Prince Harry surprises WWII veteran at the Invictus Games/2017

Prince Harry surprises WWII veteran at the Invictus Games/2017



Prince Harry surprised a 102-year-old World War Two veteran with a personal visit after he publicly thanked the royal for all he had done for service personnel.

Sgt James Norman Baker appeared live on a television screen during a wheelchair rugby match at the Invictus Games tonight to pay tribute to Harry for setting up the competition.



The 33-year-old prince, who himself served for a decade in the army including two tours of Afghanistan, was so moved that he ran up the stairs of the arena to find Sgt Baker, who was in a wheelchair, and greet him.



Sinking to his knees, he held the old man's hand and listened to him as he repeated his gratitude.

Sgt Baker said afterwards: 'I wanted to show the athletes my support and enjoy the games. See their spirit.

'They show amazing strength of character as well as body. I think they do a wonderful job.

'It's important because without this, a lot of them would not be where they are today.



'It's Prince Harry's efforts that have encouraged them to find the competitive spirit, self-confidence and join in: make them feel as if they have a place in the world when they could have lost hope.'

Saying his own generation had 'just had to do the best we could' to recover from war on their own, he added: 'Some of them didn't have anything to live for.

'Harry's given them [this generation] that spirit.'

Asked about his conversation with the Prince, he said modestly: 'He thanked me.'



As he told Harry his own story, the Prince exclaimed: 'Wow, that's amazing. Fantastic.' He then checked that Sgt Baker had a VIP seat for the rest of the wheelchair rugby game.

Harry founded the Invictus Games, a Paralympic-style event for injured servicemen and women, which is being held in Toronto this year year, in 2014.

The idea behind it is to help facilitate their recovery both physically and mentally, but the. Games have also become renowned for their top class competition.



Sgt Baker, from Toronto, served with the Royal Regiment of Canada for four years. He was originally a company clerk for the regiment and not expected to fight, but saw action shortly after D-Day.

Mr Baker landed at Juno Beach six weeks after D-Day and was then part of the Allied Forces who moved through France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. In 2012, he met with the Prince of Wales when Charles presented new colours to the Royal Regiment at Varsity City, Toronto.



Earlier in the day on Thursday, Prince Harry gave a barn-storming speech today in which he implored young people to 'look up from your phones' and stand up for what they believe in.

The royal was the surprise guest at Toronto's WE Day event, part of a global day of celebration to bring young people together and make change through social good.



More than 5,000 schoolchildren were in the city's Air Canada Centre and gave Harry a tumultuous - almost evangelical - welcome when he appeared on stage.

The prince said there was too much cynicism and apathy in the world and called for young people put aside their fears and make their voice heard.



He said: 'In today's world too many people feel cynical and apathetic.

'I get that the challenges we face sometimes seem complex and even scary, especially when we don't know who to turn to for answers.

'I know that while this generation of young people wants to make our world a better place, you often struggle to get your voices heard.



'I know that you, more than any previous generation, care deeply about the health and sustainability of the planet you're going to inherit.

'And I see that you're frustrated - that entrenched mindsets - are not keeping pace with the urgency - of the threats to our environment.



'But today you are all saying no to pessimism and cynicism. Here in Toronto - with both WE day and the Invictus Games - we are saying yes to optimism, yes to hope, and yes to belief.

'And we are putting service and giving back at the heart of everything that we do.



'The thousands of you gathered here are proof that today's generation of young people is the most connected, most energised, and most confident the planet has ever known.'

Casually dressed in a blue shirt and grey chinos, the prince admitted that he was somewhat older than many in the audience, but insisted that he understood the pressures they faced and called on them to be cautious about their use of social media.

He urged: 'You know that differences of opinion, of circumstance, of race and religion - are to be respected and celebrated.



'You know that in a clickbait culture, we cannot waste time sharing and drawing attention to things that make us angry, or that we know to be false.



'You all know that it's great to 'like' things on social media, but that it's more important to look up from our phones, to get out into our communities, and to take real action; to stand up for what you believe in.'