The Royal Naval Benevolent Trust (RNBT) is a charity registered established under Royal Charter in 1922 in the United Kingdom for the welfare of current and past naval personnel and their families.
The United Kingdom, officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland but more commonly known as the UK or Britain, is a sovereign country lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland. With an area of 242,500 square kilometres (93,600 sq mi), the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world. It is also the 22nd-most populous country, with an estimated 66.0 million inhabitants in 2017.
It supports needy members of the "RNBT Family", that is all ratings and other ranks of the Royal Navy or Royal Marines, their spouses and dependant children, from enlistment until death. This support may be given through financial aid as one-off grants or regular payments to supplement the income of older people, support to other organisations which assist the "RNBT Family", residential care of elderly people at the RNBT's own residential nursing home, Pembroke House, at Gillingham, Kent and advice on welfare matters. See www.rnbt.org.uk for more information. [1]
In a navy, a rate, rating or bluejacket is a junior enlisted member of that navy who is not a warrant officer or commissioned officer. Depending on the country and navy that uses it, the exact term and the range of ranks that it refers to may vary.
Other ranks (ORs) in the Royal Marines, British Army, Royal Air Force and in the armies and air forces of many other Commonwealth countries are those personnel who are not commissioned officers, usually including non-commissioned officers (NCOs). Colloquially, members of the other ranks are known as "rankers".
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by the English kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years War against the Kingdom of France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is known as the Senior Service.
In 2016/2017 the Trust's total income was £5.6m, including £1.7m in grants, which included just under £1m from Greenwich Hospital and over £0.6m from joint funding from Greenwich Hospital and the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity. Total expenditure was £5.3m: £1.6m on grants to individuals and £2.7m providing residential and nursing care.
Greenwich Hospital was a permanent home for retired sailors of the Royal Navy, which operated from 1692 to 1869. Its buildings were later used by the Royal Naval College, Greenwich and the University of Greenwich, and are now known as the Old Royal Naval College. The word "hospital" was used in its original sense of a place providing hospitality for those in need of it, and did not refer to medical care, although the buildings included an infirmary which, after Greenwich Hospital closed, operated as Dreadnought Seaman's Hospital until 1986.
Her Majesty's Naval Service, also known as the Senior Service, is the United Kingdom's naval warfare and maritime service. It consists of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Marines Reserve and Naval Careers Service. The term Naval Service should be distinguished from the "UK Naval Services", which consist of the Naval Service and the Merchant Navy. The Naval Service as a whole falls under the command of the Navy Board, which is headed by the First Sea Lord. This position is currently held by Admiral Sir Phillip Jones. The Defence Council delegates administration of the Naval Service to the Admiralty Board, chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence.
The Royal Hospital School is a British co-educational independent day and boarding school with naval traditions. The school admits pupils from age 11 to 18 through Common Entrance or the school's own exam. The school is regulated by Acts of Parliament.
The Royal Variety Charity is a British charity based in Twickenham, Middlesex, England. It is dedicated to giving support to those who have professionally served the entertainment industry and find themselves sick, impoverished or elderly.
SSAFA – the Armed Forces charity, formerly known as Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association, is a UK charity that provides lifelong support to serving men and women and veterans from the British Armed Forces and their families or dependents. Anyone who is currently serving or has ever served in the Royal Navy, British Army or Royal Air Force and their families, both regulars and reserves, is eligible for their help.
The Seafarers Hospital Society, formerly the Seamen's Hospital Society, is a charity for people currently or previously employed by the British Merchant Navy and fishing fleets, and their families. It was established in 1821.
The Marine Society was a British charity, the world's first established for seafarers. In 1756, at the beginning of the Seven Years' War against France, Austria, and Saxony Britain urgently needed to recruit men for the navy. Jonas Hanway (1712-1786), who had already made his mark as a traveller, Russia Company merchant, writer and philanthropist, must take the chief credit for founding the society which both contributed to the solution of that particular problem, and has continued for the next two and a half centuries to assist many thousands of young people in preparing for a career at sea.
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital is located on Woolwich Common in London, England, was opened in March 2001 and serves patients from the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Bexley. The hospital was built to accommodate the services previously provided at Greenwich District Hospital and Brook General Hospital, and is a Private Finance Initiative hospital.
The Royal Air Forces Association is the largest single Service membership organisation and the longest standing registered service charity that provides welfare support to the RAF Family - providing friendship, help and support to current and former members of the Royal Air Force and their dependants.
The Sick and Hurt Commissioners were responsible for medical services in the Royal Navy. They were a separate body to the Navy Board, supplying surgeons to naval ships, providing them with medicines and equipment, and running shore and ship hospitals; they were also responsible for prisoners of war.
The Benevolent Society, founded by Edward Smith Hall in 1813, is Australia's first and oldest charity. It is an independent, non-religious, not-for-profit organisation which aims to help families, older Australians and people with disability live their best lives.
The Old Royal Naval College is the architectural centrepiece of Maritime Greenwich, a World Heritage Site in Greenwich, London, described by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as being of "outstanding universal value" and reckoned to be the "finest and most dramatically sited architectural and landscape ensemble in the British Isles". The site is managed by the Greenwich Foundation for the Old Royal Naval College, set up in July 1998 as a registered charity to "look after these magnificent buildings and their grounds for the benefit of the nation". The grounds and some of its buildings are open to visitors. The buildings were originally constructed to serve as the Royal Hospital for Seamen at Greenwich, now generally known as Greenwich Hospital, which was designed by Christopher Wren, and built between 1696 and 1712. The hospital closed in 1869. Between 1873 and 1998 it was the Royal Naval College, Greenwich.
A Royal Naval Hospital (RNH) was a hospital operated by the British Royal Navy for the care and treatment of sick and injured naval personnel. A network of these establishments were situated across the globe to suit British interests. They were part of the Royal Naval Medical Service.
Seafarers UK is the leading grant-making charity that has been helping people in the maritime community for over 100 years, by providing vital funding to support seafarers in need and their families. The charity supports organisations and projects that make a real difference to people's lives across the Merchant Navy, Fishing Fleets, Royal Navy and Royal Marines.
Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS foundation trust based in London, United Kingdom. It comprises Royal Free Hospital, Barnet Hospital, Chase Farm Hospital, as well as clinics run by the trust at Edgware Community Hospital, Finchley Memorial Hospital and North Middlesex University Hospital. On 1 July 2014 the Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust was acquired by Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, making it one of the largest Trusts in the country, employing more than 9,000 staff and providing services to about a million patients.
The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution (RMBI) cares for older Freemasons and their families as well as some people in the community. Caring has been their way of life since 1842 and they provide a home for over 1,000 people across England and Wales – while supporting many more.
The Royal Navy Medical Service is the branch of the Royal Navy responsible for medical care. It works closely with Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service.
RNRMC is a charity registered in England and Wales and Scotland. Its purpose is to support sailors, marines, and their families, for life. This includes the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Maritime Reserves, QARNNS, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and former members of the now defunct Women's Royal Naval Service.
The Royal Naval Hospital Gibraltar , formerly the British Military Hospital Gibraltar , was a military hospital founded c. 1903 to provide healthcare for British military personnel and local sailors. The facility, located on Europa Road in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar's South District, comprised three buildings. The hospital was transferred to the Royal Navy in 1963. It closed in 2008, and underwent residential conversion that began prior to the hospital's closure.
Cavell Nurses' Trust is a charitable organisation which supports the welfare of nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1917 in the memory of British nurse Edith Cavell.