Blind 101-year-old veteran to march at Cenotaph

37 minutes ago

Catherine EvansLondon

It will be the first time the former air mechanic will join the parade

Blind Veterans UK Gwynneth Pedler, an elderly lady with wavy white hair tied back, is wearing a yellow and white striped jumper, large dark-rimmed glasses and a silver chain necklace. She is smiling at the camera and holding a blue and red medal proudly. She appears to be sat in her living room, in a beige striped armchair. — It will be the first time the former air mechanic will join the parade

A blind 101-year-old World War Two veteran is preparing to march at the Cenotaph for the first time on Remembrance Sunday.

Gwynneth Pedler, from Dulwich, south-east London, will join more than 40 other blind veterans in honour of their fallen comrades.

Pedler joined the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) in 1944 and was posted to Crail, near St Andrews, where she worked as an air mechanic. She cleaned and maintained the guns used by airmen who were learning to drop torpedoes.

"I couldn't believe it when they told me what I was going to do," she said.

"I knew nothing about air mechanics and I'd never even done any DIY. It was important work, and it brought us close to the realities of training.

"Sometimes the young airmen hadn't quite got the hang of swooping away and ended up in the sea, which was very sad."

As a young woman during World War Two, Gwynneth Pedler looked after the guns used in training operations

Gwynneth Pedler A black and white photograph showing a young woman with dark hair looking shyly at the camera as she sits at a desk in an office. She is wearing a dark knee-length skirt and matching blazer. Her hands are clasped together and she looks slightly nervous. There is a lamp on the desk and behind on the wall a handbag is hung from a hook. — As a young woman during World War Two, Gwynneth Pedler looked after the guns used in training operations

In her 50s, Pedler started to lose her sight to glaucoma and now has no sight in her left eye and very little in her right.

"It's very hard when you lose your sight," she said.

"You're constantly having to ask people to help you with things you never needed before. I can't tie my shoelaces and can't see the words I've written down."

She receives support from Blind Veterans UK and said she was proud to be joining them on this year's parade.

"Remembrance means a great deal to me," she said.

"It goes back through my family's history to my two uncles who were killed at the Somme in World War One.

"Every year my mother would take me to Westminster Abbey to remember them, and that sense of remembrance has stayed with me throughout my life. It's something I have always felt deeply connected to.

"I'm very proud to be part of the Remembrance parade. For many years I've watched it on television, and now I have the privilege of taking part myself.

"It's so important that we continue to remember those who sacrificed their lives for us."

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