An injured former soldier with links to Burnham-On-Sea is hoping to inspire other veterans at this month’s Invictus Games in The Hague.
Julian Allen, 51, originally from Yeovil and now living in Curry Rivel, suffered serious spinal injuries during his service when he was just 17 and his physical and mental health deteriorated. His struggles with his physical and mental health were so tough that he tried to take his own life.
Watching the Invictus Games in 2017, while laid up in hospital following his third spinal surgery, the former soldier was determined to take part and inspire others.
Armed forces charity Help for Heroes gave him counselling sessions and supported him back into sport which he says saved his life.
Thanks to his determination and passion for sport, and with the charity by his side, Jules has turned his life around and is representing his country again.
He has trained at Fit 4 All gym in Burnham’s Love Lane where he says has been made to feel warmly welcome.
“Burnham is my safe place – I feel so comfortable here – and have been welcomed by many supportive friends and businesses here,” he says.
Adam Hobbs, manager at Fit 4 All gym in Burnham, pictured, adds: “Jules is an incredibly inspiring person. Despite his condition, he puts in extraordinary levels of effort. We all wish him every luck and success at the Invictus Games.”
Julian recalls the fateful day when he suffered his injuries: “I was an infantry combat soldier, I had to learn combat techniques, and how to use weapons. My friend and I were doing a martial arts display, he threw me over his shoulder, and I landed with an impact to my spine. I didn’t realise that the impact had affected certain areas inside my body, which would cause problems later.”
“For many years I kept collapsing in a lot of pain. I was self-medicating. The impact had damaged my vertebrae. It caused nerve damage. I get stabbing pains in my legs, like having hot needles in my toes and calf. I can’t walk that far. It affects my sleep and I wake up in pain and cold sweats. And I now use a stick to assist me to walk.”
“It was very frustrating, going from an active combat soldier to not being able to do anything. My mind wants to do everything, but my body won’t let me. That battle between my mind and my body would trigger my mental health issues.”
He added: “I first got involved with Help for Heroes in 2016. I filled out the request for support form and then had a phone call from a gentleman a couple of weeks later. I was that overwhelmed, I started crying when he said the words ‘we’ll help you’.”
“When you transition from soldier to veteran there are all these things you need to do, that you’ve no idea how to do. Claim benefits, get mental health support and physio, go to medical appointments. It was like jumping through hoops. Having a Help for Heroes case manager to help me deal with all those things took the pressure off.”
With the Charity’s support and his own inspirational determination and passion, this week Allen heads out to the Hague, in the Netherlands, where he will compete against other veterans from across the globe in powerlifting, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair racing. “My goal is just to finish the race!” he says.
He explains: “I was laid in hospital in 2017 after my third spinal surgery. I was highly medicated and in a bad way physically and mentally.”
“I turned the TV on, and the Invictus Games was on. I saw past people’s disabilities and I was interested in what they were achieving, and that sparked something in my mind. I thought ‘if they can do it, why can’t I?’”
“All I wanted to do was get out of that bed. I wanted to get out of the wheelchair. My first goal was to make the Invictus Games trials, when I achieved that I thought, ‘let’s see how far we can go’ and I continued with the training.”
“Joining the Invictus Games through the Help for Heroes sport recovery programme has helped me in a massive way. I’ve got a lot more confidence. I feel better in myself, and I’ve reduced most of my medication.”
“I’m competing in wheelchair rugby, it’s an amazing sport. When I am playing, I am free from my disability and I’m not in pain. I’m in a zone and I completely forget about my physical and mental disabilities and the challenges of being a single parent.”
Such is his devotion to the sport that he plays in the national league, for Bournemouth Lions, and is currently taking his coaching badges to enable him to ‘give back’ to the sport. He now wants to use his platform as an Invictus Games competitor to inspire other people: family, friends, and others with physical or psychological injuries.
“My children have seen me at rock bottom. They’ve seen me where I couldn’t even look after myself, let alone them. They now see me climbing a mountain. I’m not at the top yet, but I’m halfway there.”
“I want to inspire them; I want to inspire my family and my friends. I want them to think this guy, our brother, our son, our dad was in a very bad place, but there’s light at the end of the tunnel with hard work, support, and caring people around you, such as charities, who give you that belief.”
Among his local supporters are Frankie at Crafty Comforts gift shop in Burnham-On-Sea High Street, pictured, who says: “Jules is a true inspiration and a wonderful person. We wish him every success at the Games.”
The Team UK competitors – 91 per cent of whom will make their Invictus Games debuts – were selected, originally, in October 2019, to compete in the May 2020 Invictus Games, at The Hague. When the pandemic hit, it was shifted to 2021, but uncertainty forced a second postponement. The event will now take place in The Hague, from 16-22 April.
Competitors rose to the challenge of keeping their fitness and spirits up during multiple lockdowns, by altering their routines to take on virtual training online, as well as getting outdoors where restrictions allowed.
Having not seen each other in person since the start of 2020, the team, along with coaches and support staff, attended the first post-lockdown Invictus UK training camp, in November, and have continued to join weekend camps, provided by Help for Heroes. The Charity is responsible for the selection, training, and welfare of UK competitors.
Team UK – presented by BAE Systems – will compete in nine sports: athletics; archery; wheelchair basketball; cycling; powerlifting; indoor rowing; wheelchair rugby; swimming; and sitting volleyball.
Help for Heroes’ Hannah Lawton, chef de mission for Team UK, said: “The journey to an Invictus Games is always massive for every single competitor as they learn to adapt to life-changing injuries and illnesses, and manage daily struggles, before even getting to the point of applying to compete. None of us imagined that Team UK would have the added challenge of a pandemic and – by the time they get to The Hague – a delay of two years.”
“These competitors are well-versed in taking on challenges though and I’m so proud of the commitment they’ve shown to the team, whether that’s in keeping up with training virtually, supporting their teammates or recognising when they need to step back and take a break.”
Invictus UK is delivered by a partnership comprising Help for Heroes, the Ministry of Defence, and the Royal British Legion.
