SIR
RANULPH FIENNES
OBE
SIR RANULPH
FIENNES was
born in 1944
and educated
at Eton. He
served with
the Royal
Scots Greys
for a time
before joining
the SAS. In
1968 he joined
the Army of
the Sultan
of Oman and
in 1970 was
awarded the
Sultan's Bravery
Medal. In
the same year
he married
his wife,
Virginia.
(In 1987 Virginia
was the first
woman to be
awarded the
Polar Medal.
She died in
2004.) Since
1969 when
he led the
British Expedition
on the White
Nile, Ranulph
Fiennes has
been at the
forefront
of many exploratory
expeditions.
Described
in 1984 as
the "World's
Greatest Living
Explorer"
by the Guinness
Book of Records,
his expeditions
around the
world include
Transglobe
(the first
surface journey
around the
world's polar
axis) 1979/82
during which
Ranulph Fiennes
and Charles
Burton became
the first
people ever
to reach both
Poles by surface
travel; North
Polar Unsupported
Expedition
(furthest
north unsupported
record) 1986;
Anglo Soviet
North Pole
Expedition
1990/91; co-leader
of the Ubar
Expedition
(which in
1991 discovered
Ptolemy's
long-lost
Atlantis of
the Sands,
the frankincense
centre of
the world);
leader of
the Pentland
South Pole
Expedition
(which achieved
the first
unsupported
crossing of
the Antarctic
Continent
and the longest
unsupported
polar journey
in history)
1992/93.
He has been
awarded an
honorary degree
from Loughborough
University,
the University
of Central
England in
Birmingham
and the University
of Portsmouth;
and in 1997
The Royal
Institute
of Navigation
awarded Sir
Ranulph Honorary
Membership.
In 2000 The
Explorers
Club, British
Chapter, honoured
Sir Ranulph
with the Polar
Exploration
Millennium
Award.
Sir Ranulph's
expeditions
have raised
over £4.2m
for the Multiple
Sclerosis
Society, (which
has enabled
the building
of Europe's
first MS research
centre in
Cambridge)
and £1.9m
for Breakthrough
Breast Cancer.
In 1993 he
was awarded
an OBE for
'human endeavour
and charitable
services'.
Sir Ranulph’s
first book
was published
in 1970 and
since then
he has written
12 further
works including
his autobiography
Living Dangerously
1987, The
Feather Men
(UK Number
One Bestseller
1991), Atlantis
of the Sands
1992, Mind
Over Matter
(a harrowing
account of
his Antarctic
expedition
1993), The
Sett 1996,
Fit For Life
1998, Beyond
the Limits
2000, The
Secret Hunters
2001 and Captain
Scott (best-selling
biography
of 2003).
Also in 2003
Sir Ranulph,
with Dr Mike
Stroud, ran
7 marathons
in 7 days
on 7 continents.
This, despite
his having
suffered a
major heart
attack and
double bypass
operation
in June 2003.
In 1995 Her
Majesty the
Queen was
graciously
pleased to
award Sir
Ranulph a
second clasp
to the Polar
Medal that
he already
has, in recognition
of his outstanding
achievements
in Polar exploration
and, in particular,
his attempts
to reach the
North Pole
between 1988
and 1990 and
his successful
trek across
Antarctica
in 1992/93.
(No-one else
has a double
clasp medal
each of which
acknowledges
both Arctic
and Antarctic
achievements.)
Sir Ranulph
lives on Exmoor.
When not training
for expeditions
or writing
books, he
is to be found
helping on
the farm,
where his
late wife
established
a herd of
prize-winning
Aberdeen Angus
cattle. In
2005 he is
attempting
to summit
Everest by
the North
Ridge route.
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