Main menu















Search
Create account
 Log in
Personal tools


Contents
hide

(Top)


In- and Out-Pensioners


Conditions for admission as a Pensioner


Life of In-Pensioners


Admission of women


Clothing


Memorials and burial sites
 
Men In Scarlet album


Chelsea Football Club


See also


References


External links

Chelsea Pensioner
1 language
 Article
 Talk
 Read
 Edit
 View history
Tools















From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Chelsea pensioners in scarlet coats and tricorne hats at the
Founder's Day parade in the Royal Hospital Chelsea
A Chelsea Pensioner, or In-Pensioner, is a resident at the Royal Hospital Chelsea,
a 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.

In- and Out-Pensioners[edit]

Sergeant William Hiseland, an English Civil War cavalier and

one of the first pensioners to be admitted to the Royal Hospital in London
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".

Conditions for admission as a Pensioner[edit]

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]

Life of In-Pensioners[edit]

A ward within the Royal Hospital Chelsea

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]

Admission of women[edit]

Marjorie Cole, middle, one of few female Chelsea

Pensioners at the Royal Hospital
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).

In-Pensioner Dorothy Hughes in 2013

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]

Clothing[edit]

A Chelsea Pensioner in scarlet uniform.

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.

Memorials and burial sites[edit]

Chelsea Pensioners' Monument in Brompton Cemetery

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]

Men In Scarlet album[edit]

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]

Chelsea Football Club[edit]

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]

See also[edit]
 Chelsea Pensioners reading the Waterloo Dispatch

References[edit]
1. ^ Jump up to:a b Guidebook, p. 3
2. ^ "Eligibility & How to apply". Royal Hospital Chelsea. September 23, 2015.
3. ^ Jump up to:a b "'What is a Chelsea Pensioner? - the Royal Hospital, Chelsea website".
Archived from the original on 2016-11-14. Retrieved 2016-11-13.
4. ^ "Covid vaccine: Chelsea Pensioners receive jab 'gift'". BBC News. BBC. 23 December
2020. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
5. ^ "Over 600,000 people get first dose of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine". Gov.uk. Department of
Health and Social Care. 24 December 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
6. ^ Women to join Chelsea pensioners BBC News 26 February 2007
7. ^ "First female Chelsea Pensioner dies". Kent Online. February 14, 2016.
8. ^ 'Winifred, 80, wins battle to become first female Chelsea pensioner' - Evening Standard 6
April 2007
9. ^ 'Dorothy Hughes and Winifred Phillips become first female Chelsea Pensioners' The
Times 13 March 2009
10. ^ "First Women in Scarlets". News of the Royal Hospital Chelsea. Archived from the
original on 23 August 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
11. ^ 'Now I feel just like Cinderella at the ball' The Daily Telegraph 5 March 2009
 12. ^ "Women joining Chelsea pensioners, BBC News, 12 March 2009
13. ^ "Why are there Chelsea Pensioners buried at Brookwood?". Commonwealth War Graves
Commission. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
14. ^ "The Royal Hospital Chelsea - Men In Scarlet". Archived from the original on 18 September
2010. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
15. ^ "Pensioners take a closer look". Chelseafc.com. 6 May 2010. Archived from the original on
1 June 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
16. ^ "Makelele kicks off celebrations". The Daily Telegraph. 8 May 2005. Retrieved 22
February 2011.
17. ^ "Chelsea's Blues will be in the red next season". London Evening Standard. 14 April 2010.
Archived from the original on 1 September 2010. Retrieved 19 February 2011.

External links[edit]
 Chelsea Pensioners Website
 Selected service records of Chelsea pensioners available from the UK
National Archives' website
Categories:
 1682 establishments in England
 British Army
 Chelsea, London
 Retirement in the United Kingdom
 Veterans' affairs in the United Kingdom
 Chelsea Pensioners
 This page was last edited on 26 July 2023, at 19:55 (UTC).
 Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
 Privacy policy

 About Wikipedia

 Disclaimers

 Contact Wikipedia

 Code of Conduct

 Developers

 Statistics

 Cookie statement

 Mobile view


 

 Toggle limited content width