Boehly vs the veterans: inside Chelsea's bust-up

The planned expansion of Stamford Bridge has enraged residents in London's richest borough and leaves former soldiers facing eviction. So what’s really going on? Robbie Griffiths reports

WE'VE been deployed as armed forces overseas, to defend whatever we needed to defend," says Tony McNally, who did 15 years in the Scots Guards. "But who is defending us?" McNally, 67, is the leader of a group of veterans who live at the Sir Oswald Stoll Mansions, and who now fear homelessness after the building their community has been in for more than 100 years was sold to Chelsea Football Club for redevelopment last October.

The row is another headache for Chelsea under Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital. They bought the club for £4.25 billion in May 2022, leading to several bust-ups with neighbours.

David Knight, 48, who served in Bosnia, proudly gives a tour of the first-floor Stoll flat he's been in for three years. It has a photograph remembering his infantry training on the wall, and a view of Stamford Bridge out of the window.

He has been homeless before, and breaks down as he talks about the idea of losing his house again.

Knight says he feels safe at Stoll. "We live a posh area. They're not going to be able to rehouse 130 people in the borough - if they do it's a miracle," he says.

The Sir Oswald Stoll Mansions was established in 1915 to provide homes for soldiers returning from war. Most of its 157 flats are home to dozens of veterans, who served around the world.

Last year, Chelsea had a reported £80 million bid accepted for the site, meaning only 20 of the flats will remain.

The other veterans will be moved to other sites, but they don't yet know where. In a residents' survey, 92 percent said they were against the sale.

Andy Daniels, 62, who was in the Royal Green Jackets and suffers from PTSD and anxiety, says he fears being moved to a hostel.