Our Patron

Colonel John Blashford-Snell

One of the world's greatest adventurers

Born in 1936, John was educated at Victoria College, Jersey and subsequently entered The Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. His family roots lie in Jersey where his paternal grandfather was a sea captain. His Father was an Army Chaplain and his Mother is well remembered for her care of animals as well as the people of their parishes. John grew up amongst a menagerie of wounded and orphaned wildlife, which generated his interest in conservation. He married Judith in 1960, they have two married daughters and live in Dorset.

In 1968 Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia invited the British Army to send a team to explore and make the first descent of the infamous Blue Nile. Captain John Blashford-Snell of the Royal Engineers was commissioned to select, train and lead the 60 strong party. The success of this immense expedition led to even tougher assignments such as the first vehicle crossing of the complete Darien Gap in 1971-2 and in 1974-5, navigating almost all the 2,700 miles of the great Zaire River. Both these ventures had strong environmental, medical and scientific objectives.

Thus John has become one of the worlds most renowned and highly respected explorers and his innovative method of negotiating white water in inflatable boats has been adopted as a world-wide sport.

In 1969, following the success of the Blue Nile Expedition, JBS and his colleagues formed the Scientific Exploration Society, their aim being to 'foster and encourage scientific exploration world-wide'. The SES became the parent body for several world-wide ventures with the support and involvement of HRH The Prince of Wales.
Inspired by the spirit of Sir Francis Drake's voyage 400 years ago, John poured his energy into raising funds and selecting a team to run Operation Drake. As a result of the success of this venture, the Fairbridge Drake Society was formed to help under-privileged young people and subsequently, at the request of the Government and large number of organisations, a second and much larger global youth programme was organised. In 1984 JBS launched Operation Raleigh and by 1992 over 10,000 young men and women from 50 nations had taken part in challenges and worthwhile expeditions all over the world, returning home as true young pioneers intent on putting something back into their own communities.

In 1991, John retired from the Army and as Director General of Operation Raleigh. He is now President of Just A Drop (JustADrop.org)a Charity that provides improved access to clean water and sanitation.

With his indefatigable energy, John has found time to write fifteen books, including his autobiography 'Something Lost Behind the Ranges' published in 1994 and his new book 'East to the Amazon', published by John Murray.