Veterans from across Salford have visited Royal Chelsea Hospital in London, having had personalised walking sticks donated to Chelsea Pensioners in the capital.
On Saturday the 21st October, Troops Naafi (The Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes), a veteran’s breakfast club in Swinton, visited The Royal Chelsea Hospital (RCH) in London for a guided tour.
Veterans Paul Bowers and Claire Street run a business providing personalised military walking sticks for veterans and people serving in the forces to use in military parades.
Over the last few years, they have provided over 2000 parade sticks worldwide with some being donated to Chelsea Pensioners (CPs) at The RCH.
Claire said: “They have their cap badges on them, veterans can take them out on remembrance and stand proud with them,”
During Paul’s last visit to RCH, where he was helping to fundraise by donating parade sticks, he received an official invite from one of the CPs to bring the Breakfast Club down for a guided tour of the hospital.
Troops Naafi are the first breakfast club to ever be invited for a visit by RCH and Claire said: “There are usually no tours at the weekend so this one made it that extra bit special.”
The RCH serves as residential care and accommodation for veterans of the British Army, left behind by Charles II and Sir Christopher Wren.
For the last few months, Paul and Claire have been trying to raise £2000 to take the Breakfast Club down to the RCH on a luxury coach and their mission, Claire said: “was to make sure that nobody had to pay anything on the day.
“We just wanted to give them something special, which meant we weren’t taking any money off them for it.”
The team held a raffle, Paul donated prizes including walking sticks and Royal Chelsea Hospital Bears which raised a total of £1650.
Claire got in touch with The Veterans Food Co, a food service delivering veteran lunches, and cookery and baking courses, in hopes of providing another raffle prize.
They offered a personal dining experience for four in the raffle winner’s home, cooked for them by veteran Noel Goulding, the runner of The Veteran’s Food Co.
The dining experience raised £350 which was the last push they needed to secure a VIP coach, provided at a discount for the veterans by Beeline Coach Hire in Manchester.
32 people went on the trip all together, 18 were veterans from Troops Naafi, five were from Oldham Air Cadets and nine were volunteers and veteran carers.
They started the day at 7am, volunteers at Troops Naafi provided breakfast on the coach which Paul said was “fantastic.”
Once they got to The RCH, a Chelsea Pensioner, Bill Horsburgh, met the group at the gates.
They then watched a short video on the history of the hospital and the health and safety of the grounds.
The team split into two groups, each was led by three CPs around the grounds, the Chapel and the Main Hall whilst they told the group about the services the hospital provides and how veterans can become Chelsea Pensioners.
Paul said: “It’s a beautiful place…It’s so peaceful, it’s absolutely vast, to say it was built for old men in the 1600s…they were way ahead of their time…it’s absolutely fantastic.”
For Claire, the chapel was particularly special, she said: “they’ve got plaques all around the walls of every conflict since the RCH been open over the 300 years…it’s such an awe-inspiring place to visit.”
The group had lunch at the hospital’s on site café and bar which was opened especially for them.
Claire and Paul’s favourite part of the day was “the banter” and the comradery between the group.
Claire said: “When you stand there and you’re talking to the Chelsea Pensioners [with] their military banter, you just feel like you belong.
“[There’s] honour and the privilege [in] being invited down…but to be made to feel so welcome that was the best bit.”
Paul said: “It was seeing my friends happy, that was the best thing for me.
[The day was] cold, it threw it down but I never saw any miserable faces, they really thoroughly enjoyed it and that gave me a buzz.”
Paul and Claire are already planning to run the trip again next year, this time booking accommodation in London so the group can stay over night.
For them trips like this are essential for veterans, to remind them, Claire said, that “the service they once gave their country is appreciated and not forgotten.
“This trip has been about veterans supporting veterans and I’ve been humbled to be a part of it.”
You can find more information on Troops Naafi and how veterans and volunteers can join here.
More information on Paul Bower’s and Claire Street’s Military and Veteran Parade Sticks can be found on their Facebook site.
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