A SERVING soldier says that the Invictus Games has ‘changed his life’ as he celebrates being chosen for next year’s international tournament.

Gwynne Walker, 33, from Shipton Bellinger, took up archery and wheelchair basketball after a friend introduced him to Help for Heroes Tedworth House, in Tidworth.

Still serving in the British Army, Gwynne lives with a progressive injury and since his latest operation, has gone from being active to non-active.

Initially he was encouraged to find out that physical injury need not be the end of competitive sports for him. As part of his sports recovery journey he was keen to apply and start his Invictus journey.

However, the thought of putting himself forward for the Invictus programme triggered severe anxiety, fear and depression and Gwynne retreated to the safety of isolation and shut himself away from the world, and then with a little ‘encouragement’ he has now been chosen to compete at the Invictus Games in 2020.

He said: “If it wasn’t for my fellow team member Charlie Dye who marched me to the desk at Tedworth House and made me put in my application to become a part of the Invictus family I don’t know where I would be today.

“Invictus has changed my life, I can say that without a shadow of a doubt it gives me a reason to get up in the mornings and go and train and try to improve in my sports, I enjoy meeting new people again and listening to their stories and offering them advice or receiving advice from them.”

He added: “My recovery journey is going to be challenging, I am currently serving but I had my full medical board on 29 August 2019.

“If the decision is for me to be discharged from the military, then that brings a lot more challenges. Whatever the future holds, I am determined that I will not quit, the Invictus Games [at] The Hague is now my goal, my drive and focus.”