Clutha was my mother Helen Mackenzie's uncle. Her stories of Blind Uncle Clutha's work on behalf of the blind after Gallipoli and meeting him in his whare in 1965 were inspirations to me as a boy, paralleling my hometown heroine's miraculous works, a connection commemorated by a Māori gate in the garden of Helen Keller's birthplace.

Clutha was my Great Great Grandfather. He wrote a diary during the war and I have read it. I admire how he went to Gallipoli and fought at the battle of Chunik Bair. I also like how after he served in the war he did work for the blind as he was blinded at the war.

As Anzac Day approaches I have been thinking about my grandfather & remembering the Anzac Day services that we attended with him when I was young, usually wearing a Mackenzie tartan skirt. Granddad was blinded in the battle at Chunuk Bair, & I find it amazing that he was able to find his way back to the beach over that rugged terrain, after just losing his sight. His diary & the book he wrote, give a good insight into his Gallipoli experience, & standing at Chunuk Bair 10 years ago, looking down to Anzac Cove, gave me huge admiration of Granddad's remarkable strength of character. Granddad took 2 horses to WW 1, & always enjoyed riding, even when he was blind. I inherited his love of horses & I will always remember him stroking my pony's head & asking me to describe her to him. Love you Granddad. RIP.

To pay tribute to this amazing man. As a friend of the family I have heard many stories about him.

In memory of a remarkable father in law, blinded at Gallipoli 100 years ago. He never let his blindness hold him back and spent the rest of his life working for the blind around the world as well as in New Zealand. Our family will never forget.