Daniel Byles
Encyclopedia
Daniel Alan Byles FRGS MP
(born 24 June 1974 in Hastings
, East Sussex
) is an English
mountaineer
, sailor, ocean rower
, polar adventurer and Conservative Party
politician. He is currently the Member of Parliament
(MP) for North Warwickshire
, having been elected at the 2010 general election.
In 1997 he took part in the first ever Atlantic Rowing Race
, the Port St Charles Barbados Atlantic Rowing Race, successfully crossing the Atlantic Ocean
unsupported in a 23 feet (7 m) wooden rowing boat in 101 days with his mother Janice Meek
. In 2007 he and his mother were united in adventure once again when, together with team mate Richard Profit
, they successfully walked and skied 350 miles (563 km) from Resolute
, Nunavut
to the Magnetic North Pole in 20 days and 5 hours. He holds two Guinness World Records
. Byles is married to Prashanthi Reddy. In June 2011 Byles and Prashanthi announced they were expecting their first child.
in Bahrain
and Saudi Arabia
before returning to England at age nine to the Cotswold market town of Chipping Norton. Helped by a government funded scholarship, the Assisted Places Scheme
, Byles attended Warwick School
. Active in the Combined Cadet Force
, Byles made an early decision to follow a career in the Military when he won one of ninety Army Sixth Form Scholarships awarded by the Ministry of Defence
that year.
After completing A Levels in 1992, Byles took a year out. He spent some time working in his parents’ restaurant before travelling to Southeast Asia
to backpack through Thailand
, Malaysia, Indonesia
and Singapore
. During this trip, he spent a month studying Vipassana
meditation at the Wat Ram Poeng Buddhist monastery in Chiang Mai
, northern Thailand
.
Returning to England in 1993, Byles was awarded one of thirty Army Cadetships, a university scholarship scheme no longer open to non medical/dental students. He attended the University of Leeds
from 1993–1996, where he earned a 2.1 BA Joint Honours in Economics and Management Studies, becoming the first member of his family to attend university. In 2007 he was awarded an MA in Creative Writing from Nottingham Trent University.
, where he won the Defence and International Affairs Essay Prize. Initially commissioned into The Light Infantry
Byles later accepted a Regular Commission with the Royal Army Medical Corps
as a Medical Support Officer
. Immediately after graduating from Sandhurst, Byles was granted six months leave to row across the Atlantic (see below).
During almost nine years of service, Byles served overseas in Germany
, the Falkland Islands
, Cyprus
and Kenya
, and operationally in Kosovo
and Bosnia
. From 2002 to 2004 Byles was a staff officer in the Ministry of Defence
. At age 27, Byles was the youngest serving Major
in the British Army. Byles left the military in 2005.
. He accepted, but his friend subsequently had to withdraw from the team. Byles asked his mother Janice Meek
to be his team mate instead. Despite neither of them being rowers or sailors, she accepted and they went on to successfully row 3044 nautical miles (5,637 km) from Tenerife to Barbados in their boat Carpe Diem
. Their unsupported crossing took 100 days, 18 hours and 57 minutes. The story of their adventure has been recorded in at least three Chicken Soup for the Soul
books.
In rowing across the Atlantic, the pair achieved two Guinness World Records
: they became the first mother and son team to row any ocean; and at 53 Meek became the oldest person at the time to row any ocean, although since 2005 this record has been held by Pavel Rezvoy (66).
, spending 76 days at sea during the worst conditions yet experienced by an ocean rowing race as a result of Hurricane Epsilon
. An unprecedented 19 boats capsized during the race, with six quitting as a result of unrepairable damage.
in 2007. The mother and son team, along with team mate Richard Profit
, took part in the Polar Race
2007 in April 2007. This involved walking and skiing 350 miles (563 km) from Resolute
, Nunavut
in Canada to the Magnetic North Pole. They survived the worst ice conditions for years, a near catastrophic tent fire and areas of open water and slush to successfully reach the Pole in 20 days and 5 hours. In doing so they set a new world record as the first mother and son team to reach any Pole by foot, and Janice Meek
became the oldest woman to reach the Magnetic North Pole by foot.
