The history of Herts Vision Loss

As a result, a Royal Commission was set up to consider the condition of the blind and the deaf. Its results were presented in 1889 and although many of its findings were not heeded for many years, it did result in the compulsory education of blind children after 1890. In 1914, shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, a debate took place in the House of Commons and the following resolution was carried without division: “that in the opinion of this House, the present system of voluntary effort in aid of blind people of this country does not adequately meet their necessities and that the State should take provision whereby capable blind people might be made industrially self-supporting, and the incapable and infirm be maintained in a proper and humane manner”. Less than two months after this debate, the President of the Local Government Board appointed a Departmental Committee “to consider the present condition of the blind in the United Kingdom, and the means available for (a) their industrial and professional training and (b) their assistance, and to make recommendations”. From this background, the Hertfordshire Society for the Blind was formed.

The Elizabethan Poor Law Act of 1601 stated that “The father and grandfather, mother and grandmother, and the children, of every poor, old, blind, lame and impotent person…..shall, at their own charges, relieve and maintain every such poor person.” However, for more than two hundred and sixty years after this, it would appear that the blind were not specifically referred to in law. The 18th Century saw the invention of Braille and the adoption of the concept of volunteering, to help the needy in society, particularly the blind. Many benevolent men and women left sums of money for blind widows and “maidens, not less than thirty” for “persons of sober life and conversation” and for those who could produce from ministers or churchwardens, “certificates of good fame for honesty and sobriety”.

In 1874, the Charity Organization Society set up a special committee to consider what more could be done to promote the welfare of the blind. All agencies for the blind were consulted and the resulting report was far-sighted and valuable. Ahead of its time, it advocated state aid for the blind and urged the Government to hold a full enquiry into their condition “with a view to ameliorating their general condition, and enabling them…to become active, useful and happy members of society”.

By 1915, some members of the Committee that would set up the Society had been working for some time with an organisation known as the Metropolitan and Adjacent Counties Association for the Blind (MACAB). Following a meeting in the Drawing Room at the Old Rectory in Hatfield in 1915, the Society became independent. The person who appears to be the driving force was the Venerable Kenneth Gibbs, who chaired the Committee until his death in 1935. At this time, it was the duty of the Society to act as almoner for monies paid specifically to blind persons on the local Register. As there were no formal benefits, each blind person needed to be assessed on their needs and means by a group of volunteers known as Honourable Representatives. They reported their findings to the Committee, who then decided whether or not to pay.

As doctors and opthalmists had to be paid for and the majority of blind people could not afford the fee, it is hardly surprising that the Register was small. However, it was soon decided that the Society would pay for the sight test where necessary and the Register then quickly grew. Government money was paid to the Society via MACAB, based on the number of blind persons on the Register. Further funds came from donations and collections via the NIB and the London Association for the Blind. Legacies became an important source of income and continue to be so.

The next major event to take place was the introduction of the 1920 Blind Persons Act. This provided funding from the Ministry of Health to the County Councils and from them to the local blind Societies and Associations. All blind persons were then eligible for the Old Age Pension at age 50 instead of the statutory age of 70, which was the first recognised benefit for blind people. This Act also set up the scheme for Home Teaching, in which all blind people were to be offered the chance to learn Braille or Moon. This would enable them to read and also to learn a craft, such as basket weaving or piano tuning, which could be learned at home or at special training schools and from which they could earn a living. The Home Teacher’s role was a cross between the current day Sensory Impairment Team and the Society’s Outreach Worker; it was also the first paid post in the Society other than the Secretary/CEO. Home Teaching remained an important part of the work done by the Society until 1962, when the service was absorbed into the Social Work Team. At this time there were seven Home Teachers covering the county, equivalent to the number of staff on the Sensory Impairment Team at full strength! The 1920 Blind Persons Act was updated in 1938, where the qualifying age for the Old Age Pension for blind people was further reduced to age 40.