A blind veteran will be marching at the Cenotaph in London on Remembrance Sunday.

Maria Pikulski, 60, will be marching at the Cenotaph as part of the national Remembrance Sunday commemorations with more than 30 other blind veterans supported by Blind Veterans UK, the national charity for vision-impaired ex-Service men and women.

Maria, from Preston, joined the Women’s Royal Army Corps in 1980 before moving to the Territorial Army in 1991.

She worked as an HGV class 1 driver in the Royal Logistics Corps, in administration and as a chef.

Maria said: “I will be so proud to march on Remembrance Sunday, this will be my 17th march.

“I am really looking forward to being able to march this year, as I was meant to attend last year but it was cancelled due to the pandemic.

“On the day, I will be thinking about all those that lost their lives for us”. 

Maria began to lose her sight in 2003 when she was diagnosed with Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy, a hereditary condition that is rare in women.

She said: “My sight went in one eye and then six months later it went in the other eye. I was a nurse at the time and I felt like my life was over.”

Fortunately, Maria found out about Blind Veterans UK and started receiving support from the charity in 2004.

The charity has supported Maria with IT training weeks and peer support.

She says: “The charity has really saved my life. They’ve built my confidence up and made me realise that there is life after sight loss.

“When I first visited the charity’s training and rehabilitation centre in Brighton, I met another blind veteran called Fred Bentley who had been blinded on the beaches of Dunkirk. He was my saviour.

“He was totally blind and lived an independent life so I knew that I would be able to too”. 

Blind Veterans UK was founded more than 100 years ago to support those blinded in the First World War. Now, the charity supports veterans regardless of when they served or how they lost their sight.

Visit blindveterans.org.uk to learn more about the charity and how you can support its vital work today.