.
Byles is a founding trustee of The Carpe Diem Trust
, a charity aimed at helping ordinary people to undertake extraordinary achievements.
In October 2008, Byles became the main sponsor of the Bedworth United F.C.
Youth Team, in order to support community youth projects involving sport.
candidate for Leicester City Council in Stoneygate
ward.
On 8 March 2007, Byles was selected as the Conservative Party's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the North Warwickshire
constituency at the 2010 general election. He was selected at an open primary
. He was elected by 54 votes at the election on 6 May 2010, and is serving as Member of Parliament
in the House of Commons.
He gave his maiden speech
in the Commons on Thursday 3 June 2010 when he spoke about Nicholas Chamberlaine
, the Atherstone
Ball Game, and his intention to campaign for better rehabilitation and mental health care for military veterans and reservists.
Byles is a member of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee
.
At Prime Minister's questions on 20 October 2010, Byles asked Prime Minister David Cameron
the following:
"Last week, I joined a parliamentary delegation to China
, where I was able to pick up a copy of Chairman Mao's Little Red Book. Is the Prime Minister interested to learn that Chairman Mao said: 'Thrift should be the guiding principle in our government expenditure'? If Mao Zedong
supports coalition policy, does that not mean that the Labour party
is in a minority of one?"
In May 2011, Francis Boulle
, a British IT entrepreneur, received considerable press coverage for establishing the website called sexymp, which allows visitors to rate the attractiveness of members of the House of Commons. Byles was at one point rated the best looking male MP in the House of Commons.
Byles has come out as a strong opponent of the controversial High Speed Rail project HS2, pledging to vote against his Party's policy by voting against HS2 in Parliament.
were belatedly awarded a Guinness World Record certificate for being the first mother and son team to row any ocean in 1997/8.
In April/May 2007, Byles and his mother Janice Meek became the first mother and son team to walk/ski to any Pole. In the 2008 Book of Guinness World Records
, they are featured on pages 94 and 96. In the 2010 book, they are featured on page 101 and are included in the photo montage on the opening pages.
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(born 24 June 1974 in Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
, East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
) is an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
mountaineer
Mountaineer
-Sports:*Mountaineering, the sport, hobby or profession of walking, hiking, trekking and climbing up mountains, also known as alpinism-University athletic teams and mascots:*Appalachian State Mountaineers, the athletic teams of Appalachian State University...
, sailor, ocean rower
Ocean rowing
Ocean rowing is the sport of rowing across oceans. The sport is as much a psychological as it is a physical challenge. Rowers often have to endure long periods at sea without help often many days if not weeks away. The challenge is especially acute for solo rowers who are held in especially high...
, polar adventurer and Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician. He is currently the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for North Warwickshire
North Warwickshire (UK Parliament constituency)
-Notes and references:...
, having been elected at the 2010 general election.
In 1997 he took part in the first ever Atlantic Rowing Race
Atlantic Rowing Race
The Atlantic Rowing Race is a challenging ocean rowing race from the Canary Islands to the West Indies, a distance of approximately 2,550 nm . The race was founded by Sir Chay Blyth and first held in 1997 with subsequent races roughly every two years since. The early races were run by Challenge...
, the Port St Charles Barbados Atlantic Rowing Race, successfully crossing the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
unsupported in a 23 feet (7 m) wooden rowing boat in 101 days with his mother Janice Meek
Janice Meek
Janice Meek FRGS is a Guinness World Record holding adventurer, ocean rower, international motivational speaker and polar adventurer...
. In 2007 he and his mother were united in adventure once again when, together with team mate Richard Profit
Richard Profit
Richard Profit is an English mountaineer, sailor, a former British Army officer and polar adventurer. In 2007 he took part in the Polar Race with the mother and son pair Janice Meek and Daniel Byles, successfully walking and skiing 350 miles from Resolute, Nunavut to the Magnetic North Pole in ...
