Medical dates:

Medical character:

In 1939, at the beginning of WW2, the Royal School for the Blind was requisitioned by King's College Hospital as part of the Emergency Medical Service.  The blind residents were evacuated and the School was converted into a hospital with 900 beds, an operating theatre and laboratories, etc.  

Although measures were taken to protect the buildings, part of the School was damaged by bombs in 1940.

The Hospital was decommissioned in 1946.


Present status (July 2009)

After the war the School became an infirmary for Chelsea Pensioners until 1956.  It was modernised and was re-opened officially as the Royal School for the Blind  in 1958 by its patron, the Duchess of Kent.

In the late 1990s the School buildings were sold and the site redeveloped in 2001.  The main building has been converted into an apartment block - Lavender Close - with more blocks built in behind.  The western part of the site contains new luxury-type housing on a private road - Beechwood Park - while the Chapel in the eastern part is now called the Chapel of Ideas - serviced offices for local entrepreneurs.

The Royal School for the Blind, renamed  Seeability in 1994,  is now located nearby in Wesley Road.