Cricket For A Cause: Dockers® Flannels For Heroes

Blue skies over Chelsea, glorious sunshine and the ‘beautiful game’ of cricket playing out to 300 guests in what can only be described as an afternoon of fun and delight with a worthy cause.

The Dockers® brand sponsored Dockers® Flannels For Heroes, a two-day affair comprised of a cocktail party at Kensington Palace and a thrilling day of charity cricket to raise funds and awareness for two most noble of organizations: Walking With the Wounded and Combat Stress.

Prince Harry has made it his mission to increase support for wounded British veterans following their duty. Having served as a helicopter pilot in Afghanistan, he knows first-hand the tolls of battle. After receiving the Award for Distinguished Humanitarian Leadership in 2012, the prince said, “For these selfless people, it is after the guns have fallen silent, the din of battle quieted, that the real fight begins-a fight that may last for the rest of their lives.”

At LS&Co., we consider it a great honor that Prince Harry of Wales is quite the Dockers® fan, often photographed out on the town looking dapper as ever in his favorite cut, the distinctive Alpha Khaki.

All proceeds from the Dockers® Flannels for Heroes event will support two charities with the same mission to improve the lives of service men and women and their families.Walking with the Wounded (Prince Harry joined some of those who played cricket today at a trek to the South Pole last year), which retrains and re-skills servicemen to help them find new careers following duty cut short; and Combat Stress, which has for past 95 years helped UK veterans suffering from depression, anxiety and PTSD following departure from the armed services.

The event is a charitable mission that Dockers® is excited to be a part of-and while this is serious sport for a serious cause, it also happens to be quite the party!

Last night, upwards of 80 guests gathered to meet in advance of the match at The Orangery at Kensington Palace-the royal residence now home to Prince William, the Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince George-to kick off the festivities. A lively crowd sipped British and California wines, while being serenaded by the jazz band from the London Savoy Hotel, playing songs from “The Great American Songbook.” Dashing waiters were clad in head-to-toe Dockers®, a uniform that consisted of a crisp white shirt, Dockers® branded “slim jim” ties and, of course, Dockers® Alpha Khakis.

Today, the fun continued with Dockers® Flannels for Heroes day long cricket match at Burton Court. The match took place in the grounds of Sir Christopher Wren’s Royal Chelsea Hospital, which was built out to resemble the Hollywood Cricket Club established in California 1936. Over 300 guests, including Lord and Lady Frederick Windsor and their 10month daughter Lady Maud, Hugh Grant, Lady Kitty Spencer (Prince Harry’s cousin) as well as other pillars of British society, actors and musicians – from Mitch Hewer, Tristan Gemmill and Jeremy Edwards to Holiday Grainger, Camilia Rutherford and Peggy Cummins (a film noir star in Hollywood during the 1940s who attended the cricket matches at The Hollywood Cricket Club) – arrived in formal summer picnic attire, plenty of them sporting their preferred style of Dockers®, ready to partake in the activities.

A notable crowd-which included members of the Royal Family and a handful of celebrities-enjoyed a delicious lunch, the obligatory afternoon tea, and exquisite cocktails. As for the cricket, it was an exciting and memorable match with the trophy awarded to the captain of the winning team by Lisa Collier (EVP, President Global Dockers®, SignatureT & Denizen®).

However, the most memorable part was not the runs scored, but rather the scores of funds raised for a noble and important cause. That’s team spirit at its finest.