The King’s Coronation holds a special significance for the Royal Hospital. Each and every Chelsea Pensioner swore allegiance to The Queen and that pledge of loyalty continues to her successor. And the Royal Hospital itself would not be here today without our current King’s namesake, King Charles II.
One year ago, Mike Simmonds became a Chelsea Pensioner. He told us what led him to apply and what his experience has been since moving here.
75 years has passed since the Japanese surrendered and World War II finally ended. Today we acknowledge the crucial part those soldiers in the Far East played in winning us the freedoms we enjoy today.
Pensioner William Fraser BEM is taking lockdown in his stride and enjoying a relaxed routine – although he misses a drink in the Club with his friends.
Colin was 20 years old when he was deployed –the youngest in the observation post Party he served in. He still suffers from the frostbite he got while cut off by the Chinese.
Gerry Farmer, 1951 Royal Fusiliers, lost his friend Cpl Derby in the conflict. He was left with shrapnel in his spine and lifelong claustrophobia, after being trapped in a Jeep at the bottom of a river while trying to escape Chinese mortars.
Arthur Bisson, Royal Military Police, was demobbed in 1947, then called up again to go to Korea in 1950. He served there for eight months in total.
Alfred Mason, Durham Light Infantry (28 Commonwealth Brigade) remembers the conditions they were faced with during the conflict.
Chelsea Pensioner Roy Palmer, 81, talks about his time in isolation and the life experiences that have helped him to cope with the Royal Hospital’s restrictions during the pandemic.
In March 2009, the Royal Hospital opened its doors to the first female Chelsea Pensioners: Dorothy Hughes and Winifred Phillips who both sadly are no longer alive. You can meet some of today’s female Pensioners below.
