Old soldiers' home Old soldiers' home An old soldiers' home is a military veteran's retirement home, nursing home, or hospital, or sometimes even an institution for the care of the widows and orphans of a nation's soldiers, sailors, and marines, etc. In the United Kingdom the Royal Hospital Chelsea was established by King Charles II in 1682 as a retreat for veterans. The provision of a hostel rather than the payment of pensions was inspired by Les Invalides in Paris. The Royal Hospital Chelsea, often called simply Chelsea Hospital, is a retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British
National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers To meet the demand for services after World War II, and later the Korean and Vietnam wars, the former branches of the National Home were expanded and adapted to serve veterans. To ensure high-quality development and training for personnel, in the postwar years the Veterans Administration and its hospital officials worked to establish medical residency programs at veterans hospitals, accredited through collaboration with local and regional universities. During its life, the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers was also known "officially" as the National Military Home and colloquially as the Old Soldiers Home. The formal organizational name was not changed