A year at the Royal Hospital Chelsea

Prince Harry meets the veterans

Chelsea Pensioners are a feature of London. These smartly turned out gentlemen (and a few ladies, nowadays) in their red or blue jackets are as much an icon of the UK capital as the Palace of Westminster, St Paul’s Cathedral or black taxis.

Until recently, photographer Patricia Rodwell was like almost every other Londoner – generally aware the Pensioners existed, but with no clear idea of their day-to-day lives.

A chance meeting with the governor of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, however, sparked her interest in the place and its residents. She resolved to use her camera to record the progress of a year at an institution that can trace its roots back to 1682 and the reign of King Charles II.

As it was then, the hospital is today a home for single, divorced or widowed ex-servicemen and women – and much of its architecture has changed little over the years.

Says Rodwell: ‘I began photographing on 4 January 2010 and I was there one or two days every week for the whole year. During that time I took pictures of every single official event that took place and also became more and more passionate about the place.

‘The pensioners themselves are just wonderful, and it’s incredibly humbling to be among them – especially the men who served in World War II. It’s not every day you meet someone who helped to build the Bridge on the River Kwai [as one of the pensioners did].’

While many of the men had experienced traumatic episodes during their time in the armed forces, Rodwell did not want to dwell too much on such matters.

Out and about in south west London

‘I wanted the book to be joyous and to provide a fun experience of the Royal Hospital,’ she says.

That aspect is clearly visible in her photos, many of which have a humorous aspect and present the pensioners living life to the full, often with a certain cheeky charm; whether they are meeting Prince Harry at an official function or crossing the road in the style of a famous Beatles album cover.

Rodwell was also impressed by the way these elderly veterans adapt to living in often old-fashioned, small and Spartan quarters.

‘You’ve got to hand it to them, they move from a normal home to an old-style room called a berth with just a single bed, a table and a chair.

‘Many of the Long Wards, where the pensioners live, haven’t been updated for the modern era. And that was another reason I wanted to produce the book; to raise awareness about the future of the Royal Hospital. 

‘The old boys at the moment don’t mind the basic facilities, actually they rather like the fact they can talk to each other through the walls of their berths at night, but future generations of pensioners probably won’t be so keen.’

A Year in Pictures The Royal Hospital Chelsea, by Patricia Rodwell, is published by Merrell Publishers.

www.merrellpublishers.com