Our history

Within days of opening, the Home had reached capacity. The men were accommodated in the annexe of the old Star & Garter hotel. It was apparent that the hotel was unsuitable for use as a hospital and it was more cost-effective to tear it down and build a purpose-built Home. Sir Edwin Cooper R.A. was appointed architect and charged with creating a ‘beautiful building’ to accommodate 200 men.

In summer 1924, Their Majesties King George V and Queen Mary paid their inaugural visit to the Home and, as Patron of the Home, Queen Mary received the deeds. The new Richmond Home welcomed residents back from Sandgate in October 1924. It was now officially known as the ‘Star & Garter Home for Disabled Sailors, Soldiers and Airmen’.

In the late 1940s, a special paraplegic ward was established at the Home under the direction of Dr Ludwig Guttmann, consultant at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. Guttmann used pioneering techniques to promote residents’ mobility, recommending sports which could be played from a wheelchair, such as archery. In 1948, Guttmann launched the Stoke Mandeville Games with an archery competition between Stoke Mandeville and the Star & Garter team. This was the first recorded competition between disabled athletes and was the forerunner to the Paralympic Games.

In 1969 the colonnade was enclosed so that the residents could enjoy the gardens under shelter. In 1971 a Hydrotherapy pool funded by the RAF was built in the basement. The wards and single rooms were refurbished and modernised, to add built in wardrobes and electric razor sockets in 1976. In 1994 the wards were modernised again and some adapted into single and twin rooms. It was becoming clear that the Home was difficult to adapt to modern standards.

In 1916, the average age of the young ex-Servicemen was 22. A century later, the average age is now 88, and there is a need for 24-hour nursing, respite and specialist dementia care. The Richmond Home could no longer facilitate the levels of accommodation and care required in the 21st century. The Richmond building was sold in November 2014.

The Charity celebrated its Centenary on 14 January 2016. Both Homes and residents celebrated with parties and Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra visited the Surbiton Home to mark the milestone. In the words of First World War veteran Horace Ham, who was a resident with the Charity until his death in 1995: “I only hope, just as the Home was here for me when I needed it, it will be here in years to come for brave Servicemen and women.”