Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

Alastair Edward Henry Worsley, (4 October 1960 – 24 January 2016) was a British explorer and British Army officer. He was part of a 2009 expedition that retraced Ernest Shackleton's footsteps in the

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

. Worsley died in 2016 while attempting to complete the first solo and unaided crossing of the Antarctic. He trekked more than 900 miles (1450 km) but was forced by exhaustion and ill health to call for help 126 miles (200 km) from his journey's intended end. He was rescued and flown to a hospital in Punta Arenas, Chile, but had developed peritonitis, and died the following day.

Early life and education

Henry Worsley was born on 4 October 1960 at the Garrett Anderson Maternity Home in Belsize Grove, London. He was the only son of General Sir Richard Worsley GCB OBE (1923–2013) and his first wife, Sarah Anne "Sally", eldest daughter of Brigadier J. A. H. Mitchell, of the British Embassy, Paris. It has been stated that he was related to

Frank Worsley Frank Arthur Worsley (22 February 1872 – 1 February 1943) was a New Zealand sailor and explorer who served on Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1916, as captain of ''Endurance''. He also served in the Royal N ...

, the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of explorer Ernest Shackleton's ship, the '' Endurance''. From childhood he had a strong interest in the Antarctic explorers of the early twentieth century. Worsley was educated at Selwyn House, a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

prep school Preparatory school or prep school may refer to: Schools *Preparatory school (United Kingdom), an independent school preparing children aged 8–13 for entry into fee-charging independent schools, usually public schools *College-preparatory school, ...

, and at

Stowe School , motto_translation = I stand firm and I stand first , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent school, day & boarding , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Headmaster ...

, then an all-boys independent senior school in

Stowe, Buckinghamshire Stowe is a civil parish and former village about northwest of Buckingham in the unitary authority area of Buckinghamshire, England. The parish includes the hamlets of Boycott, Dadford and Lamport. Stowe House is a Grade I listed country hou ...

. A keen sportsman, he captained the school cricket and rugby teams while at Stowe. He did not attend university, and entered the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of ...

after completing school to train as an army officer.

Military career

Worsley was a soldier in the British Army for 36 years. He served with the Royal Green Jackets and later The Rifles. In 1988, he passed the

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...

(SAS) selection course and served in 22 SAS Regiment. He was

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of the 2nd Battalion Royal Green Jackets from 2000 to 2002, and commanded the 2001 British military operation in Afghanistan, known as " Operation Veritas". Later in 2005-2006, Worsley led the torch party team for the UK that transitioned operational responsibility of volatile Helmand Province from the US to the UK leading to the establishment of Camp Bastion in a remote part of the province. He also served in Northern Ireland,

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

and Kosovo. His final tour before retirement was as a Special Operations Officer based in the

Pentagon In geometry, a pentagon (from the Greek πέντε ''pente'' meaning ''five'' and γωνία ''gonia'' meaning ''angle'') is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simpl ...

, liaising on behalf of the British Army with United States special operations forces. On 12 April 1980, Worsley was commissioned in the Royal Green Jackets, as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

. He was promoted to lieutenant on 12 April 1982, to

on 12 October 1986, to

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

on 30 September 1992 (having attended Staff College), and to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

on 30 June 2000. He retired from the army on 4 October 2015. On 12 October 1993, Worsley was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) "in recognition of distinguished service in Northern Ireland". On 19 April 2002, he was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the former Yugoslavia during the period 1 April 2001 to 30 September 2001".

Antarctic expeditions

In 2008, he led an expedition to pioneer a route through the Transantarctic Mountains, reaching a point from the South Pole. The expedition commemorated the centenary of Shackleton's Nimrod Expedition. He returned to the Antarctic in 2011, leading a team of six in retracing Roald Amundsen's successful journey in 1912 to the South Pole, marking its centenary. In completing the route, he became the first person to have successfully undertaken the routes taken by Shackleton, Robert Falcon Scott and Amundsen.

Final expedition

Worsley's intention was to follow in the spirit of his hero, Shackleton, and before starting the trip raised over £100,000 for the Endeavour Fund, set up to assist injured servicemen and women. The patron of the expedition was

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. Born in London, William was educat ...

. In contrast to the 1997 solo crossing by Børge Ousland, Worsley travelled without a kite to help pull his sledge. Worsley arrived at his starting point, Berkner Island, on 13 November 2015 with the aim of completing his journey in 80 days. He covered in 69 days, and had only to go. However, he had to spend days 70 and 71 in his tent suffering from exhaustion and severe dehydration. Eventually he radioed for help and was airlifted to Punta Arenas, Chile. He was diagnosed with bacterial peritonitis. On 24 January 2016, he died of organ failure following surgery at the Clínica Magallanes in Punta Arenas. He was 55 years old. Worsley was posthumously awarded the Polar Medal for his exploration of the Antarctic.

Personal life

Worsley lived in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

, London. On 20 February 1993, he married Joanna, the daughter of Andrew Stainton, at St Mary's Church, Chilham, Canterbury, Kent.''The Times'' 22 February 1993, p.18 Together, they had two children; a son, Max, and daughter, Alicia. In December 2017, his widow and two children visited South Georgia Island to inter his ashes in a place that he loved and near his lifelong idol, Sir Ernest Shackleton.

Works

References

External links

Official expedition site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Worsley, Henry 1960 births 2016 deaths British explorers People from the London Borough of Camden Antarctic expedition deaths Royal Green Jackets officers Members of the Order of the British Empire Special Air Service officers Infectious disease deaths in Chile People educated at Stowe School British travel writers British military personnel of The Troubles (Northern Ireland) British Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) NATO personnel in the Bosnian War Recipients of the Polar Medal Military personnel from London Deaths from peritonitis Recipients of the Commendation for Valuable Service The Rifles officers