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British explorer and author (born 1936) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Colonel John Nicholas Blashford-Snell CBE (born 22 October 1936) is a former British Army officer, explorer and author. He founded Operation Raleigh and the Scientific Exploration Society.[1]
John Blashford-Snell | |
|---|---|
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| Birth name | John Nicholas Blashford-Snell |
| Born | 22 October 1936 Hereford, Herefordshire, England |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service |  British Army |
| Years of service | 1954–1991 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Service number | 453555 |
| Unit | Royal Engineers |
| Awards | Commander of the Order of the British Empire |
| Spouse(s) |
Judith Sherman (m. 1960) |
| Children | 2 |
John Nicholas Blashford-Snell was born on 22 October 1936 in Hereford, England, the son of Alderman the Reverend Leland John Blashford-Snell (1903–1978), MBE, Prebendary of Hereford Cathedral, and formerly of the Royal Army Chaplains' Department,[2][3] and Gwendoline Ives Sadler.[4][5] Blashford-Snell grew up in Herefordshire and Jersey and was educated at Victoria College, Jersey from 1950.[6][7] Blashford-Snell joined the British Army and attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst as an officer cadet after which he was commissioned into the Royal Engineers on 2 August 1957.[8]
Having served his initial two years of his commission as a Second Lieutenant Blashford-Snell was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 2 August 1959[9] and then Captain after four years on 2 August 1963.[10] Further promotion followed to the rank of Major on 31 December 1968[11] and Lieutenant Colonel on 30 June 1976[12] before reaching his final rank of Colonel on 30 June 1982. After 37 years of service, Blashford-Snell retired from the British Army on 30 December 1991.[13]
He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1976 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews.
In 1969, Blashford-Snell founded the Scientific Exploration Society.[14]
Amongst his expeditions were the first descent of the Blue Nile at the behest of Haile Selassie, during which he invented white-water rafting 'by accident' (in 1968); crossing of the Darién Gap (1971 to 1972) and overseeing the first north–south vehicular journey from Alaska to Cape Horn; and a complete navigation of the Congo River (in 1974 to 1975).[6] He was awarded the Segrave Trophy in 1974[15][16] and the Livingstone Medal by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society in recognition of his leadership of the expeditions.[17]
In 1978, Blashford-Snell established Operation Drake, which later developed into Operation Raleigh, an educational initiative for young people, of which he was Director General until he retired from this post in 1991.[18]
In 1993, Blashford-Snell was awarded the Patron's Medal of the Royal Geographical Society.[19]
In 2006, Blashford-Snell helped the London hatmakers James Lock & Co. to design a hat to meet the needs of explorers.[20] Since 2001, he has been the Hon. Life President of the Centre for Fortean Zoology.[21] He is also a member of the Ghost Club.[22] In 2010 he was made an Honorary Fellow of Liverpool John Moores University[23]
His publications include an autobiography, Something Lost Behind the Ranges (1994).
Blashford-Snell has been a member of The Explorers Club since 1974. In 1992, he was awarded the Sweeney Medal in honour of his outstanding contributions to the welfare and objectives of the organization.[24]
Blashford-Snell married Judith Sherman in 1960.[25][26] They had met whilst Blashford-Snell was still at Sandhurst; Sherman was attending the women's officer training unit. They have two daughters, Victoria and Emma.[27]
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