Oak Apple Day

Happy Oak Apple Day! 29th May, known as Oak Apple Day or Royal Oak Day, used to be a public holiday celebrated in England, Wales and Ireland in the past to commemorate the restoration of King Charles II to the throne in 1660 following the Civil War. It was named after the oak tree at Boscobel in Shropshire in which Charles II hid from the Parliamentarian forces pursuing him whilst he was fleeing from the battle of Worcester in 1651, and traditional celebrations to commemorate the event often entailed the wearing of oak apples (a type of plant gall) or sprigs of oak leaves in memory of that famous oak tree. Here we see a group of Chelsea Pensioners at the Royal Hospital Chelsea posing on Oak Apple Day in front of the statue of their founder Charles II decorated with oak leaves in commemoration. The Royal Hospital Chelsea is a retirement home for British soldiers unfit for further duty due to injury or old age. It was founded by King Charles II in 1681, traditionally at the behest of his mistress Nell Gwynn after she met an old wounded soldier reduced to begging for charity.