Less than a year ago, as members of our club welcomed a parade of bowlers from the Royal Hospital Chelsea to Beech Hurst, it seemed that was as good as it gets.

But here we are, 11 months later, celebrating what many might consider an even more memorable occasion.

Those who were not selected to play the Chelsea Pensioners last year were given first option to join the day out on July 9 to their home in SW3, and at 8.30am, 23 representatives of the club boarded the coach for a long, tiring but unforgettable day out.

The bowls was incidental – there was a lengthy interruption for a funeral procession, another for tea and then only some of the matches resumed.

For once I have left the words to my lovely colleagues, who have also provided some impressive photos.

More will appear in a separate gallery.

Jennie Evans:

July 9 was the day of our return match with the Chelsea Pensioners. This time we travelled to their rinks at the Royal Chelsea Hospital.

The club members gathered at 8.30am and had a very nice ride through London.

We were welcomed with smiling faces by our hosts’ captain and our guide.

We were advised there was to be a large military funeral in their chapel at 3pm, so we were taken on the tour first.

We were shown the outside of the beautiful building which was constructed and designed under the guidance of Sir Christopher Wren, the gardens where the Chelsea Flower Show is held, the golden statue of King Charles II and beautiful quadrangles.

Inside, we were taken into the imposing dining room and to the beautiful chapel.

We were also taken into the heritage museum where we saw the original bedrooms and living quarters for the Pensioners. They have now been improved and include en-suite facilities.

All the Pensioners I spoke to were very happy to be living at the hospital which costs them £475 per week - paid for by giving up their service pension and topped up with any other pensions they have. This covers everything - clothing, all food, (three meals a day) visits to many different events, dry-cleaning, clothes washing,

The games were made up of three rinks, as they could only produce 12 men because of the funeral.

On the fourth, our members played against themselves. We had a lovely time and happy bowling. At 3pm we stopped playing and lined up along the rink edge to watch the funeral procession, which was an absolute privilege.

At 4pm play stopped for tea in the dining room. After this, two teams decided to carry on playing but the other two stopped for drinks with our lovely opponents, and we socialised in the sun.

We left the RCH at 6pm, arriving home at 8.30pm - tired but we had had a really good, unforgettable day.

We must thank our benefactor, who paid for the coach hire.

The Pensioners would like to come back to us at some stage, so I will be making enquires.

The secretary now needs a drink!

Recollections from others

We walked for 1.5 miles – I measured it. We stood absolutely still for 20 minutes, as there was a funeral 100 yards away from the rink in the middle of our game – Dorothy Glasby

We had to stop for a funeral. It was a sight to be seen. I counted over 60 pensioners in their scarlet coats line up outside when the hearse left – Gwen Croft

I first came across them in 1979 when I came to England and joined an English school in Holland Park to improve my English. The school organised a tour to visit the Chelsea Pensioners and the Chelsea Flower Show. It was an amazing experience, and going back to play bowls and tour again was even more amazing – Tara de Silva

My thanks to everybody who contributed something – words, photos or both. You all conveyed the enjoyment of the day – a magnificent reward for your devotion to the club.

And also to the benefactor – who wishes to remain anonymous – who volunteered long before the event took place to cover the cost of hiring the coach.

It is indeed something to belong to such a generous, friendly, sociable club.