The Royal Star & Garter Home was established as an independent charity in 1916 to care for the severely disabled young men returning from the battlegrounds of the First World War. It was Queen Mary who first expressed concern for the future of these young men, and Her Majesty charged the British Red Cross Society with the task of finding a "permanent haven" for them. The Auctioneers and Estate Agents Institute purchased the old Star & Garter hotel on Richmond Hill and handed the deeds to Queen Mary who, in turn, entrusted the building to the British Red Cross. The Royal Star & Garter Home has had a long and rich history since that time but has always remained true to its philosophy that “there is no such thing as a hopeless case” and all the residents, now and then, are cared for with support and therapy. The first 65 residents admitted in 1916 were an average age of 22. Some were able to return home while others were helped to live fulfilled lives for many years. http://www.starandgarter.org/history.html What for over fifty years I had believed to be the biggest war memorial I had ever seen, the Star and Garter Home for ex-servicemen (and recently women, too), stands four-square in vast neo-classic monumentality dominating the top of Richmond Hill, against the gates of the royal park, overlooking the whole Thames Valley. -Bernard Crick- http://www.flickr.com/photos/brighton/2382641556/
