Charles Robert Burton (13 December 1942 – 15 July 2002) known as Charlie Burton was an English explorer, best known for his part in the Transglobe Expedition, the first expedition to circumnavigate the globe from pole to pole. Serving as cook, radio operator, and mechanic, he was the only member of the team to accompany the expedition's leader,

Ranulph Fiennes Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet (born 7 March 1944), commonly known as Sir Ranulph Fiennes () and sometimes as Ran Fiennes, is a British explorer, writer and poet, who holds several endurance records. Fiennes served in the ...

, on the entire route. Burton was born in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. He attended Millfield school in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, where he excelled more in sports than academics. From 1961 to 1967, he was a soldier in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, serving with the elite Special Air Service and traveling to the Middle East, Northern Ireland, Malta, and Germany. After his military career, Burton held odd jobs, mainly with various private security firms. While bartending at The Admiral Codrington pub in Chelsea in 1975, he met Fiennes, with whom he spent some four years organizing and raising money for the Transglobe Expedition. After the expedition, which lasted from 1979 to 1982, Burton returned to the security business. Ten years later, he helped Fiennes organize another expedition, but declined to participate. Burton married Thelma "Twink" Petts in April 1981 in Sydney, Australia, while on the Transglobe Expedition.She's gone for a Burton
" ''The Sydney Morning Herald.'' 12 April 1981. Accessed 19 Feb. 2014. He died of a heart attack on 15 July 2002 at his family home in the village of

Framfield Framfield is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The village is located two miles (3 km) east of Uckfield; the settlements of Blackboys, Palehouse and Halland form part of the parish area of 6,700&nb ...

in Sussex.

References

English explorers 1942 births People from Cape Town 2002 deaths People educated at Millfield People from Framfield Special Air Service soldiers {{UK-explorer-stub

See also

References