A blind veteran from Chorley, Lancashire is planning on celebrating his 90th birthday by traveling down Zip World Velocity in Bethesda, North-West Wales, the fastest zip line in the world, and the longest in Europe.
Bob Hill, who turned 90 in May, will be raising money for Blind Veterans UK, the national charity for blind and vision-impaired ex-Service men and women, by flying down the world famous wire, on which pervious participants have been known to travel as fast as 100mph.
Far from planning a quiet and low-key affair, Bob decided to opt for a more unconventional way of celebrating his birthday. It was when a friend suggested this particular activity to Bob that he knew he’d found what he was looking for. He says: “90 years old is a significant birthday, so to celebrate I wanted to do something suitably significant! I was going to do a parachute jump but my doctor was having none of it. I was then told about the zip line and thought right, this looks interesting!”
It was in 2012 when Bob first contracted glaucoma, which later developed into age related macular degeneration (ARMD), leaving him with severely limited vision in both of his eyes. With the support and training provided by Blind Veterans UK, Bob has been able to regain his confidence and achieve a degree independence, in spite of his sight loss. He says: “Well what can I say. My first involvement with the charity was when they invited me onto an introduction course at their Llandudno centre. It was then that I realised what a wonderful organisation it really is.”
He continues: “They’ve provided me with several pieces of equipment, such as reading magnifiers, along with recreational trips with other veterans who are being supported by the charity. They’ve also provided me with support since my wife sadly passed away. I truly appreciate everything they’ve done for me, I really do. It’s a charity I genuinely love and I look forward to being able to give something back to them.”
Bob is no stranger to fundraising, having celebrated his 80th birthday in similarly philanthropic style. He says: “For my 80th, we held a raffle a local hotel. We went all out and laid on a big buffet and told our guests to bring prizes. The event was a fantastic success and we raised around £1,000!”
This time around, Bob is hoping to go above and beyond the £1,000 mark and is confident his home network will help him reach his goal. He says: “I know it might be a bit ambitious, but I’ve got a really good base of friends and I’m also a member of the local church. I’m sure that if I just let enough people know that Bob Hill going to be flying down the fastest zip line in the world, we should have no problem in zipping north of £1,000!”
Bob will be taking on the zip line on July 4. To donate, please visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/BobHillVelocityZipWire.
Blind Veterans UK was founded in 1915 and the charity’s initial purpose was to help and support soldiers blinded in the First World War. But the organisation has gone on to support more than 35,000 blind veterans and their families, spanning WWII to recent conflicts including Iraq and Afghanistan.
For more than a century, the charity has been providing vital free training, rehabilitation, equipment and emotional support to blind and vision-impaired veterans no matter when they served or how they lost their sight.
For all media enquiries please contact: Felix Arbenz-Caines, PR Assistant, Blind Veterans UK, 12 – 14 Harcourt Street, London, W1H 4HD, E: Felix.Arbenz-Caines@blindveterans.org.uk, T: 020 7616 7941
Notes to Editor
Blind Veterans UK
Blind Veterans UK is a national charity that believes that no-one who has served our country should have to battle blindness alone. Founded in 1915, the charity provides blind and vision impaired ex-Service men and women with lifelong support including welfare support, rehabilitation, training, residential and respite care.
Find out more at: blindveterans.org.uk, follow us on Facebook at: facebook.com/blindveteransuk and on Twitter at: twitter.com/blindveterans.
