Still Serving: John's Story
John Ahben grew up in Fiji, where he originally trained as a pilot. In 2002, following political unrest in the country, he travelled to Britain to enlist in the British Army and joined the King’s Own Royal Border Regiment as a Kingsman.
“I liked military life — everything about it,” he says. “If it wasn’t for my injury, I’d have stayed in.”
John served for 12 years, including time in Northern Ireland and Cyprus. In 2014, while undertaking advanced training in Cyprus, his life changed in an instant. The vehicle he was travelling in lost control, and John suffered a severe head injury.
He was unconscious for more than two weeks.
When he woke, he struggled to walk and was left with permanent memory loss and long‑term cognitive difficulties, challenges he still manages every day.
John spent years in and out of the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court, working to regain basic skills and adapt to the lasting effects of his injury. Eventually, his condition meant he had to leave the Army, a loss he felt deeply.
“The Army was all I knew,” he says. “Leaving was very hard.”
After leaving service, John lived in supported accommodation in Newcastle and began volunteering at a garden centre. It was there that he discovered something unexpected: a love of plants and horticulture.
In time, John applied through his old regiment for an apprenticeship at the Royal British Veterans Enterprise (RBVE) Village in Kent. He moved into a one‑bed flat on the Village, joined a community of hundreds of veterans, and began studying horticulture while working with the grounds team.
John thrived. He gained his qualification, grew in confidence, and was later promoted into RBVE’s Property and Grounds Maintenance team, responsible for the grounds of The Centenary Village including the gold‑medal‑winning Chelsea Garden.
“It feels great knowing I’m working on something so important,” he says. “I look out of my window every morning and feel a sense of achievement.”
Today, John lives off‑site with his partner and their young daughter, a milestone made possible by the stability and support he found at RBVE.
“I’m slow in how I process things, and I forget most things,” he laughs. “My partner is always ticking my head for forgetting stuff. But I’m happy. I have a routine. I take my daughter to school. I work. I feel blessed.”
“Everyone here helps each other,” he says. “I’m really happy where I am and what I’m doing.”
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