A blind military veteran from St Agnes has been skiing for the 37th time as a national military charity ski-club celebrates its 40th anniversary.

Gerry Jones, 75, travelled to the Dolomites in Italy this January with 18 other vision-impaired skiers for the 40th annual ski trip organised by the national charity Blind Veterans UK, formerly St Dunstan's.

Gerry, who is president of the club, said: “This year was particularly special for all of us. Forty years is an exceptionally long time and it’s great to still have the old faces here, as well as the new ones.”

Gerry attended Sandhurst for two years in the early 1960s, before joining the Royal Army Service Corps, where he was involved in air dispatch and was also parachute trained, and took a flying course. He then flew Scout helicopters all across Europe during the Cold War, but in late 1969 he was involved in a helicopter crash on active duty which resulted in the loss of his sight.

He said: “I struggled with my sight loss at the time, having lost my position in the army. Luckily I was told about Blind Veterans UK.”

Due to his time in service, Gerry was entitled to the charity’s free lifelong services and support, and said “I haven’t looked back since.”

Shortly after becoming a beneficiary, Gerry visited Blind Veterans UK’s training and rehabilitation centre in Brighton for an induction into the charity, and in 1980 he first became involved with the ski trip, despite having never skied before.

He said: “During my time on the ski trips I’ve really met some wonderful characters. It’s really taught me to live. I felt that if I could ski, I could do anything.”

Gerry now holds the role of president of the ski club, following two decades of successfully organising the trip alongside his current guide, Martin Blank, as each vision impaired skier is always accompanied by a sighted guide.

Gerry said: “I couldn’t have organised it for those years without Martin. We could really see a difference in the group by the end of the week, especially in the newbies.”

If you, or someone you know, served in the armed forces or did national service and are now battling severe sight loss, you can contact Blind Veterans UK on 0800 389 7979 or go to noonealone.org.uk