A Chelsea Pensioner, or In-Pensioner, is a resident at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, an Old Soldiers' retirement home and nursing home for former members of the British Army located in Chelsea, London. The Royal Hospital Chelsea is home to 300 retired British soldiers, male and female (the latter since 2009), and is located on Royal Hospital Road. Historically, the term "Chelsea Pensioner" applied more widely, referring to both In-Pensioners and Out-Pensioners who live elsewhere.
The Royal Hospital was founded by King Charles II in 1682 as a retreat for veterans. [1] The provision of a hostel rather than the payment of pensions was inspired by Les Invalides in Paris. [1]
During the reign of King William III and Queen Mary II, the Royal Hospital was still under construction so they introduced a system for distribution of army pensions in 1689. The pension was to be made available to all former soldiers who had been injured in service, or who had served for more than 20 years.
By the time the Royal Hospital was completed, there were more pensioners than places available in the Royal Hospital. Eligible ex-soldiers who could not be housed in the Hospital were termed Out-Pensioners, receiving their pension from the Royal Hospital but living outside it. In-Pensioners, by contrast, surrender their army pension and live within the Royal Hospital. A number of veterans were incorporated into the Corps of Invalids from 1688 to 1802, receiving the equivalent of the out-pension in exchange for performing garrison duty.
In 1703 there were 51 Out-Pensioners. By 1815 this had risen to 36,757.[ citation needed ] The Royal Hospital remained responsible for distributing army pensions until 1955, following which the phrase "Out-Pensioner" became less common, and "Chelsea Pensioner" was used largely to refer to "In-Pensioners".
To be eligible for admission as a Chelsea Pensioner a candidate must be a former soldier or non-commissioned officer of the British Army (including National Service) or a former officer of the British Army who served in the ranks or was awarded a disablement pension while serving in the ranks. They must be of pensionable age, be able to live independently on arrival at the Royal Hospital Chelsea and be free of any financial obligation to support a spouse or family. [2]
Applicants for the Royal Hospital Chelsea (RHC) are invited for a four-day stay during which they get a taste of what life is like for a Chelsea Pensioner. If they enjoy their stay and it is felt that they will fit in they are invited to become a Chelsea Pensioner. Upon arrival at the Royal Hospital, each In-Pensioner is measured up for their Blues (day-to-day uniform) and Scarlets (the famous uniform that they wear on parade). They are given their own room, or "berth" in a ward, and are allocated to a Company. Up until refurbishment works carried out in the 1950s, these rooms measured 6 × 6 feet. Work completed in 2015 has ensured that all In-Pensioner berths include en suite facilities, a writing desk, and natural light.
On entry, In-Pensioners surrender their army pension, in return receiving board, lodging, clothing and full medical care. [3]
In-Pensioners also have their own club with a bar, lounges and restaurant; there are allotments for those who enjoy gardening and facilities for lawn bowls. If an In-Pensioner becomes unwell they are moved into the Infirmary, which is a care home with nursing and a G.P. medical centre. [3] The Royal Hospital Burial Ground is at Brookwood Cemetery in Surrey.
The Chelsea Pensioners were among the first to be included in the UK's rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations, having received their first dose on 23 December 2020. [4] [5]
The records at Royal Hospital show that a woman, Christian Davies, was admitted to Chelsea Hospital c. 1717, and was awarded a pension for her service in the army and the wounds she received in the service of Queen Anne. She died in 1739 and was buried in the Royal Hospital Chelsea with full military honours.
From Davies' death until 2009, only male candidates were admitted. It was announced in 2007 that female ex-service personnel would be admitted on the completion of modernisation of the long wards. [6] In March 2009 the first women in the Hospital's 317-year history were admitted as In-Pensioners: Dorothy Hughes (aged 85) and Winifred Phillips (aged 82).
