Measurement of eyesight on attestation

[Gary Samson]

Would I be right in thinking that back in 1914 eyesight or visual acuity was measured and the findings reported in pretty much the same way as it is now?

I have a soldier whose eyesight is described as L 6/36 R 6/6. For the left eye (L) I've assumed that the 6 in the first part of the fraction indicates the eye chart was 6 feet away. The 36 on the right means that at 6 feet away from the chart he could see what normal eyes see at 36 feet, ie worse than normal vision. The vision in his right eye appears normal at 6/6. Obviously today we talk in terms of 20/20 vision but I'm guessing the method of summarising a person's visual ability is pretty much the same.

Gary

[Tom Morgan]

Hi, Gary,

You're absolutely right, but I think the distances should be in yards or metres rather than feet. The figures you give mean the test must have been made using the Snellen Chart - the one with the rows of letters starting with one large letter at the top followed by rows of other letters which decrease in size the further down the chart you read.

6/6 is normal vision and means that the person is seeing at 6 metres what a normal eye should be able to see from 6 metres. (6/6 is referred to as 20/20 in the US because 6 metres = 20 feet.)

6/36 means that the person is seeing a letter at 6 metres, which a normal eye should able to see from 36 metres.

If a person’s vision is very poor he may be asked to move closer to the chart, so 2/60 means seeing a letter at 2 metres which normally can be read at 60 metres.

Tom

[Gary Samson]

Thanks, Tom. Yards, of course it's yards. YARDS, YARDS, YARDS. I know that in some places (Vimy Ridge springs to mind) the opposing frontline trenches were separated by the narrowest strip of land but you'd expect your average infantryman to be able to see the enemy coming from a bit further out than six feet...just beyond the tip of his bayonet might be a smidge too late!

Gary

[Kate Wills]

John Cleese (aka Basil Fawlty) said that his father queued for his medical knowing his eyesight wasn't up to the required standard; so he asked the men in front to remember the order of letters on the eye chart during their turns, and memorised them beforehand for his own.