Rfn Man and Bob

Chelsea Pensioners

So, the third stage of my “Gurkhas Behind the Lens” is complete.  This time I took Rifleman Manbahadur Thapa to the Royal Hospital at Chelsea to photograph one of the pensioners.  The weather was changeable to say the leastand one of the shoots was abandoned half-way through and moved under-cover.  Rifleman Man did well though, and I hope he has some great images – I have yet to see them though!

Rfn Man and Bob
Rfn Man and Bob

The pensioner he photographed was WO2 Bob Wells, born in 1922.  Amazingly, he was sent to the Military College of Science at Woolwich aged 14 (for 4 years).  His war service saw him in the Middle East in 1941, Hong Kong and Singapore for a year, and then Alexandria where he advanced through North Africa, Sicily and Italy.  His total service was 27 years.

Bob Wells
Bob Wells

Once the shoot was complete, I was asked by one of the “Captains of Invalids” if I would photograph the oldest Resident; Joe Britton, who was born in 1911! He enlisted into the Royal Fusiliers in 1933, and he sailed to Bombay and onto Delhi where he was a guard at the Vice Regal Lodge.  From there he went to Jhansi until the outbreak of WWII and he moved to Egypt, based in Giza.  He was medically discharged in 1944 with a fractured spine and pelvis.

The oldest Pensioner at Chelsea -103 years old
Joe – The oldest Pensioner at Chelsea -103 years old

 

We managed to get together all the other Fusiliers in the hospital for a group shot with “Joe” too.20130530-Chelsea-Pensioners-049

 

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