Remembrance at the Tea Bar for our Those Were the Days heritage event
On 31st October 2026 we honoured our armed services by playing host to uniformed personnel who were at Stamford Bridge as part of the club's Remembrance commemorations.
Always the most poignant of fixtures, The Chelsea Heritage Partnership put on a number of presentations and displays for our many visitors.
With Billy, our Chelsea Museum tour guide on hand to chat with visitors, we had on display artefacts that were featured in the two screened items from official club historian and Chelsea Heritage Partner Rick Glanvill. We reprised Rick's 2014 presentation Boys in Khaki, Boys in Blue as a pertinent illustration of perilous times during the first World War.
The video can be found in the link below:
Specially for the event, Rick produced a fascinating presentation about the curious story of a 1915 match fixing scandal that involved the day's opponents Manchester United and their Red neighbours Liverpool.
Our third screen at the venue showed looped clips of iconic footage of games against Manchester United, courtesy of fellow Chelsea Heritage Partner James Abba and his Chelsea Lookback YouTube channel. With the sound up, visitors enjoyed the footage as part of the day's match build up.
Amongst the many people we welcomed former players John Bumstead, Colin Pates and Paul Canoville. Always a delight to chat with players about games gone by, the Tea Bar was buzzing with visitors including personnel from the various armed forces, all Chelsea supporters. And, in a welcome addition to the day's proceedings, the Under 12 Chelsea Academy boys dropped by to show and tell everyone about their special Remembrance Truce Project.
It's fair to say that the boys were really proud of their work and everyone was impressed with how well they spoke about the project as well as their interest in our former players time at the club and the work of the men in uniform. An unforgettable event.
A summary of the project can be read below, with thanks to Carys Dalton.
As always, these events are only possible with the input of many people, including members of the Chelsea Heritage Partnership, the Chelsea Museum, Past Players Foundation, SLO Team and many more. Also, huge thanks to the catering and door staff of the Tea Bar who are the friendly faces of the venue.
With grateful thanks to all the service personnel who travelled to Stamford Bridge from far and wide to lead the Remembrance commemorations with such class. And to We Are The Shed for putting together another special display.
"Our Under 12s participated in an Education Project about the Christmas Truce during WW1 on Christmas Day. Each year, the Premier League host a Tournament in Ypres, Belgium, to commemorate those who served for our country during the war. In order to qualify for the tournament points are awarded to teams from both participation in a qualifying tournament, as well as an education project, where they learn about elements of the war, and the Christmas Truce. The theme of this year's education project was Poems, Poppies, and Physicians, specifically poet and medic John McCrae, who was a Canadian Service Man, who also wrote the well-known Flanders Field poem. The project had 2 missions: Mission 1, creative commemoration. Mission 2, Social Action.
For Mission 1, the boys wanted to create a piece of art. They based their drawings on their learnings from the Premier League education session, as well as a visit from Gregg Stevenson MBE, a veteran who lost both his legs serving in Afghanistan and has gone on to win a Paralympic gold medal in Rowing. The boys spent a few hours working with an Art Teacher to bring their drawings to life, creating 4 large canvases telling a story of remembrance, thanks and hope.
For Mission 2, the boys wanted to find a way to help both veterans and the hospital. We paid a visit to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital on Saturday morning; the players learnt about how a hospital works and the advancements in science and technology that keep medicine moving forward. The boys have donated their artwork to the Children's ward at C&WH, to help educate other children about the legacy of the Christmas Truce. We also donated 8 tickets for the game against Man United on Saturday to give thanks to those working in the Hospital.
Following a couple of hours at the hospital, the players made their way to Stamford Bridge, where they displayed their artwork in the Tea Bar before the game. The boys absolutely loved talking to fans as well as members of the armed forces about what they had learnt and their artwork.
The boys will go on to their football qualifiers at the weekend, and next week will find out if they have qualified for the trip to Ypres. We are immensely proud of the efforts of the Player's on this project; they have been a credit to the Academy and the Club and we wish them all the best at the weekend."
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