An 87-year-old blind veteran from Buckinghamshire is set to climb Ben Nevis to mark Armed Forces Day.
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John Banfield, from Milton Keynes, will take on the challenge of scaling the highest mountain in the British Isles on 27 June to raise money for Blind Veterans UK, the national charity for vision-impaired ex-Service men and women, which has supported him since he lost his sight.
Having celebrated his 87th birthday on 20 March, John says:
“It would be wonderful to reach the top of Ben Nevis; I’d be proving that age and sight loss are not a barrier to any challenge you set your mind on.”
John credits his 16-year-old granddaughter Lilly as being his inspiration to climb Ben Nevis. Lilly is hoping to follow in John’s military footsteps and join the Army Medical Corps later this year. John says: “I’ve been supporting Lilly with her fitness training; we’ve been going out walking together and I’ve been teaching her exercises to build her core strength. As a result, I came up with the idea of setting myself a challenge.”
Lilly says:
“I want to be a combat medic; my grandad has been supporting me to really follow what I want to do which has been amazing. It makes me very proud that I will be following on from him and very excited from all the stories he tells me about his time in the Army.
“I find training with grandad very inspiring as he is always pushing till he’s on his last limb. Our training consists of long hikes of around 10 miles along the canal. I look up to my grandad and wish to be just like him when I’m his age. Climbing Ben Nevis at 87 isn’t something that many could achieve but I have every faith that he will succeed.”
John will be accompanied on the challenge by an RAF veteran and a trainee paramedic who will be wearing a camera to verify his accomplishment.
John completed National Service in the Army with the Royal Engineers as a sapper between 1958 and 1960 and then enlisted part-time with the National Service to serve on call for another three years. He says:
“I loved my Army days and can still recite my Army number. I was a shy boy, but the Army made me much more confident. My twin brother and I were evacuated from London during the Second World War when we were very young and our mother didn’t want us back until she needed us for housing points! Joining the Army was my first sense of being part of a family.
“I completed my basic training in Worcester and was also based in Aldershot and Chatham. During my service, I toured Germany with the Army football team.
“I’m so proud that Lilly wants to follow in my footsteps. She’s a quiet girl with a very good work ethic and she wants to do good by joining the Medical Corps.”
It was eight years ago that John first realised he was losing his sight. John says: “I had been out playing table tennis and was driving home at 10.30pm and thought the street lights had been dimmed to save money. I then noticed that I couldn’t see the television properly.”
John discovered he had age related macular degeneration in both eyes and glaucoma in his right eye. He was registered vision impaired in 2019. He says:
“I have accepted that sight loss is something that can happen when you age; I never thought I’d reach the age I have. I had a bad start in life so I’m lucky to be here.
“I miss driving, getting lost in TV shows and watching sport but I’ve learnt to adapt and I get on and do things like walking which keeps me fit but I do find it difficult to see path edges and differences in height such as kerbs. I can no longer see people’s faces but I recognise them by their movement and their voice.”
John started receiving the support of Blind Veterans UK four years ago after seeing an information stand in Milton Keynes town centre. He says:
“It is comforting to know that the charity is there to give advice and provide information and support.
“I have a Community Support Worker from the charity who visits me; I’ve been provided with an accessible phone, a watch and additional lighting in my home. All of these things make a huge difference to my life. More than anything, being a part of Blind Veterans UK gives me the camaraderie that I used to have during my Army days.”
Victoria Beech from the Blind Veterans UK Community Partnerships team says:
“We’re so proud that the support we’ve given has prompted John to take on such an epic challenge. It’s been wonderful hearing how we’ve impacted on him since he began losing his sight and learning about the support he is receiving with making this challenge happen. Family, friends and even the team at Extra Care Charitable Trust, who run the retirement village where John lives, are doing all they can to make sure his challenge is a success and raises as much as possible to support blind veterans.”
John has set up a fundraising page to raise money for Blind Veterans UK, with an initial aim to raise at least £500 but hopes – like his climb – to reach even greater fundraising heights.
To support John, you can visit his fundraising page: JustGiving.com/page/JohnBanfield
If John has inspired you to raise money for Blind Veterans UK this Armed Forces Day. You can find out more: blindveterans.org.uk/AFM
Blind Veterans UK supports thousands of blind veterans across the country, but knows there are many thousands more who still need its support to rebuild their lives after sight loss.
If you, or someone you know, served in the Armed Forces, including National Service, and are now struggling with sight loss, then please get in touch. Call 0800 389 7979 or visit blindveterans.org.uk/gethelp
