pierre HENRI |
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January 16th 2009 saw the launch event of the Oral History project “Blindness through the Decades from 1945 - present day”. This project charted the history and experiences of local people with sight loss since 1945. It is a fascinating mine of information about such things as hospital treatments, domestic life, employment and education. The event was held at Preston Hall where the exhibition will start its journey with Museums on the Move.
We would like to thank the interviewers, who had a great time listening to our interviewees. They did a marvellous job and the interviewees made the project come alive with their experiences. The interviews are available on CD and will soon be available through BlindVoice’s website.
Blindness through the Decades
