A BOVINGTON war veteran of three tours of Iraq and three to Bosnia will also carry his country’s flame through Dorset in the Olympic relay this summer.

Father-of-two Adrian Rhodes, who was nominated by his son Adam, will be one of 8,000 people to carry the Olympic Torch courtesy of Lloyds TSB and will take part in the nationwide relay with his run taking place on July 13.

Adrian, 45, was part of the Royal Armoured Corp in the 9th/12th Royal Lancers before he became an Army preparation teacher at Kingston Maurwood College in April after 22 years’ service.

Adam, 17, put his dad forward for the honour to recognise his commitment to the Weymouth Royal Marine Cadets after he stepped in to volunteer his time when numbers were short.

“It is very exciting. I have been telling everyone actually,” said Adrian.

“Adam didn’t tell me he had put me forward. He just saw an advert for it on the TV and filled out an application form.

“I saw that there were thousands of applicants so it’s amazing to be selected.

“Every time I tell people they say: ‘Are you sure?’ and I keep telling everyone: ‘I am an Olympian.’ I am probably not quite that but there you go.

“My son wants to join the Marines and the Weymouth cadets were the closest ones to us. “I started helping out and I sort of got dragged in as they were struggling with numbers.

“Because I still have the cadets twice a week, and sometimes two weekends out of four a month, I won’t miss the army lifestyle as I’ll still have it.

“I love swimming as I’m a swimming instructor as well so that’s the one I will watch at the Olympics, as well as the diving.

“When I was down training in Aldershot I saw the British synchronised swimming team in training and they looked really good.”

The Olympic relay is a 70-day journey in which 8,000 people will individually help carry the flame from Land’s End to the Olympic Stadium in Stratford.

A Stratton woman who shares Seb Coe’s ideas on building an Olympic legacy for people of all ages will carry the Olympic flame when it travels through Dorset this summer.

Rosemary Barfoot is one of just 8,000 people to carry the Olympic Torch courtesy of Lloyds TSB as recognition of her resolute work and imagination in helping Weymouth people maintain a healthy mind, body and spirit.

In 2009 she founded Phoenix Legacy, a community volunteer organisation which last summer built a communal garden for the Crossroads Centre in Weymouth.

The new green space is principally for the benefit of people with learning difficulties, their careers and other nearby charities.

Rosemary has also organised a conference on mental wellbeing to take place in Dorset on August 12 – the last day of the Olympics. She hopes the event will help people learn how to keep their minds active as the years advance.

English chess Grandmaster Raymond Keene will be a special guest and will challenge 20 Dorset county players at the same time.

Rosemary, 57, has always stayed active but admits she has a few nerves about running with the flame on July 12.

“I just hope it’s not up a very steep hill,” she joked.

“I have been going out on my bike but now I will have to really start training.

“It is really exciting and I have feel very honoured to have been selected.

“When I first heard Seb Coe talking about the Olympics and about building a legacy it matched what I was thinking because in Dorset such a high percentage of people over 50 are inactive.

“I wanted to help try and change that because an Olympics legacy is not just for the young and the fit.

“What I am most proud of doing is building a garden and day centre in Weymouth so that elderly people now have a communal garden.

“Last summer they spent nearly every day outside. For them, and there’s about 45, that was a huge achievement.

“Before that they were almost always stuck inside.”

A former secretary from Portesham whose late husband was instrumental in bringing the Olympic Sailing events to Weymouth will carry the Olympic Flame when it travels through Dorset this summer.

Di Ludlow has worked tirelessly for many of the county’s charities throughout her life, including Riding for the Disabled and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

But Di, 67, feels being selected to be a Lloyds TSB Torchbearer in the Olympic torch relay – which starts in Cornwall and ends at the Olympic Stadium, going via Scotland – is more a recognition of her husband Bill’s work, rather than her own.

Bill died aged 74 in July 2008 from mesothelioma after exposure to asbestos but had a big hand in establishing the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy.

“It is wonderful the games are here and it is due to my husband Bill that Weymouth is hosting the sailing,” said Di.

“It is a great honour to carry the Flame and I feel I am doing this chiefly in his memory so it is very emotional.

“I have no idea what it is going to involve though. I am a relatively fit person as I walk my dogs a lot so I should be fine.

“Since the Athens Olympics the sailing academy has been used as a base for the British sailing teams and we have won more medals than any other team.

“Bill was determined the former naval base there should be used for water-based activities and didn’t become a housing estate, which was a danger.

“The waters are the best sailing waters in Europe but he had a tough battle in saving them.

“Along with Rod Carr at the RYA, they had to really convince people that this was worth preserving as a sailing centre.

“Other than sailing I thoroughly enjoy athletics because watching good athletes is a joy and I hope the British team does well.

“The Olympics will be a wonderful coming together of athletes and nations and that is very important.”