Nine veterans living at the Royal Hospital Chelsea have died amid the coronavirus pandemic, the prestigious retirement home has confirmed.

Five of the deaths occurred on-site, while four of the residents lost their lives while receiving treatment in hospital.

The home, which cares for 290 British Army veterans with an average age of 82, said 58 of their residents have now recovered after testing positive or showing symptoms of Covid-19.

General Sir Adrian Bradshaw, governor of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, said: ‘Most of our Pensioners have risked their lives serving our nation through war and conflict somewhere in the world, just as our NHS staff and care workers are providing vital and sometimes dangerous service to the nation here at home during this Covid crisis.

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‘We salute all those working in the health and care sectors at this time and we understand only too well the difficulties that they face.’

Royal Hospital Chelsea was first opened in 1692, and offers accomodation and care to any former soldier of the British Army over the age of 65 who is facing their final years alone.

Around 40 of the homes’s current residents served in the Second World War, while others were deployed in Korea, the Falkland Islands, Cyprus and Northern Ireland.

General Bradshaw said the facility now has the capacity to test all residents who show symptoms of coronavirus, as well as those living and working in the same accommodation areas.

He added that they will be marking Victory for Europe (VE) Day on Friday ‘in a manner appropriate to the current situation’. He said: ‘We will reflect on the debt that we owe to those who served the nation in every capacity during the Second World War in Europe.

‘Especially, as we are a home for veterans, we will remember those who were in our armed forces, several of whom are living here in the Royal Hospital.’

Veterans staying in the accommodation are expected to enjoy ‘internal, socially-distant events’ together, but General Bradshaw said they would be ‘against the backdrop of the recent losses we have suffered’.

One victim who lost his life to coronavirus was Fred Boomer-Hawkins, 75, who spent 20 years with the Royal Green Jackets infantry regiment and became a Chelsea Pensioner in 2017. He died on April 1.

Speaking out after his death, his son Terry warned that if the government ‘showed footage of someone at the end with this virus’ it would ‘scare people’ into following lockdown restrictions.

He continued: ‘Please all stay home, keep your distance, wear a mask and wash your hands. If not you might put someone you love through this. My dad was a great man, he was much loved by many and will be sorely missed.’

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