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About us

Greenwich Hospital is a unique Crown Charity.

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The Hospital provides charitable support including annuities, sheltered housing and education to serving and retired personnel of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines and their dependants.

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This site will tell you more about the aims and objectives of the Hospital, its beneficiaries and its history.

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OUR VISION 

“A world where all in the Royal Naval family are empowered and supported to succeed, now and in the future”

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This is the ‘what’ we are trying to achieve, and ‘what’ direction we are trying to support.  It is a statement in a sense of ‘the perfect world’. 

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OUR MISSION 

“To inspire, encourage and enable all members of the Royal Naval family to realise their full potential in life both during and after service, and to provide a guiding and supportive hand when needed’’

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This is the ‘how’ we go about supporting our beneficiaries in order to work towards our ‘vision’. We believe that by the early provision of support and encouragement, by enhancing skills and education, improving the quality of family life, our beneficiaries will be more likely to achieve their full potential in life and therefore less likely to find themselves in need of help in the future.

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OUR VALUES

We believe that underpinning all aspects of the organisation lies a set of core values reflecting the sort of organisation we are, the sort of people we are, and the commitment we all undertake in working for GH. 

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That we aim to be:

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  • Progressive (we definitely seek to develop and grow our activities, to achieve more, to help more people, and in more ways)

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  • Empowering (we wish always to encourage people to help themselves, to manage their own development, to be ambitious for themselves)

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  • Compassionate (we do care, while retaining sound judgement, and we do put ourselves out to help others)

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  • Collaborative (we realise that we are not alone in this field, that there are others and other organisations who do good and effective jobs in helping our beneficiaries, and we would always wish to work with them in order to achieve greater synergies)

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  • Influencing (we seek to work with others, to enable synergies, to encourage and support greater charitable outcomes for those within our beneficiary groups)

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  • Sustainable (we always look for permanent solutions, enduring outcomes, and encourage beneficiary charities and people to seek greater self- sufficiency)

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  • Agile (we have a very flat structure, a good organisation, and are therefore able to make quick decisions in the minimum time and with the minimum of fuss)

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  • Professional in all that we do (we respect and manage our charitable obligations and resources to the best effect)

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OUR HISTORY

The Royal Charter of William and Mary dated 25 October 1694 established the Royal Hospital for Seamen (latterly known as Greenwich Hospital).

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It was a home for retired seamen of the Royal Navy, and to provide support for seamens widows and education for their children, and the improvement of navigation.

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The first Pensioners arrived at Greenwich in 1705. By the end of the century there were more than 2,000 pensioners living there.

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BUILDINGS

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With changing social conditions, and after more than 20,000 ex- seamen had passed through the Hospitals care, the last Pensioner left in 1869. The Hospital then devoted its resources to paying pensions and educating children. It still pays charitable annuities today and provides sheltered housing for eligible elderly seafarers and substantial grants to naval charities.


The Royal Hospital School which was founded in Greenwich in 1712 and moved to Holbrook, near Ipswich, in 1933.

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The Royal Naval College used the Hospitals original buildings at Greenwich from 1873 until July 1998. The Hospital then gave a 150-year lease to the Greenwich Foundation for the Old Royal Naval College, a charity established to take responsibility for preserving,    finding new uses for, and encouraging public access to the Royal Hospital site. The buildings once used by the Royal Hospital School    in Greenwich were taken over by the National Maritime Museum in 1934.

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After more than 300 years, we continue to enjoy royal interest through our patron, HRH The Duke of York, and we still strive to follow the spirit of our original Charter:

The reliefe and support of seamen serving on board the shipps or vessells belonging to the Navy Royall who by reason of Age, Wounds or other disabilities shall be uncapable of further service at sea and being unable to maintain themselves. And for the Sustentation of the Widows and the Maintenance and Education of the Children of seamen happening to be slain or disabled. Also for the further reliefe and Encouragement of seamen and Improvement of Navigation.

As a unique Crown body, we are governed also by the Greenwich Hospital Acts 1865 to 1996, which have been passed over the years to reflect changing social circumstances and the evolution of the Hospital. We do not fall under the requirements of the Charities Acts of 1992 or 2006, nor the jurisdiction of Charity Commissioners, but we do try to follow the best practices in the charity sector while meeting the requirements of our own Acts.

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