Colonel John Blashford-Snell

A Bridport Sea Cadets fundraising evening. Enjoy an illustrated talk from one of the world’s most renowned and respected explorers, Colonel John Blashford-Snell OBE as he presents slides and videos from his fantastic adventures followed by a Q & A session.

Afterwards there will be a fund raising auction.

Biography

In 1968 Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia invited the British Army to send a team to explore and make the first descent of the infamous Blue Nile. Captain John Blashford-Snell of the Royal Engineers was commissioned to select, train and lead the 60 strong party.

The success of this immense expedition led to even tougher assignments, such as the first vehicle crossing of the complete Darien Gap in 1971/2 and in 1974/5, navigating almost all the 2,700 miles of the great Zaire (now Congo) River.

Having organised and led over 100 expeditions, Colonel Blashford-Snell has built up a reputation as a practical field engineer and become one of the world’s most renowned and highly respected explorers. His innovative method of negotiating white water in inflatable boats has been adopted as a worldwide sport.

In 1984 JBS launched Operation Raleigh and by 1992 over 10,000 young men and women from 50 nations had taken part in challenges and worthwhile global expeditions, returning home as true young pioneers intent on putting something back into their own communities.

In recent years Colonel Blashford-Snell has been concentrating on exploration in little known areas of South America and in 2009 he led a second meteorite quest in Bolivian Amazonas.