ADVENTURER Patrick Keen welcomed a special visitor to the IW last week.

The High Commissioner of Guyana, His Excellency Mr Hamley Case, visited the Wight Military and Heritage Museum to get a sneak preview of an exhibition detailing Mr Keen's adventures in his country in 1961.

Former Captain Keen, who now lives in Baring Road, Cowes, presented Mr Hamley Case with a Royal Hampshire Regiment plaque in commemoration of the help Mr Hamley Case's government gave to him during an epic, 700 mile expedition into the depths of the unexplored Amazon jungle in 1961.

Two previous expeditions from the Black Watch and Cambridge University had failed.

Patrick's expedition took four weeks to reach the 740ft King George VI Falls and came across a wide variety of wildlife and encountered alligators and the dreaded bushmaster snake.

They also came across indigenous Amerindians who had never seen a European before. The Royal Hampshire Regiment were the first to reach the falls overland where they planted a Union Flag in 1961.

The expedition at the Wight Military and History Museum will include photographs of the expedition and a pair of boots Patrick, now in his 70s, wore during the 1961 trek.