SEPTEMBER 2019 | Local interest
Don Crassweller, who has been a Chelsea Pensioner for 12 years, explained how he loved living at the Barracks and enjoyed the continued sense of companionship and comradeship with his fellow Pensioners. “I live in a lovely place, our rooms are called ‘berths’ and have all been wonderfully refurbished and modernised. I have three windows, two face the parade ground and the third looks out along the river and right to the Shard! Not many people are lucky enough to live where I do, it is a real privilege. I was in the Army Tank Division for 20 years and six months. There’s friendly rivalry between the different regiments, but we all know that as military folk we need to look after each other.” Don went on to tell me how the Royal Hospital bowling green suffered a minor setback when it appeared to be slowly sinking; an air-raid shelter was found underneath rink three and four, rendering it rather dangerous to play on until the area was filled in! The Pensioners travel all over the South of England from Weymouth to Kent for their matches, they thought the hospitality at Henfield was second to none. It is a huge honour to host these wonderful exservicemen and women and Henfield Bowling Club made sure their day was as perfect as it
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could be. A delicious cream tea with homemade cakes was enjoyed by all, the competition was friendly and filled with laughter and the sun shone all afternoon. David Phillipson, Chairman of the Henfield Bowling Club, said; “It has been a great afternoon with some really good competition. It’s an incredible honour to host the Chelsea Pensioners, and a wonderful way to celebrate our 90th year.” The Chelsea Pensioners have their own bowling green in the pristine grounds of the Royal Hospital, so the Henfield team are in for a real treat when they enjoy their return trip next year. Just 10 days after their journey to Henfield the same Chelsea Pensioners entertained a rather high-profile visitor – Melania Trump, First Lady of the USA, visited the Royal Hospital as part of her inaugural visit to the UK. A highlight of her trip was a game of bowls and she turned out to be rather good at it, managing to hit the jack on her first attempt! We hope Team Henfield will be just as successful in Chelsea, but I can imagine they’ll be wearing more appropriate footwear than Melania did!
Emma Osman
www.henfieldbowlingclub or 01273 495528. BN5 Magazine | 37