On bank holiday Monday LCpl Dean Hadrell of B Sqn represented KRH on the Soham Carnival Royal British Legion stand. The RBL were honouring three D-Day Veterans, one of whom was Ken Matkin. Ken landed on D-Day with the 1st Northants Yeomanry and later transferred to 10th Hussars and has been a proud Shiner ever since.

The Soham RBL Chairman is Mike Donoghue, who served in 14/20H 1968 – 1972, and it was Mike who extended the invite to KRH to join the RBL branch in honouring Ken and his fellow D-Day Veterans.

LCpl Hadrell said “It was an honour to meet Ken and his fellow veterans. I had an interesting chat with him about his WW2 experiences and some of the problems and challenges that they faced. Ken was also very interested in the Challenger 2 tank that we are equipped with today”.
LCpl Hadrell presented Ken with a Tercentenary souvenir cup and 2018 Regimental journal, and in return received a set of French WW2 coins made from aluminium (because of the lack of copper and brass due to the war effort). They will make an interesting addition to the Regimental museum WW2 display.

Ken, we salute you - HUSSAR !!

Lt Col Nick Tuck (Chairman CB Wilson Trustees) and Lt Col Peter Garbutt (Regtl Sec) joined Maj Dave Wilford MBE and SSM Pete Pollard of B Sqn KRH to hand over a cheque for £2000, donated by the CB Wilson Fund on behalf of KRH, to the hospital appeal to raise funds for a 2nd MRI scanner.
Salisbury District Hospital provides services to KRH serving soldiers and their families, and the Trustees of the CB Wilson Bequest are always keen to help and support.
The CB Wilson Fund supports officers, soldiers and families of The King's Royal Hussars and the former Regiments. It has its own Trustees body and Its income is derived from the legacy of Captain C B Wilson, a former 10th Hussar officer, who left a bequest in memory of his only son, Johnny, who was killed in the Western Desert in 1942.

The two LCpls joined for the second week and had to learn fast as they only had four days of practice before the Army Junction Championships would take place.  There were three trophies up for grabs; the Novice Cup (best beginner), the Junction Handicap and the 17th/21st Lancer’s Cup (Pairs open race). If the riders could stay in the run they would have a good shot at coming away with some silverware, however,  crash and they're out! ​

KRH vs SDG

The picturesque Happy Valley was the location for the second match against the Scots Dragoon Guards. The match began in a sedate way with both teams giving up possession easily but some sustained SDG pressure resulted in back to back corners. Luckily none were successful and in fact the KRH came away with a counter attack off the last that lead to a KRH goal. Later in the half the KRH were saved from the executioner again as the SDG failed to convert a penalty into an equaliser. 

At the dying stages of the half the KRH started to enjoy a period of consolidation and the Hawks adopted to a new formation after some sub changes. A free kick in the centre of the park led to a second KRH goal as Cpl Hume's kick took a big deflection, wrong footing the keeper. The goal served as a catalyst to further KRH pressure and a 50 yard run from LCpl Barcroft ended in a solid finish. 

The SDG emerged for the second half with the bit between their teeth, clearly frustrated at their first half performance and this renewed vigour paid dividends within two minutes as they scored to make it 3-1. This attacking play continued and they carved out several more opportunities before grabbing a second goal to reduce the deficit to one. 

The Hawks knew they were in a fight and took time to settle, but the introduction of LCpl Fletcher resulted in a third goal of the tour for him and the KRH then began to dominate possession and looked a constant threat going forwards but still conceded a goal to once again find themselves only one goal to the good. The Hawks seem to thrive on pressure, however, and despite some nervous moments in the last ten minutes the KRH maintained the lead and kept their 100% winning record in tact.

KRH vs 1LANCS

The KRH's adopted home of Happy Valley was the location of the third match of the 2017 football tour. This time they faced the gold clad men of 1 LANCS; infantry cup finalists and a team sure to threaten the Hawks' 100% winning record.

The Hawks, however, looked sharp in the warm-up and knew that they needed to be at the top of their game competing in 26 degrees against a unit well acclimatised to the Cypriot heat. For the first time on the tour the KRH started in the ascendancy and looked composed on the ball. However a free kick decision in favour of the Lancs which confused players and fans alike rattled against the crossbar and the rebound was slotted home. 

The KRH responded well to going behind and by the mid-half drinks break were firmly on top. As the break drew to a close the KRH knew they had to convert their possession into chances and a speculative through ball to LCpl Barcroft resulted in a one on one which, after an initially sliced effort, was well finished. This spurred the Hawks into life and a half turn by LCpl Fletcher lead to a goal for the irrepressible striker. The rest of the half settled into a pattern of KRH pressure but with little end result. 