, they successfully walked and skied 350 miles (563 km) from Resolute
Resolute, Nunavut
Resolute or Resolute Bay is a small Inuit hamlet on Cornwallis Island in Nunavut, Canada. It is situated at the northern end of Resolute Bay and the Northwest Passage and is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region....
, Nunavut
Nunavut
Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...
to the Magnetic North Pole in 20 days and 5 hours. He holds two Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
. Byles is married to Prashanthi Reddy. In June 2011 Byles and Prashanthi announced they were expecting their first child.
Background
Byles spent his early childhood as an expatriateExpatriate
An expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing...
in Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
and Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
before returning to England at age nine to the Cotswold market town of Chipping Norton. Helped by a government funded scholarship, the Assisted Places Scheme
Assisted Places Scheme
The Assisted Places Scheme was established in the UK by the Conservative government in 1980. Children who could not afford to go to fee-paying independent schools were provided with free or subsidised places - if they were able to score within the top 10-15% of applicants in the school's entrance...
, Byles attended Warwick School
Warwick School
Warwick School is an independent school with boarding facilities for boys in Warwick, England, and is reputed to be the third-oldest surviving school in the country after King's School, Canterbury and St Peter's School, York; and the oldest boy's school in England...
. Active in the Combined Cadet Force
Combined Cadet Force
The Combined Cadet Force is a Ministry of Defence sponsored youth organisation in the United Kingdom. Its aim is to "provide a disciplined organisation in a school so that pupils may develop powers of leadership by means of training to promote the qualities of responsibility, self reliance,...
, Byles made an early decision to follow a career in the Military when he won one of ninety Army Sixth Form Scholarships awarded by the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
that year.
After completing A Levels in 1992, Byles took a year out. He spent some time working in his parents’ restaurant before travelling to Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
to backpack through Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Malaysia, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. During this trip, he spent a month studying Vipassana
Vipassana
Vipassanā or vipaśyanā in the Buddhist tradition means insight into the true nature of reality. A regular practitioner of Vipassana is known as a Vipassi . Vipassana is one of the world's most ancient techniques of meditation, the inception of which is attributed to Gautama Buddha...
meditation at the Wat Ram Poeng Buddhist monastery in Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai sometimes written as "Chiengmai" or "Chiangmai", is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand. It is the capital of Chiang Mai Province , a former capital of the Kingdom of Lanna and was the tributary Kingdom of Chiang Mai from 1774 until 1939. It is...
, northern Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
.
Returning to England in 1993, Byles was awarded one of thirty Army Cadetships, a university scholarship scheme no longer open to non medical/dental students. He attended the University of Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
from 1993–1996, where he earned a 2.1 BA Joint Honours in Economics and Management Studies, becoming the first member of his family to attend university. In 2007 he was awarded an MA in Creative Writing from Nottingham Trent University.
Military career
Following university, Byles attended Commissioning Course 963 at the Royal Military Academy SandhurstRoyal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...
, where he won the Defence and International Affairs Essay Prize. Initially commissioned into The Light Infantry
The Light Infantry
The Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Light Division. It was formed on 10 July 1968 as a "large regiment" by the amalgamation of the four remaining light infantry regiments of the Light Infantry Brigade:...
Byles later accepted a Regular Commission with the Royal Army Medical Corps
Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...
as a Medical Support Officer
Medical Support Officer
The term Medical Support Officer is the name given to Commissioned Officers within the British Army's Royal Army Medical Corps who are principally responsible for the leadership, command, control and management of the RAMC.-General background:...
. Immediately after graduating from Sandhurst, Byles was granted six months leave to row across the Atlantic (see below).
During almost nine years of service, Byles served overseas in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
and Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, and operationally in Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
and Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
. From 2002 to 2004 Byles was a staff officer in the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
. At age 27, Byles was the youngest serving Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
in the British Army. Byles left the military in 2005.
Adventures and expeditions
Byles has taken part in expeditions all over the world including Africa, Canada, Bavaria, the Alps, Peru, Bolivia and Borneo. He has also sailed extensively in eastern Australia, SE Asia and across the Atlantic.Major mountaineering expeditions
- 1995 - Cordillera Real (Bolivia)Cordillera Real (Bolivia)The Cordillera Real is a mountain range in the South American Altiplano of Bolivia. This range of fold mountains, largely composed of granite, is located southeast of Lake Titicaca, and east of the Bolivian capital of La Paz, measuring 125 km in length and 20 km in width...
