John Blashford-Snell

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
Birth nameJohn Nicholas Blashford-Snell
Born (1936-10-22) 22 October 1936
Hereford, Herefordshire, England
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service1954–1991
RankColonel
Service number453555
UnitRoyal Engineers
AwardsCommander of the Order of the British Empire
Spouse(s)
Judith Sherman
​
(m. 1960)​
Children2

Early life and education

John Nicholas Blashford-Snell was born on 22 October 1936 in Hereford, England, the son of the Reverend Leland John Blashford-Snell (1903–1978) of the Royal Army Chaplains' Department[2][3] and Gwendoline Ives Sadler. Blashford-Snell grew up in Herefordshire and Jersey and was educated at Victoria College, Jersey from 1950.[4][5] 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.[6]

Military service

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[7] and then Captain after four years on 2 August 1963.[8] Further promotion followed to the rank of Major on 31 December 1968[9] and Lieutenant Colonel on 30 June 1976[10] 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.[11]

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

Expeditions

In 1969, Blashford-Snell founded the Scientific Exploration Society.[12]

Amongst his expeditions were the first descent of the Blue Nile, 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).[4] He was awarded the Segrave Trophy in 1974[13][14] and the Livingstone Medal by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society in recognition of his leadership of the expeditions.[15]

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.[16]

In 1993, Blashford-Snell was awarded the Patron's Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society.[17]

In 2006, Blashford-Snell helped the London hatmakers James Lock & Co. to design a hat to meet the needs of explorers.[18] Since 2001, he has been the Hon. Life President of the Centre for Fortean Zoology.[19] He is also a member of the Ghost Club.[20] In 2010 he was made an Honorary Fellow of Liverpool John Moores University[21]

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.[22]

Personal life

Blashford-Snell married Judith Sherman in 1960.[23][24] 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.[25]

Works
  • Where the Trails Run Out, London, Hutchinson 1974. ISBN 0091213606
  • In the Steps of Stanley, London, Hutchison 1975. ISBN 0-09-125080-3
  • Expeditions: the Experts’ way, edited by John Blashford-Snell and Alistair Ballantine. London, Faber 1977. ISBN 0-571-11116-5
  • A taste for adventure, London, Hutchinson 1978. ISBN 0-09-136010-2
  • In the wake of Drake John Blashford-Snell and Michael Cable. London, W.H. Allen, 1980. ISBN 0-352-30750-1
  • Operation Drake London, W.H. Allen, 1981. ISBN 0-491-02965-9
  • The expedition organiser’s guide by John Blashford-Snell & Richard Snailham ; written for the Scientific Exploration Society. London, Daily Telegraph, 1982.
  • Mysteries: encounter with the unexplained. London, Bodley Head 1983. ISBN 0-370-30479-9
  • Operation Raleigh: the start of an adventure London, Collins, 1987. ISBN 0-00-217624-6
  • Something lost behind the ranges :the autobiography of John Blashford-Snell. London, HarperCollins, 1994. ISBN 0-00-255034-2
  • Mammoth hunt: in search of the giant elephants of Nepal by John Blashford-Snell and Rula Lenska. London, HarperCollins, 1996. ISBN 0-00-255672-3
  • Kota Mama: retracing the lost trade routes of ancient South American peoples by John Blashford-Snell and Richard Snailham. London, Headline, 2000. ISBN 0-7472-2281-9
  • 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. ISBN 0-7195-6032-2

References
  1. Leonard, Tom (29 September 2006). "'I often think I must be mad'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  2. "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  3. "No. 34207". The London Gazette. 11 October 1935. p. 6379.
  4. "College Characters – Colonel Blashford-Snell". Jersey Evening Post. 24 September 2002. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  5. Calkin, Jessamy (5 December 2015). "Col John Blashford-Snell: the last of the great adventurers". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  6. "No. 41191". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 October 1957. p. 5759.
  7. "No. 41780". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 August 1959. p. 4876.
  8. "No. 43071". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 August 1963. p. 6526.
  9. "No. 44754". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1968. p. 13911.
  10. "No. 46953". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 July 1976. p. 9284.
  11. "No. 52792". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 January 1992. p. 497.
  12. "About the SES". The Scientific Exploration Society. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
  13. This is North Devon
  14. Royal Automobile Club
  15. "John Blashford-Snell". Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  16. About Operation Raleigh
  17. Gold Medal Recipients Archived 9 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Royal Geographical Society, accessed 25 January 2010
  18. Country Life, "Hats off Blashers", 29 June 2006
  19. Permanent Directorate, Centre for Fortean Zoology, accessed 25 January 2010
  20. History of the Ghost Club Archived 1 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  21. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 September 2010. Retrieved 7 November 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link), Honorary Fellowships 2010, Liverpool John Moores University, accessed 7 November 2010
  22. Sweeney Medalists of the Explorers Club
  23. "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  24. "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  25. "Col John Blashford-Snell: the last of the great adventurers". Retrieved 2 December 2016.
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