Prince Harry to take part in the Walking with the Wounded expedition to the South Pole

This Sunday, Prince Harry will join one of three teams of wounded servicemen and women to trek to the geographic South Pole for the Walking With The Wounded South Pole Allied Challenge (17th November mid December 2013). 

The three seven-man teams from the UK, Commonwealth and USA each with four wounded team members - will depart London for Cape Town on Sunday 17th November.

They will then fly from Cape Town to Novolazarevskaya Station, Antarctica on 19th November where they will spend a few days acclimatising to the Antarctic temperature. Once acclimatised, the teams will fly to 87° south, where they will spend further time acclimatising to the altitude.

The expedition to the South Pole will begin from 87° south on 30th November, with the teams hoping to reach the geographic South Pole by 16th December.

The teams of service personnel, all of whom have physical or cognitive injuries, will race 335km across the Antarctic Plateau. The distance will be divided into managed stages and checkpoints and each team will have an experienced polar guide and nominated mentor. Due to the hostile conditions and the nature of the injuries involved, the expedition teams will be followed by a support team, who will be on hand in case of emergencies.

The teams will represent and raise funds for military charities from the constituent nations: Soldier On (Canada); Solder On (Australia); Soldiers to Summits (United States); and Walking With The Wounded (United Kingdom).

Trekking around 15km to 20km per day, the teams will endure temperatures as low as -45°C and 50mph winds as they pull their pulks (custom built arctic sledges), each weighing in excess of 70kg, towards the southernmost point on the globe.

As with previous Walking With The Wounded expeditions, the South Pole Allied Challenge aims to highlight the extraordinary courage and determination of the men and women who have been wounded while serving their countries and to draw attention to the need to help in their career transition.

Team UK (Team Glenfiddich)

1.      Captain Guy Disney (Light Dragoons): Right leg amputee below the knee

2.      Major Kate Philp (Royal Artillery): Left leg amputee below the knee

3.      Captain Ibrar Ali (Yorkshire Regiment): Right arm amputee below the elbow

4.      Sergeant Duncan Slater (RAF Regiment): Double leg amputee below the knee

5.      Conrad Dickinson (Team Guide)

6.      Richard Eyre (Team Mentor)

7.      Prince Harry (Patron, Walking With The Wounded)

Team Commonwealth (Team Soldier On)

1.      MCpl Chris Downey (Canadian Army): Burns, loss of right eye and internal injuries

2.      LCpl Alexandre Beaudin d'Anjou (Canadian Army): Paraesthesia, chronic back pain and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

3.      Cpl Heath Jamieson (Australian Army): Gunshot wound through the neck

4.      Sgt Seamus Donaghue (Australian Army): Gunshot wound through his thigh

5.      Eric Philips (Team Guide)

6.      Simon Dalglish (Team Mentor and Co-Founder of Walking With The Wounded)

7.      Dominic West (Team Ambassador)

Team USA (Team Noom Coach)

1.      Captain Ivan Castro (USSOCOM): Blindness

2.      Captain Therese Frentz (USAF): Burns, internal injuries and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

3.      Sgt Margaux Mange (US Army): Bells Palsy, Trigeminal, Occipital Neuralgia and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

4.      Captain Mark Wise (US Army): Partial hand/forearm amputation, facial rebuild, burns

5.      Inge Solheim (Team Guide)

6.      Ed Parker (Team Mentor and Co-Founder of Walking With The Wounded)

7.      Alexander Skarsgard (Team Ambassador)

Walking With The Wounded

Walking With The Wounded raises funds to train service personnel who are wounded, injured or sick, assisting them to find a career outside the military. Whether suffering a physical or mental injury and whether a service leaver or veteran, the charity helps provide wounded service personnel with the future they deserve.

Prince Harry was also Patron of the Walking With The Wounded trek to the North Pole in 2011 and the Everest Expedition in 2012.