Clothing
In-pensioners are entitled to come and go from the Royal Hospital as they please, and are permitted to wear civilian clothing wherever they travel. However, within the Hospital, and in the surrounding area, in-pensioners are encouraged to wear a blue uniform. If they travel further from the Hospital, they should wear the distinctive scarlet coats instead of the blue uniform. The scarlet coats are also worn for ceremonial occasions, accompanied by tricorne hats. (At other times a peaked hat, known as a shako, is generally worn).
In uniform, the pensioners wear their medal ribbons and the insignia of the rank they reached while serving in the military. They may also wear other insignia they earned during their service and many pensioners now wear parachute jump wings and even SAS jump wings. It is illegal to impersonate an in-pensioner; at one time this was punishable by death.
Read more about this topic: Chelsea Pensioner
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