. High altitude winter mountaineering expedition to climb:- IllimaniIllimaniIllimani is the highest mountain in the Cordillera Real of western Bolivia. It lies just south of La Paz at the eastern edge of the Altiplano. It is the second highest peak in Bolivia, after Nevado Sajama, and the eighteenth highest peak in South America...
(6,438 m) - Huayna PotosiHuayna PotosíHuayna Potosí is a mountain in Bolivia, located about 25 km north of La Paz in the Cordillera Real.Huayna Potosí is the closest high mountain to La Paz, a city which is surrounded by high mountains, and itself is the highest capital city in the world. Huayna Potosí is roughly fifteen miles due...
(6,088 m) - ChacaltayaChacaltayaChacaltaya is a mountain in the Cordillera Real, one of the mountain ranges of the Cordillera Oriental, itself a range of the Bolivian Andes. Its elevation is . Chacaltaya's glacier - which was as old as 18,000 years – had in 1940 an area of , reduced to in 2007 and was completely gone by 2009....
(5,421 m) - Charquini (5,400 m)
- Illimani
- 1996 – East AfricaEast AfricaEast Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
. Expedition to climb the two highest peaks in Africa:- Mount KilimanjaroMount KilimanjaroKilimanjaro, with its three volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira, is a dormant volcano in Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania and the highest mountain in Africa at above sea level .-Geology:...
(5,895 m) - Mount KenyaMount KenyaMount Kenya is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second-highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. The highest peaks of the mountain are Batian , Nelion and Point Lenana . Mount Kenya is located in central Kenya, just south of the equator, around north-northeast of the capital Nairobi...
(5,199 m)
- Mount Kilimanjaro
Atlantic rowing race 1997
In 1995 Byles was asked by a school friend to join him in entering the first ever Atlantic Rowing RaceAtlantic Rowing Race
The Atlantic Rowing Race is a challenging ocean rowing race from the Canary Islands to the West Indies, a distance of approximately 2,550 nm . The race was founded by Sir Chay Blyth and first held in 1997 with subsequent races roughly every two years since. The early races were run by Challenge...
. He accepted, but his friend subsequently had to withdraw from the team. Byles asked his mother Janice Meek
Janice Meek
Janice Meek FRGS is a Guinness World Record holding adventurer, ocean rower, international motivational speaker and polar adventurer...
to be his team mate instead. Despite neither of them being rowers or sailors, she accepted and they went on to successfully row 3044 nautical miles (5,637 km) from Tenerife to Barbados in their boat Carpe Diem
Carpe diem
Carpe diem is a phrase from a Latin poem by Horace that has become an aphorism. It is popularly translated as "seize the day"...
. Their unsupported crossing took 100 days, 18 hours and 57 minutes. The story of their adventure has been recorded in at least three Chicken Soup for the Soul
Chicken Soup for the Soul
Chicken Soup for the Soul is a series of books, usually featuring a collection of short and dense inspirational stories and motivational essays. The 101 stories in the first book of the series were compiled by motivational speakers Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen.There have been over 200 titles...
books.
In rowing across the Atlantic, the pair achieved two Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
: they became the first mother and son team to row any ocean; and at 53 Meek became the oldest person at the time to row any ocean, although since 2005 this record has been held by Pavel Rezvoy (66).
Atlantic rowing race support yacht 2005
In 2005, Byles lent his experience to a new generation of ocean rowers when he joined the crew of the support yacht Aurora for the 2005 Atlantic Rowing RaceAtlantic Rowing Race
The Atlantic Rowing Race is a challenging ocean rowing race from the Canary Islands to the West Indies, a distance of approximately 2,550 nm . The race was founded by Sir Chay Blyth and first held in 1997 with subsequent races roughly every two years since. The early races were run by Challenge...
