The Pontypridd dad competing in the Invictus Games to make his daughter proud after being 'blown up' in Iraq
An RAF veteran who was injured in the Gulf War is set to compete in the Invictus Games in the Netherlands this month with the simple aim of making his daughter proud. Nathan Huddy, 42, a former RAF Regiment Gunner originally from Cornwall but now living in Pontypridd, will compete in three events at the Hague: indoor rowing, powerlifting and the 50m freestyle swimming.
Like many of his contemporaries competing in the fifth Invictus Games, it’s not about medals – it’s a staging post on the road to recovery. Nathan seriously injured his left foot and received shrapnel wounds in 2003 when the Land Rover in which he was travelling mistakenly entered an Iraqi minefield just a few days after his deployment.
He was medevacked back to the UK and to Headley Court for rehabilitation – the first of three stints at the former Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre. “It was there I got told I was no longer fit for service. Off you trot. See you later,” he recalled. “I started suffering from depression and anger and, although I was never diagnosed with PTSD, looking back, I think I did have it, both when I left the RAF and the time just after. Yeah, from what I’ve read about it, I’m sure I had it.”
He gradually started to come to terms with his situation and was buoyed by the birth of his daughter in 2013. But, within nine months, she had endured two open-heart surgeries and was diagnosed with dwarfism and autism, which again tested his mental health and placed strains on his marriage which, ultimately, broke down.
Then in 2017 he suffered a stroke and his mental health spiralled downwards. Nathan said: “I was drinking as therapy and was just watching telly at night.
"One day, in 2018, I was flicking through the channels and came across the Sydney Invictus Games on BBC iPlayer. I like watching any sport so I clicked on it and remember saying to my partner ‘I can probably apply to do this because I was blown up in Iraq’. She encouraged me to do so and that was like a lightbulb moment. The next day was the first time I got in touch with Help for Heroes.
"Now, I’m the happiest I’ve been in years. I believe starting this journey ultimately saved my relationship and life. This programme has definitely brought me full circle. I was very bitter for many years with the Armed Forces, with my service and stuff like that, but joining the Invictus programme, and just being around other lads and lasses who’ve also been through physical injuries, mental injuries and have suffered, helped me to talk about it, which has done me good. Until then, I felt it was just me.”
After attending an initial induction day where he tried swimming, rowing, powerlifting, training camps and a strict personal gym regime, Nathan now finds himself packing for a week on the North Sea coast between April 16 and April 22, but he's under no illusion how tough it will be.