Several Chelsea Pensioners were the Guests of Honour at a special dinner, held in Rayleigh, to celebrate Armed Forces Day.
The four men, all of whom are in-pensioners, living at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, were hosted as guests by members of the Rayleigh Conservative Club, at their commemorative dinner, to mark Armed Forces Day, on Saturday 26th June.
The four Army Veterans, with well over 100 years of military service between them, were welcomed by the local MP and Shadow Armed Forces Minister, Mark Francois. In his after dinner speech, Mark praised all the members of the Armed Forces, past and present, for their service to the nation and particularly thanked the pensioners for coming from the Royal Hospital, to help support the event.
Speaking at the occasion, Mark said:
“As the son of a D-Day Veteran, I was taught never to take living in a free country for granted. Our Armed Forces are the ultimate guarantee of our democracy and our way of life. We thank all of then - including our special guests from the Royal Hospital - for their service to the nation, which is deeply appreciated.”
