大象传媒

Adam Scourfield interviews three British veterans - of the Second World War, the Northern Irish Troubles and the Falklands - all of whom were blinded in the course of these conflicts.

Ray Sherriff was in the Parachute Regiment during World War Two, and fought in Italy and Sicily, even after being shot in the chest in North Africa. He was blinded while fighting at Arnhem, and taken prisoner.

Ray Hazan was serving in Northern Ireland in 1973, when he severely injured by a parcel bomb, which took his sight, and his right hand, and killed his colleague. When Adam spoke to him in 2000, he had not talked about this for 27 years.

Terry Bullingham served as a Fleet Air Arm engineer in the Falklands on HMS Antrim. He vividly recalls the Argentinian air assault which blinded him. As he sardonically remarks, the last thing he saw was a Mirage - the plane that attacked his ship.

So each man's experience of military life before they were blinded is very different from the others. Even the ways they lost their sight are surprisingly divergent. But they each share the terrible moment of realising that their lives had changed forever.

And from there, Adam traces their different routes to coming to terms with what had happened to them.

Written and Presented by Adam Scourfield
Producers: Adam Scourfield and Phil Tinline.