SHEFFIELD VISUALLY IMPAIRED WALKING GROUP

OUR HISTORY

Our organisation started off very small in the year 2000 when Ted Ellerton, a seasoned Rambler and very hardcore walker, was driving home one Saturday night looking forward to his Sunday walk with the Ramblers.

Upon waking Sunday morning Ted found himself to be completely blind due to a detached retina, after having already lost the sight in his other eye some time ago. The hospital was unable to re-attach it, and so he was left to pick up the pieces.

Ted lived alone but was eventually put in touch with Jill Thompson, a Rehabilitation Officer at Howden House.
She asked Ted what he would like to do and he said he would still like to Ramble.

Jill took Ted to a meeting with the Ramblers and asked if anyone would help Ted and be a guide when out walking.
Peter and Brenda Sunderland and Jack Burling said they would, and along with Jill and another VIP set off on their first walk.

It rained all day - very muddy, what a start! - but it didn't put them off as they were used to it, being keen Ramblers.

Through word of mouth, other Guides appeared and the group was advertised through various means and quickly it started to grow.

Another keen Rambler, Betsy Wilson, joined soon after, and made it her mission to make the organisation a success, later becoming the organisation's first Chair.

There was only a monthly walk on a Wednesday at the time, and Jill used to send out all the information in print and Braille, as not many people had email addresses back then, let alone computers where VIP's could listen as the screen was read out to them.

About a year in, Jean and Gordon Worthington joined as guides, and encouraged the group to organise a new Sunday walk and to get the committee rolling. They also took the group on their first three holidays, the first to the Isle of Wight and the next two to Teignmouth.

Other excursions included a walking-trip to Austria followed by a number of holidays arranged by Hilary Myers, a VIP who carried out the role for many years with great precision.

By now the holiday group had grown to around 30 or so, which was no mean feat!

The opportunities to get out and about continued to grow, with a new Thursday bi-monthly walk with the Rangers, and an alternative Thursday walk arranged by Mike Jackson MBE, who had joined back in 2000 near the start.

Mike, who received his MBE in 2024 for services in the community, and who soon became a popular character, certainly pushed the envelope, taking blind members with guides to places that they could only imagine as blind people. These walks were not for the faint hearted!

John Bater, a VIP, was another great addition as he had an encyclopedic knowledge of our countryside and further afield, and due to having some remaining sight, was able to take the role of leader on a number of walks.

By this point, the SVIWG had a walk scheduled each week, and it was decided that a proper newsletter had to be produced, which Betsy set to, taking it on a CD when finished for SRSB to produce for sending out to members.

An audio version on cassette tape was also recorded, with Betsy's husband Colin patiently reading out for us.

As time marched on, modern technology would take over and most members now receive the newsletter by email, compiled by long-time member Gail Fagan since 2012, and kindly distributed by Helen Lowry at SRSB.

Our organisation also gained a web-presence in 2010 when another long-time member, Christine Whittaker, created the first version of our website, which she would go on to manage and update monthly with news, event-details, photos, and other useful information, until stepping down in 2024.

In 2025 we celebrate our silver jubilee, with an event being organised by Mike Jackson to commemorate the occasion.

The star of our group must be Betsy Wilson however who is no longer with us, who when the group began was instrumental in helping the Committee get started, becoming our first Chair, starting the newsletter, and pushing the group by telling everyone who would listen when out walking about the SVIWG.

Today we offer four walks every month to cater for everyone's walking ability and preferences, and we continue to organise other events and group walking holidays.

We'd like to thank the following committee members who have contributed significant time and effort in keeping SVIWG running in recent years:

Finally, we give our heartfelt thanks to all our guides and walk-leaders, past and present, and also special appreciation to Eric Andrews, a VIP, but also an adventurer who served on the committee and arranged many fundraising events, including walks up Ben Nevis, Snowdon, and Scafell Pike, and also Tandem riding at the Manchester Velodrome.

It is a tribute to Ted and Jill that our group is still going.