Sir Ranulph Fiennes |
In 1984, the Guinness Book of Records described Sir Ranulph Fiennes as “the world’s greatest living explorer”. Since then he has broken a great many more world records and led many more expeditions to some of the world’s most remote and inaccessible regions.
The list of Sir Ran's awe-inspiring achievements seems to defy the limits of human determination and endurance. He was the first human to reach both the North and the South poles, the first to cross the Antarctic and Arctic Oceans and the first – and only - to circumnavigate the world along its 52 000-mile-long polar axis (all with Charles Burton). In 1992/93, he completed the longest unsupported polar journey in history by crossing the Antarctic continent unsupported. In 1992, an expedition led by him rediscovered the lost city of Ubar on the Yemeni border. In 2003, less than four months after suffering a severe heart attack, Ranulph Fiennes (with Mike Stroud) completed the first ever seven consecutive marathons in as many days on seven continents. To honour his achievements, Sir Ranulph received the ITV Greatest Britons Sport Award in 2007. And on he went. In 2009, together with Thundu Sherpa, he became the oldest Briton ever to summit Everest. And he’s not done yet. “Unfortunately, I’m now 75, which is extremely annoying – it has a bad effect on getting up these mountains." Besides being a legend who made a habit out of literally going where no man has gone before, Sir Ranulph is an equally staunch defender of animals and nature. We are deeply honoured to welcome him as our patron. |
"Humans everywhere share an extraordinary natural heritage. It is therefore the responsibility of all of us to care for it. Wildlife is not a resource that we can exploit with no regard for its wellbeing. Bearing in mind that climate change is helping to remove animals and in 50 years time probably humans as well, now is the time for us to get into a position without being hypocritical. With regard to trophy hunting, which is rejected by 82% of the British public: "North America sees thousands of black, grizzly and, my special, polar bears killed for socalled sport every year. As long as we continue to kill animals solely for entertainment, we can not call ourselves a civilized society. We debase ourselves when we consciously ignore the pain and suffering that we inflict and then give weasel worded justifications for what is plainly wrong and immoral. |