With a father who served and two uncles who perished on the battlefields, the First World War had a profound effect on Chelsea Pensioner, Don Crassweller’s family.

Edmund Joseph Buisseret – the father of Chelsea Pensioner, Simon De Buisseret – had just joined a monastery in the sleepy town of Hereford, when the First World War broke out. His two older brothers joined the chaplaincy, but as Edmund was only a novice, he joined the Royal Garrison Artillery and was immediately uprooted from his quiet existence as a prospective monk and sent to the Somme.

Chelsea Pensioner Patrick Moir only learnt of his father’s experiences in the First World War when he reached the age of 85; his father had been called up to serve in 1917 when he was a young lad of 19.

Chelsea Pensioner, Steve Lovelock, lost his father in the Second World War, leaving his young mother with the difficult task of bringing up a small child alone. Unable to cope with the pressures of single parenthood, Steve’s grandparents stepped in to care for the young child.

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People sat round table looking at iPads. Pink House of Memories cloth in the middle with objects from the app on.
Royal Hospital Chelsea digital collection launches on the My House of Memories app

The Royal Hospital Chelsea is thrilled to announce the launch of our new digital collection on the My House of Memories app. The My House of Memories app was created by House of Memories, National Museums Liverpool’s dementia awareness programme, by and for people living with dementia. 

Female Chelsea Pensioners stood in front of Royal Hospital long ward in scarlet uniform and shako
Celebrating Women in the Army

This International Women’s Day, we are celebrating the incredible women who have served and continue to serve in the British Army. To recognise their contribution, we hear from some of our female Chelsea Pensioners about their time in the Army.