Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

John Nicholas Blashford-Snell (born 22 October 1936) is a former

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 ...

officer,

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

and author. He founded

Operation Raleigh Raleigh International is a youth expedition organisation based in the UK. On 19 May 2022 Raleigh International Trust ceased operations and entered Creditors' Voluntary Liquidation. The Raleigh International brand was bought by Impact Travel Group ...

and the Scientific Exploration Society.

Early life and education

John Nicholas Blashford-Snell was born on 22 October 1936 in

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, the son of

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

the Reverend Leland John Blashford-Snell (1903–1978),

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

Prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...

Hereford Cathedral Hereford Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Hereford in Hereford, England. A place of worship has existed on the site of the present building since the 8th century or earlier. The present building was begun in 1079. S ...

, and formerly of the

Royal Army Chaplains' Department The Royal Army Chaplains' Department (RAChD) is an all-officer department that provides ordained clergy to minister to the British Army. History The Army Chaplains' Department (AChD) was formed by Royal Warrant of 23 September 1796; until the ...

, and Gwendoline Ives Sadler. Blashford-Snell grew up in

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

and

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

and was educated at

Victoria College, Jersey Victoria College is a Government of Jersey, Government-run, Independent school, fee-paying, academically selective day school

from 1950. Blashford-Snell joined the British Army and attended 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 ...

as an officer cadet after which he was commissioned into the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

on 2 August 1957.

Military service

Having served his initial two years of his commission 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 ...

Blashford-Snell was promoted to the rank of

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

on 2 August 1959 and then

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 ...

after four years on 2 August 1963. Further promotion followed to the rank of

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 31 December 1968 and

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 1976 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. He was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' in 1976 when he was surprised by

Eamonn Andrews Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ A ...

Expeditions

In 1969, Blashford-Snell founded the Scientific Exploration Society. Amongst his expeditions were the first descent of the

Blue Nile The Blue Nile (; ) is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It travels for approximately through Ethiopia and Sudan. Along with the White Nile, it is one of the two major tributaries of the Nile and supplies about 85.6% of the water ...

, during which he invented white-water rafting 'by accident' (in 1968); crossing of the

Darién Gap The Darién Gap (, , es, Tapón del Darién , ) is a geographic region between the North and South American continents within Central America, consisting of a large watershed, forest, and mountains in Panama's Darién Province and the norther ...

(1971 to 1972) and overseeing the first north–south vehicular journey from

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...

; and a complete navigation of the

Congo River The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...

(in 1974 to 1975). He was awarded the

Segrave Trophy The Segrave Trophy is awarded to the British national who demonstrates "Outstanding Skill, Courage and Initiative on Land, Water and in the Air". The trophy is named in honour of Sir Henry Segrave, the first person to hold both the land and wat ...

in 1974 and the

Livingstone Medal The Livingstone Medal is awarded by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society in recognition of outstanding service of a humanitarian nature with a clear geographical dimension. This was awarded first in 1901. Named after the African explorer David L ...

by the

Royal Scottish Geographical Society The Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) is an educational charity based in Perth, Scotland founded in 1884. The purpose of the society is to advance the subject of geography worldwide, inspire people to learn more about the world around ...

in recognition of his leadership of the expeditions. In 1978, Blashford-Snell established Operation Drake, which later developed into

, an educational initiative for young people, of which he was Director General until he retired from this post in 1991. In 1993, Blashford-Snell was awarded the

Patron's Medal The Royal Geographical Society's Gold Medal consists of two separate awards: the Founder's Medal 1830 and the Patron's Medal 1838. Together they form the most prestigious of the society's awards. They are given for "the encouragement and promoti ...

of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

. In 2006, Blashford-Snell helped the London hatmakers James Lock & Co. to design a hat to meet the needs of explorers. Since 2001, he has been the Hon. Life President of the Centre for Fortean Zoology. He is also a member of

the Ghost Club The Ghost Club is a paranormal investigation and research organization, founded in London in 1862. It is believed to be the oldest such organization in the world, though its history has not been continuous. The club still investigates mainly gho ...

. In 2010 he was made an Honorary Fellow of

Liverpool John Moores University , mottoeng = Fortune favours the bold , established = 1823 – Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts1992 – Liverpool John Moores University , type = Public , endowment = , coor ...

His publications include an autobiography, ''Something Lost Behind the Ranges'' (1994). Blashford-Snell has been a member of

The Explorers Club The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904, and has served as a meeting point fo ...

since 1974. In 1992, he was awarded the Sweeney Medal in honour of his outstanding contributions to the welfare and objectives of the organization.

Personal life

Blashford-Snell married Judith Sherman in 1960. 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.

Works

* ''Where the Trails Run Out'', London, Hutchinson 1974. * ''In the Steps of Stanley'', London, Hutchison 1975. * ''Expeditions: the Experts' way'', edited by John Blashford-Snell and Alistair Ballantine. London, Faber 1977. * ''A taste for adventure'', London, Hutchinson 1978. * ''In the wake of Drake'' John Blashford-Snell and Michael Cable. London, W.H. Allen, 1980. * ''Operation Drake'' London, W.H. Allen, 1981. * ''The expedition organiser’s guide'' by John Blashford-Snell & Richard Snailham ; written for the Scientific Exploration Society. London, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 1982. * ''Mysteries: encounter with the unexplained''. London, Bodley Head 1983. * ''Operation Raleigh: the start of an adventure'' London, Collins, 1987. * ''Something lost behind the ranges :the autobiography of John Blashford-Snell''. London, HarperCollins, 1994. * ''Mammoth hunt: in search of the giant elephants of Nepal'' by John Blashford-Snell and Rula Lenska. London, HarperCollins, 1996. * ''Kota Mama: retracing the lost trade routes of ancient South American peoples'' by John Blashford-Snell and Richard Snailham. London, Headline, 2000. * ''East to the Amazon: in search of Great Paititi and the trade routes of the ancients'' by John Blashford-Snell and Richard Snailham. London, John Murray 2002.

References

External links

Official websiteIntrepid explorer defeated by train trip
BBC News, 29 November 2001
John Blashford-Snell heads back to the jungle
Times Online, 16 May 2009
Pan-American Highway Expedition
''Military Review'', January 1973, 53(1): 98–99, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Blashford-Snell, John 1936 births Living people English explorers Segrave Trophy recipients People educated at Victoria College, Jersey Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Royal Engineers officers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English autobiographers English travel writers English male non-fiction writers