A 92-YEAR-old blind veteran from Urmston who had no plans this Christmas is looking forward to celebrating it with national military charity Blind Veterans UK.

Beatrice Brook will celebrate the festive period with other vision-impaired former service men and women supported by Blind Veterans UK.

Beatrice, who served in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), will be visiting the charity’s training and rehabilitation centre in Llandudno.

Beatrice said: “I am really looking forward to spending Christmas with Blind Veterans UK. The staff at the Llandudno centre are very warm and welcoming. They know me well there and we always have a laugh when I visit.”

Unable to join the Royal Air Force, Beatrice joined the WAAF in 1950 and served for eight years, until her unit disbanded. She worked in radar with the City of Manchester Flight Control Unit and was deployed to Germany twice.

Beatrice said: “I was a bit of a tomboy growing up. During the war I studied electrical engineering at night school while working and I was the only woman in that class.

"I have always been fascinated by how things work, so back then I wanted to become an engineer in the RAF. It was a bit unusual at the time for a girl to do that sort of thing.”

Beatrice was part of a unit that supported the RAF squadron linked to Manchester University. The women in her unit used information they received from radar to plot routes for the pilots. She was discharged as a flying officer in 1958.

Beatrice added: “My job in the WAAF was exciting and I loved it. It was similar to working in air traffic control and at one point my squadron directed fighter jets. There was such camaraderie among the women in my unit. The friendships I made in the Forces were very special.”

It was 10 years ago that Beatrice started to lose her sight to age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of sight loss in adults.

Beatrice said: “I was driving home after visiting friends when I noticed that my vision was getting worse. I thought I could see a big mechanical crane in a field but then I blinked and it disappeared. I realised I was seeing something that wasn’t there.”

Beatrice went to her opticians straight away and was given a diagnosis. Over the next few years her sight continued to deteriorate.

It was during a visit from her adult social services team that Beatrice found out about Blind Veterans UK. A social worker saw a photo of Beatrice with her squadron and asked her if she had ever served.

Beatrice was referred to Blind Veterans UK and started to receive support in 2010. She has been given specialist equipment to help her adapt to life with sight loss and she goes to the charity’s reunion in Manchester every year.

Beatrice said: “The best thing that Blind Veterans UK has given me is the opportunity to go away and stay at their centres. The Llandudno centre is beautiful and I enjoy being able to meet other veterans in my position.”

Every year Blind Veterans UK invites former service men and women who are at risk of being alone for Christmas to spend the week at one of the charity’s training and rehabilitation centres.