| Every person alive today owes a debt of gratitude | | | | thigh. I heard a sergeant saying: 'He's had it', and in |
| to the brave men and women, who served in World | | | | the best army language I could muster, I told him I |
| War Two. Many sacrificed their lives, others were | | | | hadn't." |
| maimed and injured in battle, or on the home front. | | | | |
| St Dunstans is a charity founded in 1915, to help blind | | | | Norman was moved to hospital in Alexandra, on |
| and visually impaired ex-servicemen to re-build their | | | | December 6th, 1941, aged only 21. After five weeks, |
| lives. Below is the life experience of Norman Perry . | | | | he came to Orribay, where he met the secretary |
| One of the many ex-servicemen and women,who | | | | chairwoman of the local St Dunstan's group, on the |
| have benefited from the kind generosity of the | | | | lookout for potential St Dunstaners. He was given |
| people who support St Dunstans. | | | | the choice of coming back to the UK, or going across |
| | | | | to Capetown, and opted for the latter. |
| Norman Perry was only 18 years old when he | | | | |
| became gun sergeant, with his own gun and gun | | | | The ex-secretary of St Dunstan's founder (Sir Arthur |
| crew. He was two years too young to go overseas | | | | Person) ran the training centre in Capetown at which |
| and was posted to Borden as a drill instructor. | | | | Norman stayed. He became involved in activities like |
| | | | | joinery, telephony, braiding, tennis, typing and Braille. |
| "That wasn't my idea of a war. I had a word with | | | | He also visited Johannesburg to go dancing, as part |
| my RSM who told me to put in for a transfer back. I | | | | of his treatment. |
| did, and three months later I was in France with my | | | | |
| old regiment." | | | | At St Dunstan's suggestion Norman begain training as |
| | | | | a physiotherapist in Capetown. He returned to |
| Norman fought in Lilles and Ypres before landing in | | | | England in 1943 to finish his training at St Dunstan's |
| Newport in Belgium. Separated from his gun crew, | | | | wartime centre, Church Stretton. From there, he |
| and the rest of his regiment during a minor skirmish, | | | | moved to the RNIB phyisotherapy school in London. |
| Norman and ten other men moved to Dunkirk, | | | | |
| volunteering to carry stretcher cases from the | | | | Norman married his childhood sweetheart and |
| ambulances to the hospital ship. | | | | became a physiotherapist. He ran the physiotherapy |
| | | | | department at Grimsby Hospital for 30 years, building |
| "The atmosphere on the beaches was warm and | | | | up the department from two to eight qualified |
| sunny - it was beautiful weather. There was no panic | | | | physiotherapists. |
| there, at all. The town was a mass of rubble though | | | | "With their physiotherapists, St Dunstan's didn't just |
| - it had been badly done over." | | | | say - you're trained, right that's it, you're on your |
| | | | | way. They would organise two courses a year for |
| In 1941 Norman was shipped out the Middle East, | | | | you to attend, to keep you up to date with all the |
| beginning a period of fighting all over the world. He | | | | new equipment and techniques that were going on." |
| remembers battles in Iraq, Suez, Egypt, Libya and | | | | |
| the Western Deserts: | | | | Norman was also involved with the sports teams at |
| | | | | St Dunstan's, going to West Berlin in 1974 and 1978 |
| "The trouble with desert warfare - for both sides - is | | | | to participate in international skiing, and implementing |
| that there is nowhere to hide. It was very thrilling to | | | | archery events at St Dunstan's. Norman still shoots |
| look from the position that I was in then, fairly high | | | | with St Dunstan's archery club, sweeping the board |
| ground, wide open spaces and stretching way out to | | | | at major championships. |
| my left in a big arc, running north, I could see all the | | | | |
| guns." | | | | After reading about Norman Perry`s life. Don`t you |
| | | | | feel proud that our country had such brave and |
| It was during one of these battles, in the Sahara, | | | | courageous men in it`s darkest day`s. I know I felt a |
| that Norman lost his sight, when the Germans | | | | little ashamed of my own petty credit crunch worries |
| attacked with trench mortars: | | | | and problems in life. Because they don`t seem so bad |
| | | | | after all, compared to the struggles of people like |
| "I was directing a gun teller, when I got one piece of | | | | Norman. If you want to help people like Norman. |
| metal in each eye at the same time. That spun me | | | | There is a link to the St Dunstan`s donation |
| round, and something big hit me in the back. When I | | | | web-page below. Please give generously. I thank you |
| dropped, I got some more bits and pieces in the right | | | | in advance for your kind generosity. |