Winifred Phillips (1926–2016) trained as a nurse and joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service in 1948 and enlisted in the Women's Royal Army Corps in 1949 while serving in Egypt. For the next 22 years she served in Singapore, Cyprus and Egypt reaching the rank of Warrant Officer Class 2. She wrote two books about becoming one of the first female Chelsea Pensioners: My Journey to Becoming the First Lady Chelsea Pensioner (2010), and Mum's Army: Love and Adventure from the NAAFI to Civvy Street (2013). She never married. [7] [8]
Dorothy Hughes joined the British Army in 1941, later working as part of 450 Heavy Anti Aircraft Battery in the London Division. In 1945 the Battery was deployed near Dover to defend against V-1 flying bomb attacks. She later worked with the Army Operational Research Group developing fuses in shells used against V-2 rockets and was discharged from the Army in 1946 with the rank of Sergeant. [9] [10] [11] [12]
Chelsea Pensioners are entitled to come and go from the Royal Hospital as they please, and are permitted to wear civilian clothing wherever they travel. However, within the Hospital, and in the surrounding area, they are encouraged to wear a blue uniform. If they travel further from the Royal Hospital, they should wear the distinctive scarlet coats instead of the blue uniform. The scarlet coats are also worn for ceremonial occasions, accompanied by tricorne hats. At other times a peaked hat, known as a shako, is generally worn.
In uniform, the pensioners wear their medal ribbons and the insignia of the rank they reached while serving in the armed forces. They may also wear other insignia they earned during their service and this has included parachute jump wings and SAS jump wings.
Several cemeteries have memorials to and graves of Chelsea Pensioners. Burials were initially at Old Burial Ground, Royal Hospital Chelsea and then Brompton Cemetery, where the Chelsea Pensioners' Monument was erected in 1901. Since 1893, burials have taken place at Brookwood Cemetery in Surrey where the care of the graves was transferred in 1961 to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. [13]
Seven Chelsea Pensioners at the Royal Hospital Chelsea released an album on 8 November 2010 in order to raise money for the Chelsea Pensioners' Appeal. Featuring Dame Vera Lynn, Katherine Jenkins, The Soldiers and Janey Cutler, the album is full of well known wartime songs and includes their traditional march, "The Old Brigade". [14]
Nearby Chelsea Football Club has been affiliated with the Chelsea Pensioners for many years; the club's first nickname was the Pensioners and until the 1950s the club crest featured a Chelsea pensioner. Residents of the Hospital can be seen attending Chelsea's home games at Stamford Bridge. [15]
When Chelsea won the Premier League title in 2005, Chelsea Pensioners formed a guard of honour as the players and management came out for the trophy presentation. This was repeated when Chelsea won the title in 2010. [16] In tribute to the trademark scarlet coats worn by the pensioners, Chelsea's kit for the 2010–11 season featured a red trim on the collars. [17]
Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
An old soldiers' home is a military veterans' retirement home, nursing home, or hospital, or sometimes an institution for the care of the widows and orphans of a nation's soldiers, sailors, and marines, etc.
The tricorne or tricorn is a style of hat that was popular during the 18th century, falling out of style by 1800, though not called a "tricorne" until the mid-19th century. During the 18th century, hats of this general style were referred to as "cocked hats". At the peak of its popularity, the tricorne varied greatly in style and size, and was worn not only by the aristocracy, but also as common civilian dress, and as part of military and naval uniforms. Typically made from animal fiber, the more expensive being of beaver-hair felt and the less expensive of wool felt, the hat's most distinguishing characteristic was that three sides of the brim were turned up (cocked) and either pinned, laced, or buttoned in place to form a triangle around the crown. The style served two purposes: first, it allowed stylish gentlemen to show off the most current fashions of their wigs, and thus their social status; and secondly, the cocked hat, with its folded brim, was much smaller than other hats, and therefore could be more easily tucked under an arm when going inside a building, where social etiquette dictates that a gentleman should remove his hat. Tricornes with laced sides could have the laces loosened and the sides dropped down to provide better protection from the weather, sun, and rain.
A bearskin is a tall fur cap, usually worn as part of a ceremonial military uniform. Traditionally, the bearskin was the headgear of grenadiers, and remains in use by grenadier and guards regiments in various armies.
Mess dress uniform is the most formal type of evening-wear uniform used by military personnel, police personnel, and other uniformed services members. It frequently consists of a mess jacket, trousers, white dress shirt and a black bow tie, along with orders and medals insignia. Design may depend on regiment or service branch, e.g. army, navy, air force, marines, etc. In modern Western dress codes, mess dress uniform is the supplementary alternative equivalent to the civilian black tie for evening wear. Mess dress uniforms are typically less formal than full dress uniform, but more formal than service dress uniform.
