Jim is a former pupil of the Royal Blind School and worked for the Scottish Braille Press from 1971 until his retirement in 2017. He has always had a keen interest in the wellbeing of visually impaired people, and for many years has been involved with a wide variety of organisations of and for blind people throughout Scotland.
Jim sat on the Board of the local Society for the Blind in Edinburgh, which he ultimately chaired, and which was incorporated in to RNIB in 2002. He also represented NLBD (National League of the Blind and Disabled) on the Executive Committee of the Scottish National Federation for the Welfare of the Blind, which became SCOVI, and was indeed President of that Organisation in 1991. He also served on the Executive Council of RNIB, between 1986 and 2001.
He attended his first meeting of the then Braille Authority of the United Kingdom in 1980. In January 2009 UKAAF (UK Association for Accessible Formats) was formed, and Jim served as a Trustee from 2011 until January 2023. Since July 2012 he has edited the UKAAF magazine, "Format Matters", which is published three times per annum. He has recently been appointed as one of only two honorary members of UKAAF.
Jim used to run the Cub Scout pack at the Royal Blind School and currently assists with the training of Young Leaders in the local Scout District, Braid, helping to present modules on Diversity and Inclusion
