The Royal Hospital Chelsea wants café volunteers, any day 8.30am to 5pm. Chelsea Pensioner Marjorie, 82, says the café ended years of living alone.
The Royal Hospital Chelsea is looking for volunteers to help run its café on the Royal Hospital Road site, and one of its best-known residents is making the case for them.
Marjorie is 82. She served more than 30 years in the Women’s Royal Army Corps, became one of the first female Chelsea Pensioners and has lived at the Royal Hospital for 17 years, according to the hospital’s account of her story. Before she moved in, she lived alone.
“Because I lived on my own, I didn’t see a soul until I went out shopping or went to church on a Sunday,” she says. “If I’d still been living outside, I’d have been sat at home doing nothing. It was lonely outside. Here, there’s always somebody to talk to.”
What the volunteers would do
The role on the hospital’s volunteer portal is the MTI Café Volunteer. The café sits alongside the Margaret Thatcher Infirmary and serves Chelsea Pensioners, their families, staff and visitors.
Volunteers serve refreshments, keep the café clean and welcoming, and may help with cash handling and the till under staff supervision. The listing says they work under the guidance of café staff at all times, with extra support from the Volunteering Team.
The café needs people at various times between 8.30am and 5pm, Monday to Sunday. The hospital does not set a minimum commitment, but says a typical session is around four hours, and availability is talked through informally. According to its volunteer page, agreed expenses are reimbursed and every volunteer gets an introduction to the Royal Hospital, role-specific training and ongoing support.
“Ice cream and lunchtime”
For Marjorie, the café is where the day starts and where it keeps coming back to.
“I have a routine every morning. I’ll get my newspaper, come back, and then go to the café for a cup of tea and an ice cream,” she says. “I usually end up in the coffee shop again. Ice cream and lunchtime. It’s one of my favourite parts of the day.”
She goes back to relax after her own volunteering, or simply for the company. “The café is somewhere I can sit, chat to people, see familiar faces and enjoy being part of the community.”
Asked to rate the ice cream out of ten, the hospital says, she answered at once: “Eleven.”
A new chapter after years alone
The hospital says Marjorie lost the family that once surrounded her and often went long stretches without speaking to anyone before she arrived in Chelsea.
“When I first arrived at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, I was struck by the warmth and friendliness of everyone. After living alone for many years, it felt like a new chapter in my life. From the moment I walked through the gates, people made me feel welcome.”
She says the company has changed her days. “Every day is a new experience. You can meet people you never dreamt of meeting, have a chat and enjoy being with other people. There’s always somebody there, somebody to talk to. You’re never lonely.”
Her pitch to would-be volunteers is about small things. “If you can help somebody, that is the main thing. Help with a smile, a friendly wave, a good morning or a good night. That means a lot.”
“Knowing that people care about us Chelsea Pensioners makes me feel loved. It makes me feel wanted.”
What it means for you
If you live or work near Chelsea and have a few hours a week, this is a way to put them to use close to home. The six steps the hospital lists are: explore the opportunities, submit an application, meet the Volunteering Team, complete any required checks, attend induction and training, then start.
You can apply through the MTI Café Volunteer listing or email the Volunteering Team at volunteers@chelsea-pensioners.org.uk. Details checked on 5 October 2026.
The Royal Hospital has housed retired British Army soldiers since 1692 on its 66-acre site, and its Veterans Outreach programme works against loneliness among older veterans across the UK. The hospital’s autumn exhibition and Remembrance events run in November, and the borough’s Silver Sunday week of free events for older residents is on now.
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