News

The inaugural Aged Veterans’ Research Conference took place on 2 October at the National Army Museum. Co-hosted by the Royal Hospital Chelsea and the Northern Hub for Veterans and Military Families Research.

The Royal Hospital Chelsea is proud to announce that the Margaret Thatcher Infirmary has once again been awarded the Gold Standard Framework (GSF) Quality Hallmark Award for End-of-Life Care.

The Royal Hospital Chelsea is proud to once again take part in the Chelsea History Festival, returning for its seventh edition from Wednesday 24 to Sunday 28 September 2025. Tickets are now on sale!

Despite heavy rain throughout the morning, spirits remained high as the Royal Hospital Chelsea proudly celebrated its annual Founder’s Day - the most significant ceremonial occasion in our calendar.

Later this week, we gather once again to celebrate Founder’s Day, the most significant ceremonial occasion in the calendar of the Royal Hospital Chelsea. Known affectionately as Oak Apple Day, it is an opportunity to honour our founder, King Charles II, and to reflect on the enduring legacy of the institution he established over 330 years ago.

As we celebrate yesterday's gold award for this year's Chelsea Flower Show Garden, we take a moment to reflect on a very special moment in our past - the 2005 Gold Medal-winning garden, A Soldier’s Dream of Blighty.

We are delighted to announce that the Chelsea Pensioner Garden, designed by Dave Green and supported by London Square Developments, has been awarded Gold in the Small Show Gardens category at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025.

This year’s Chelsea Flower Show marks a particularly meaningful milestone in the story of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, as we partner with the remarkable charity Fine Cell Work on a project that brings together heritage, rehabilitation, and craft.

We were recently delighted to welcome our supporting partners, London Square Developments, for a special photocall to celebrate the creation of the Chelsea Pensioner Garden - a unique and lasting project designed for this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

As the Royal Hospital Chelsea marks the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day (VE Day), we reflect not only on the end of the Second World War, but on the lived experiences of those who served. Among them are Chelsea Pensioners Brian Howarth and John Morris - two veterans whose stories remind us of the courage, sacrifice, and resilience that defined a generation.

When the war started, I was called up as a regular soldier at the age of 17. I was excited; in those days you thought it was exciting going to war. I was a gun layer and saw through the Blitz in London, as part of the Anti-Aircraft Battery. During the first week of the war,a German Dornier Do flying boat came over on a reconnaissance mission and I had to lay the gun to fire at it. I didn’t hit the Dornier, but knocked a kitchen chimney down. I wasn’t very popular and we weren’t given any breakfast that morning!

Brian Howarth was only 16 when he joined the British Army in 1942. Three years later, he was risking his life as a paratrooper in a huge airborne battle over the Rhine. Although he is now in his 90s, Brian’s memories of wartime remain as vivid as ever.