A half time team talk focused on 'more of the same' greeted the weary KRH players and the Hawks knew they'd have to be aware of the potent attacking threat of the Lancs. The second half opened with two back to back chances for LCpl Barcroft followed by a another for LCpl Fletcher and there was an increasing risk that the KRH would pay for their profligacy in front of goal as the Lancs came back into the game. 

In the 65th minute the KRH struck a decisive blow as Cpl Judge crossed the ball which was met by LCpl Fletcher who rifled the ball on the volley into the roof of the net. As the Lancs pressed hard to get back into the game several KRH opportunities were wasted and the chance of a more emphatic scoreline passed the team by.

The full time whistle came and the KRH came out worthy 3-1 winners against one of the stronger teams in Army football. This result and performance crowns a great opening week for the men in crimson who are now three from three on the tour.

The game then settled into a pattern of KRH possession with little end product. As the half drew to its close, however, the Hawks' wing back Sgt Solly exploited a gap in the Anglian defence and slid across a great cross for KRH talisman LCpl Fletcher to rifle home an equaliser. 

​I arrived in Toronto, Canada on the 21st September 2017 and as soon as we landed there were endless crowds of people cheering and showing their support for us in the airport. It was a strange feeling and we had to have a police escort, but I felt immensely proud. The crowds continued when the UK team joined the other international athletes and their families at the Sheraton Centre, which was to be our home for the Games.
 
I had 24 hours to rest before the opening ceremony, which was a great chance to relax and drink in the sights of the city and we visited some of the other stadiums of Toronto. We also had a chance for some extra training!
 
The opening ceremony was held at the Canada Air Centre Toronto, it was absolutely unbelievable to see the support from the Canadians, who don’t have any British sensibility when it comes to cheering! We walked on stage and there was an eruption from our friends and family, it was one of my proudest moments to date.
 
The next day the Games began and I started training for the athletics. While archery was my main reason for being there I was also hoping to compete in the shot and discuss, but during a practice I ruptured a lower disk in my spine throwing discuss.
 
I was taken to St Michael's Hospital Toronto where they had to MRI my spine. After filling me full of drugs to ease the pain they began to talk of potential surgery, but the UK team doctor strongly advised against it and he urged them to let me wait it out until I was back in the UK. This gave me a lifeline to allow me to compete in archery, and I resolved to do my absolute best after a year of training.
 
I knew in my mind it would be one of my toughest challenges to date and I could barely stand as well as use a crutch most of the time. I had a couple of days to try and rest and then the day came for me to let my arrows fly. 
 
The first round of the Archery was a 30 arrow shoot that would place us according to our scores. The maximum score was 300 and I was amazed to shoot myself 224 – it’s amazing what determination can get you. It got me to 10th place and so I was to compete in the second round. The second round was another 30 arrows and, as each archer took their turn, I could see that the wind was picking up. I was happy as my training had been in the wind and the rain of the UK and I could see the two athletes left and right of me missing every now and then. That gave me some confidence, but my score on the 9th set was only at 198 and so my coach was shouting encouragement at me. My first shot in the last set was a 10 followed by two 9s and everyone was astounded, especially me. It meant I got a higher score than my first round and out of 600 I had scored 450, placing me 7th overall. 

​I was now up against Ken Hargreaves, another UK team archer. I was gutted to be shooting against another team member. I won the first round then Ken won the second. Then we drew a round. It was nail-biting stuff, but Ken then won the third and needed to win or draw to go onto a bronze medal match. I tried my best but as I could barely stand, Ken took the win.
 
HRH Prince Harry watched my archery matches and was extremely impressed with the way I shot from my mouth. He admired the fact that I competed even through the pain from my ruptured disk and the Chief of Staff gave me an Invictus Games Coin, an award is only issued to those who show the Invictus spirit. HRH Prince Harry wanted to meet my wife and say thank you for her support and ask how she managed to carry me when I was at my worst and couldn't walk! He then told me that I'm punching and my wife had the biggest grin on her face. She now won't stop telling everyone that HRH Prince Harry thinks she is hot!

​Overall I came 5th in the Individual Novice Recurve and then shot in the team match for the UK. We came 4th, just missing out on a Bronze by 4 points.
 
It was an amazing experience and archery has been an excellent sport to keep me focussed and take away the thought of pain. The Invictus Games has been one of the best things I've done in life. Having my family there with me meant so much and they have supported me through everything. The Games also gave me a chance to meet new friends and make friends all over the world, something I will always cherish.
 
I'd like to say WO2 Paul Sercombe – the Kiwis have been the best bunch of Invictus athletes. They are an amazing bunch of people that I can now call friends and every country competing in the Invictus Games has said the same. I met up with a friend of Pauls who he served with back in NZ.
 
I want to finish with a massive thank you to all the serving and ex serving members from the KRH. The support has been outstanding. It means a lot. Hussar!