Seamen's Hospital Society
Coordinates: 51°28′54″N 0°0′31″W / 51.48167°N 0.00861°W
The Seafarers Hospital Society is a UK charity established in 1821 with the purpose of helping people currently or previously employed in the Merchant Navy or fishing fleets, and their dependants. The Dreadnought Seamen's Hospital continues to the present day under the NHS as the 'Dreadnought Unit' at St Thomas's Hospital and the dedicated Hospital for Tropical Diseases, part of the University College Hospitals London NHS Trust.
The society currently part-funds the Seafarers' Advice and Information Line, a national advice service operated by the Greenwich Citizens Advice Bureau. In addition it provides funds to nursing and residential care units for seafarers, and helps those in need by providing hardship grants.
The first meeting of the society's committee of management was on 8 March 1821 and they initially provided the Seaman's Infirmary hospital ship using the ex-naval HMS Grampus at Deptford in October 1821. It relocated twice to other ex-naval ships; 1831 to 1857 HMS Dreadnought and then 1857 to 1870 HMS Caledonia (renamed Dreadnought). Following the closure of the Royal Naval Hospital at the site of the Royal Greenwich Hospital in 1869, the society was granted the lease in 1870 and on transferring became known as the Dreadnought Seamen's Hospital, after its last floating home. Thus the Greenwich Hospital switched from the care of ex-members of the Royal Navy to those of the Merchant Navy. Meanwhile, the Dreadnought remained in use as isolation accommodation until 1872.
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