Blind veteran expands children’s book catalogue

Published on 2 Mar 2026

A blind veteran has expanded his series of children’s books with two more stories published in the Mr Pinklenose collection.

John, 65, and from Bicton in Shrewsbury, was inspired to write his Mr Pinklenose books based on the stories his father told to him and his sister when they were young. He decided he wanted to put the stories to paper and give his own grandchildren something to remember him by.

A young girl is sat with her Mr Pinklenose book and her Tonie box that she uses to listen to her granddad reading his stories. — John's granddaughter listening to her granddad reading Mr Pinklenose on her audio player

Blind veteran John sitting on the sofa with his eyelids closed due to myasthenia gravis — Blind veteran John

The first Mr Pinklenose book was published in 2019 and two more have now launched – The Amazing Mr Pinklenose and Mr Pinklenose and the Lost Kitten. John says:

“The latest stories include my first attempt at using AI to help me with the illustrations. I wrote the story and then uploaded pictures of Mr Pinklenose and went through page by page asking for assistance with creating illustrations that fitted the text."

“It took a lot of learning to input the right details to achieve what I wanted but I really enjoyed the process of not just writing the story but also discovering the technology to use.”

John
Blind veteran

As well as delving into the world of AI, John also used speech to text to help him with his writing. The technology allows the user to type using their voice, so this was invaluable to John on days when his eyelids would not open.

John was forced to retire in 2018 due to myasthenia gravis, a neurological condition which affects the muscles in his eyelids, arms and legs. It is a very rare condition which only affects around 12,000 people in the UK. John says:

“It all happened very quickly; my wife and I were visiting friends when I remarked that my eyes felt heavy. Within five minutes, I couldn’t open my eyes.

“I was put on steroids to help with the condition, which can also find me walking along and then suddenly losing the use of my legs. Sometimes I can see for hours at a time but then my eyelids close and I’m in the dark. When I was first diagnosed, I felt pretty useless and became depressed but Blind Veterans UK has helped me out of that dark place."

“Most significantly, the charity has made me realise not what I can’t do but what I can do. I can still do so much and I now get on with my life. It was the staff at Blind Veterans UK that encouraged me to patent my Mr Pinklenose character and to get on and put the words down on paper.”

John
Blind veteran

John has also recorded his stories so that his two-year-old granddaughter can listen to him reading them aloud to her. He says:

“I have grandchildren ranging from two to 18-years old. The older ones have sadly outgrown Mr Pinklenose now, but the littlest can now enjoy these new stories. She lives an hour and a half away from me so I recorded me reading them to her so she can enjoy them even when I can’t be with her in person. She definitely recognised my voice.”

John joined the Royal Signals as a junior soldier in 1976 and was trained as a special telegraphist. During his service, John served in Germany and completed four tours in Northern Ireland. He left the Army in 1976 as a corporal.