Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioners
Information about London's Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioners and the QARANC army nurses
The Royal Hospital Chelsea in London dates back to the 17th Century when King Charles II wanted provision made for the care of old and injured soldiers. The original building was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and the first Chelsea In-Pensioners were admitted in February 1692.
The buildings has changed over the years and seen many extensions added. For example an Infirmary was built in 1809 and had to be demolished after bomb damage sustained in the Second World War. The Infirmary is often described as the best nursing home in the UK and is not just a hospital, but is a mixture of nursing home and hospice.
The facilities are once more being upgraded which includes a modernised care home and improvements to the Long Wards. Plans are even afoot to allow female ex-soldiers to be admitted to Royal Hospital Chelsea!
Barbara Whilds was the first QARANC Chelsea Pensioner at the age of 68 years. She described her new lifestyle in Vol 14 No 6 of The Gazette where she talked about the classes she undertakes on a range of subjects like photography, carpentry, art and music. Entertainment includes bingo, whist nights and dinners and special occasions such as the Florence Nightingale Service and the Not Forgotten Association Garden Party. She also manages a garden allotment. In 2012 she was presented to HRH The Countess of Wessex, the Colonel In Chief of the Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps. Barbara also represented the RHC during the London Olympic Games, the Albert Hall Remembrance Service and the March Past at the Cenotaph.
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My PTSD assistance dog, Lynne, and I have written a book about how she helps me with my military Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, anxiety, and depression. I talk about my time in the QAs and the coping strategies I now use to be in my best health.
Along the way, I have had help from various military charities, such as Help for Heroes and The Not Forgotten Association and royalties from this book will go to them and other charities like Bravehound, who paired me with my four-legged best friend.
I talk openly about the death of my son by suicide and the help I got from psychotherapy and counselling and grief charities like The Compassionate Friends.
The author, Damien Lewis, said of Lynne:
"A powerful account of what one dog means to one man on his road to recovery. Both heart-warming and life-affirming. Bravo Chris and Lynne. Bravo Bravehound."
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This beautiful QARANC Poppy Pin Badge is available from the Royal British Legion Poppy Shop.
For those searching military records, for information on a former nurse of the QAIMNS, QARANC, Royal Red Cross, VAD and other nursing organisations or other military Corps and Regiments, please try Genes Reunited where you can search for ancestors from military records, census, birth, marriages and death certificates as well as over 673 million family trees. At GenesReunited it is free to build your family tree online and is one of the quickest and easiest ways to discover your family history and accessing army service records.
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Another genealogy website which gives you access to military records and allows you to build a family tree is Find My Past which has a free trial.
Chelsea Pensioners CD
A Chelsea Pensioners CD has been released with proceeds going towards the refurbishment of the Chelsea Pensioners accommodation such as the long wards. The Chelsea Pensioners sing favourites such as Men In Scarlet, Bless 'Em All, I'll Be Loving You, Goodnight Sweetheart, The White Cliffs Of Dover, Pennies From Heaven, I'll Be Seeing You, Now Is The Hour King And Country, If You Were The Only Girl In The World, A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square, Abide With Me, Jerusalem, Danny Boy, The Boys Of The Old Brigade and When I Grow Too Old To Dream.
The Chelsea Pensioners CD also has tracks with singers such as Katherine Jenkins, Dame Vera Lynn, Janey Cutler, The Soldiers and The Choir Of The Royal Hospital.
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Chelsea Pensioners' have always been held in high esteem by all members of the Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps not least because of their mischief making and humour! Resplendent in their scarlet coats and tricorne hats Chelsea Pensioners can still be seen in and around London.
Some QA's will fondly remember caring for Chelsea Pensioners at Royal Hospital Chelsea during the elderly care block of their student nurse training. Some previous Matrons of the Royal Hospital Chelsea have formerly been QARANC nursing officers. There were few wards of the Queen Elizabeth Military Hospital that did not have a Chelsea Pensioner as a patient.
A more detailed history and current facilities such as the berths of the Royal Hospital Chelsea can be found at the official Royal Hospital Chelsea website at www.chelsea-pensioners.co.uk
Sadly none of the QARANC.co.uk team served at the Royal hospital Chelsea during our elderly care training and would love to expand this page with more details about the hospital and include a photograph. If you are a former or serving member of the Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps we would love your help.
Once A Soldier
From Friday 30 January 2009 BBC2 TV broadcast a documentary called Chelsea Pensioners: Once A Soldier. Each thirty minute television programme featured different aspects of life as a Chelsea Pensioner such as becoming a Chelsea Pensioner, the Men In Scarlet berths, giving guided tours for tourists at Royal Hospital Chelsea, taking part in a parade for Her Majesty The Queen and getting fitted for the famous red uniform and tricorn head dress.
Former Royal Air Force Regiment Gunner Jason Harper witnesses a foreign jet fly over his Aberdeenshire home. It is spilling a strange yellow smoke. Minutes later, his wife, Pippa, telephones him, shouting that she needs him. They then get cut off. He sets straight out, unprepared for the nightmare that unfolds during his journey. Everyone seems to want to kill him.
Along the way, he pairs up with fellow survivor Imogen. But she enjoys killing the living dead far too much. Will she kill Jason in her blood thirst? Or will she hinder his journey through this zombie filled dystopian landscape to find his pregnant wife?
The Fence is the first in this series of post-apocalyptic military survival thrillers from the torturous mind of former British army nurse, now horror and science fiction novel writer, C.G. Buswell.
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If you would like to contribute to this page, suggest changes or inclusions to this website or would like to send me a photograph then please e-mail me.
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The death of the Brotherhood will be avenged.
RAF gunner Jason Harper and a team of Special Air Service operators are enraged after the death of their brothers by a terrorist drone strike. They fly into south-eastern Yemen on a Black-op mission to gather intelligence and avenge the death of their comrades.
Can they infiltrate the Al-Queda insurgents' camp, stay undetected, and call down their own drone missile strike and get home safely?
Will they all survive to fight another day?
Operation Wrath is a free, fast-paced adventure prequel to the non-stop action The Fence series by military veteran author C.G. Buswell.
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This website is not affiliated or endorsed by The Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC) or the Ministry of Defence.