A campaign hat, sometimes called campaign cover, is a broad-brimmed felt or straw hat, with a high crown, pinched symmetrically at the four corners. The campaign hat is occasionally referred to as a Stetson, derived from its origin in the company's Boss of the Plains model in the late 19th century.
A side cap is a military cap that can be folded flat when not being worn. It is also known as a garrison cap or flight cap in the United States, wedge cap in Canada, or field service cap in the United Kingdom; or in vulgar slang as a cunt cap. In form the side cap is comparable to the glengarry, a folding version of the Scottish military bonnet. It has been associated with various military forces since the middle of the 19th century, as well as various civilian organizations.
A peaked cap, peaked hat, service cap, barracks cover, or combination cap is a form of headgear worn by the armed forces of many nations, as well as many uniformed civilian organisations such as law enforcement agencies and fire departments. It derives its name from its short visor, or peak, which was historically made of polished leather but increasingly is made of a cheaper synthetic substitute.
Full dress uniform, also known as a ceremonial dress uniform or parade dress uniform, is the most formal type of uniforms used by military, police, fire and other public uniformed services for official parades, ceremonies, and receptions, including private ones such as marriages and funerals. Full dress uniforms typically include full-size orders and medals insignia. Styles tend to originate from 19th century uniforms, although the 20th century saw the adoption of mess dress-styled full-dress uniforms. Designs may depend on regiment or service branch. In Western dress codes, full dress uniform is a permitted supplementary alternative equivalent to the civilian white tie for evening wear or morning dress for day wear – sometimes collectively called full dress – although military uniforms are the same for day and evening wear. As such, full dress uniform is the most formal uniform, followed by the mess dress uniform.
Red coat, also referred to as redcoat or scarlet tunic, is a military garment formerly much used by British infantry servicemen, so customarily that the term became a common synecdoche for the servicemen themselves.
The uniforms of the British Army currently exist in twelve categories ranging from ceremonial uniforms to combat dress. Uniforms in the British Army are specific to the regiment to which a soldier belongs. Full dress presents the most differentiation between units, and there are fewer regimental distinctions between ceremonial dress, service dress, barrack dress and combat dress, though a level of regimental distinction runs throughout.
The United States Marine Corps (USMC) prescribes several types of military uniform to distinguish its service members from other armed services, depending on the situation.
Brookwood American Cemetery and Memorial is the only American Military Cemetery of World War I in the British Isles. Located approximately 28 miles (45 km) southwest of London, Brookwood American Cemetery contains the graves of 468 American war dead, including the graves of 41 unknown servicemen, from World War I.
A Greenwich Pensioner was the Naval equivalent of a Chelsea Pensioner.
William Hiseland, sometimes spelt William Hasland or Haseland, was an English and later British soldier and reputed supercentenarian. In 1709, at the purported age of eighty-nine, he fought at the Battle of Malplaquet and was believed to be the oldest soldier on the field. He claimed to become the last survivor of the English Civil Wars, which he said he had served in from 1642 to 1651.
Bideford Higher Cemetery is the burial ground for Bideford in North Devon. Today it is managed by Torridge District Council.
The Corps of Invalids was a British unit that provided garrison troops for the defence of England and Great Britain between 1688 and 1802. The men and officers were all veterans of the British Army chosen by the commissioners of the Royal Hospital Chelsea to serve in lieu of a place at the hospital or receipt of a pension. The corps was rapidly expanded or decreased in size as needs arose and played a key role in regulating the manpower requirements of the British Army. The corps was organised into a number of independent companies that were garrisoned at key points in the country, freeing up units of the regular army for service overseas. The men were generally those who were too old or wounded to serve in the regular forces and most served at least six years with the corps. In the early years they wore a grey uniform but later wore the same red coat with blue facings as worn by the patients of the Chelsea Hospital.
The Old Burial Ground is a cemetery for people associated with the Royal Hospital Chelsea. It is located at the north east corner of the Royal Hospital grounds, alongside the London Road.
William Francis "Paddy" Fox BEM was a British Army recruiter and Chelsea Pensioner. He served as a radio operator in the 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars from 1951. With a brief period as a court usher from 1956 to 1958, Fox remained in the army until 1988. In 1968 he became a recruiter, based in Horden near Peterlee in County Durham. By the end of his career he had recruited 2,000 men to his regiment, becoming the British Army's most successful recruiting sergeant.