British Services Antarctic Expedition 2012

From 15.10.2011 to - Status: ongoing

The overall team will be divided into three groups of 8

The British Armed Services is mounting an expedition to Antarctica in 2012 to commemorate Scott’s outstanding contribution to the nation and to science.

Here are some excerpts of the BSAE Expedition 2012 press dossier : "...It is the incredible story of Captain Scott Royal Navy and his team that is the inspiration for the British Services Antarctic Expedition 2012.

"The British Armed Services will mount an expedition to Antarctica in 2012 to commemorate Scott’s outstanding contribution to the nation and to science. Beginning in January 2011, the BSAE2012 activity will form the key element of the British military contribution to mark the 100th Anniversary of Scott’s endeavours.

Unlike other expeditions seeking to follow in Scott’s footsteps in 2012, the BSAE will travel in the Spirit of Scott, but not in his tracks. Instead, and very much in the ethos of Scott’s 1910-1913 expedition, the BSAE aim will be : to conduct scientific exploration in remote areas of the Antarctic Peninsula, seeking to further the bounds of human exploration and knowledge. The expedition will seek to conduct the scientific exploration in the Peninsula Arm of Antarctica, an area which is warming faster than anywhere else on the planet. Amongst other things, this science will contribute to an understanding of the factors influencing this rapid warming.

Various activities will be undertaken to ensure the science activity is linked to an educational outreach programme to inform and educate the general public and in particular primary and secondary school children. The expedition will seek to emulate the values and qualities of Scott and present these through the information campaign. ..."

Here are the members of the expedition, wichi will de divided into three groups (red group, green group and blue group) of eight people :

The red group

Lt Col Paul J Edwards MSc, MA, RLC, 46, (Planning Officer in the Army’s Headquarters in Andover, as expedition leader Lt Col Edwards will direct the expedition planning and then lead the expedition when it deploys South to Antarctica ;
Lieutenant Stuart Fletcher, 29, navigating officer in the Royal Navy ; he is a keen climber, skier, walker and mountain biker, has indulged his fancy for the hills all over the UK, in the European Alps and in Patagonia and will generally take pretty much any opportunity to go outside and have an adventure ;
Cpl Ali Allsopp QARANC, 36, serving in 16 Medical Regiment, Colchester as an adult nurse with trauma and emergency nursing experience,
Sgt Will 'Brains' Brant, serving at the Joint Services Mountain Training Centre delivering Adventurous Training qualifications in many disciplines including Skiing, Rock-Climbing and Mountaineering,
Captain Phil Carrotte Beng Amimeche REME, being currently the Adjutant for a Territorial Army unit, 102 Battalion REME (V), based in County Durham ;
Captain Ivar Milligan Scots Guards, during the commissioning course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, has developed his mountaineering experience and helped lead a mountaineering expedition to the Jebel Akhdar in Oman ;
Richard Simpson RCS, 38, posted at 14 Signal Regiment in Pembrokeshire and is married with a young son and daughter who share his passion for the outdoors and are very proud that their Dad may be going to Antarctica ;
Senior Aircraftman (Technician) Alex Thorpe RAF, 31, has been a keen mountaineer and skier for over 12 years; having trained as a high altitude mountaineer in India and a military ski instructor in Norway, Alex has been on a number of climbing expeditions in India, the Alps, Dolomites, Kenya and within the UK.

The green group

Lt Col Pete Davis MRCGP FACEM Dip IMC Dip Mtn Med RAMC, consultant in emergency medicine by profession, currently serving in 16 Air Assault Brigade, and with prior operational service with both Commando and Airborne Forces in Northern Ireland, Kurdistan, Iraq and Afghanistan ;
Capt Sam Marshall, AAC, active mountaineer for almost 30 years Sam and has climbed in the Himalaya, New Zealand, Greenland, Africa, Norway, Thailand and the European Alp. He was a member of the 2004 British Services Makalu Expedition and the Junior Team Climbing Leader for the 2008 British Services Makalu Expedition; he is also the Training Officer for the Army Mountaineering Association;
Maj Al Mason AGC(ETS) MSc BSc (Ed) Hons, having participated in a number of military and civilian expeditions, climbing / mountaineering in the UK, Spain, the Alps, the Pyrenees, Canada, Nepal, Tibet, Norway and Ecuador. In addition to climbing he enjoys all types of kayaking, windsurfing, sailing and family life doing all of the above except more carefully ;
Julian Mitchell RE, probably his most memorable moments have been multiday ski tours in Canada, mountaineering in Kyrgyzstan (including first ascents) and climbing the Northwest Face on Halfdome ;
Flight Lieutenant Stu Quinn MEng MA BEng(hons) RAF Regt, 36, Stuart has been mountaineering since taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme at school and has since taken part in expeditions to Bavaria, Norway, Peru and Costa Rica to name but a few. He now utilises his qualifications as a Mountain and Rock Climbing Leader to encourage others in the forces to develop their skill sets under the auspices of Adventure Training ;
Jules Ratcliff, a keen mountaineer and has taken part in several remote expeditions, including Alaska in 2003, the Himalaya’s with the Everest West Ridge (EWR) army development team in 2006, and a New Zealand, Mount Cook Regimental expedition in 2008 ;
Able Seaman Carl Stubbs RN, 23, was first introduced to mountaineering when he joined scouts over a decade ago. Since then he has become a keen mountaineer and his obsession with the mountains has continued to grow ;
Lt Rob Tristram RN, 39, a keen sportsman and outdoor enthusiast Rob has enjoyed mountaineering and skiing for many years. His time in the Service have offered some great opportunities including climbing Mont Blanc in his first Naval expedition in 2009.

The blue group

Surg Lt Simon Hornby, 30, GP trainee at Derriford Hospital and representing the Royal Navy at swimming most notably at the 2009 World Masters Games in Sydney Australia where he won 2 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze medal. He has completed 2 London marathons and the Olympic distance London triathlon;
Lt Cdr Martin Densham MA (Cantab) MSc RN, 39, has served on operations in Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf, the Caribbean, North and South Atlantic and is currently stationed at the UK’s Permanent Joint Headquarters ;
Major Stephen Marsh, 47, throughout his 25 years of army service has organised and led over 20 expeditions including 12 in the Himalayas which included the summit of numerous 6000 metre peaks and Cho Oyu at 8200 metres in 2009 ;
Flight Lieutenant Steve Riley MA, FIfL, RAF, has led and participated in expeditions all of the world and in a range of activities from scuba diving in Belize, mountaineering in Nepal, high altitude climbing in South America, ski touring in the arctic circle and kayaking throughout Europe ;
Flt Lt Kate Simmonds, 35, has seen active service in Northern Ireland, Germany and Iraq before transferring to the Royal Air Force in 2008. She is currently employed as a search and rescue pilot in North Wales ;
Flt Lt Toby Stedham MEng RAF, 38, has always had a passion for the mountains, and spent three seasons teaching skiing in Canada and New Zealand, which he would probably still be doing now if he wasn’t in the RAF ;
Major Justin “Jez” Stemp Royal Marines, 48, as a Marine, he is a Cold Weather & Mountain Warfare specialist, a Jungle Warfare Instructor and has spent numerous years in hot desert environments as well as time afloat with the Royal Navy;
Lt Cdr Paul Hart FRGS MPhil (Cantab) Royal Navy, 49, currently serving at the Initial Naval Training sites of HMS RALEIGH and Britannia Royal Naval College ;
Flight Lieutenant Alex Tomczynski MEng RAF, 30, has also devoted considerable energy into encouraging young airmen and women to participate in mountain sports as the publicity member for the RAF Mountaineering Association.