, spending 76 days at sea during the worst conditions yet experienced by an ocean rowing race as a result of Hurricane Epsilon
Hurricane Epsilon
Hurricane Epsilon was a long-lasting hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season in late November and early December. It was the 27th of 28 tropical or subtropical cyclones, as well as the last of 15 hurricanes of the record-breaking year. Originating from a cold front beneath an upper-level...
. An unprecedented 19 boats capsized during the race, with six quitting as a result of unrepairable damage.
Polar race 2007
Ten years after their successful ocean row, Byles and his mother set two additional world records in the ArcticArctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
in 2007. The mother and son team, along with team mate Richard Profit
Richard Profit
Richard Profit is an English mountaineer, sailor, a former British Army officer and polar adventurer. In 2007 he took part in the Polar Race with the mother and son pair Janice Meek and Daniel Byles, successfully walking and skiing 350 miles from Resolute, Nunavut to the Magnetic North Pole in ...
, took part in the Polar Race
Polar Race
The Polar Race is a biennial race from Resolute, Nunavut in northern Canada to the Magnetic North Pole. Teams of two, three or four walk/ski 350 miles pulling their food and equipment on sleds. Although not unsupported, there are strict rules on the carrying of equipment, with only food, fuel and...
2007 in April 2007. This involved walking and skiing 350 miles (563 km) from Resolute
Resolute, Nunavut
Resolute or Resolute Bay is a small Inuit hamlet on Cornwallis Island in Nunavut, Canada. It is situated at the northern end of Resolute Bay and the Northwest Passage and is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region....
, Nunavut
Nunavut
Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...
in Canada to the Magnetic North Pole. They survived the worst ice conditions for years, a near catastrophic tent fire and areas of open water and slush to successfully reach the Pole in 20 days and 5 hours. In doing so they set a new world record as the first mother and son team to reach any Pole by foot, and Janice Meek
Janice Meek
Janice Meek FRGS is a Guinness World Record holding adventurer, ocean rower, international motivational speaker and polar adventurer...
became the oldest woman to reach the Magnetic North Pole by foot.
Charities and organisations
Returning to the UK after rowing the Atlantic, Byles’ achievement was recognised when he was made a Fellow of the Royal Geographical SocietyRoyal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
.
Byles is a founding trustee of The Carpe Diem Trust
The Carpe Diem Trust
The Carpe Diem Trust is a UK based charitable trust. It was registered on 4 July 2006 with the UK Charity Commission, with the registered number 1115061.According to the Trust's website its purpose is:...
, a charity aimed at helping ordinary people to undertake extraordinary achievements.
In October 2008, Byles became the main sponsor of the Bedworth United F.C.
Bedworth United F.C.
Bedworth United Football Club is a football club based in Bedworth, Warwickshire, England, currently playing in the Southern League Division One Central....
Youth Team, in order to support community youth projects involving sport.
Political career
In 2007, Byles stood as the Conservative PartyConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
candidate for Leicester City Council in Stoneygate
Stoneygate
Stoneygate is part of the City of Leicester, England.Situated on the south-east side of the city some two miles from the centre, Stoneygate is a mainly residential suburb characterised by its large Victorian houses...
ward.
On 8 March 2007, Byles was selected as the Conservative Party's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the North Warwickshire
North Warwickshire (UK Parliament constituency)
-Notes and references:...
constituency at the 2010 general election. He was selected at an open primary
Open primary
An open primary is a primary election that does not require voters to be affiliated with a political party in order to vote for partisan candidates. In a traditional open primary, voters may select one party's ballot and vote for that party's nomination. As in a closed primary, the highest voted...
. He was elected by 54 votes at the election on 6 May 2010, and is serving as Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
in the House of Commons.
He gave his maiden speech
Maiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country...
in the Commons on Thursday 3 June 2010 when he spoke about Nicholas Chamberlaine
Nicholas Chamberlaine
Nicholas Chamberlaine was a priest in the Church of England who was known for his charitable donations.-Biography:Nicholas Chamberlaine was born in 1632 in Whitnash, south of Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England. His family were the Chamberlaines of Astley, Warwickshire...
, the Atherstone
Atherstone
Atherstone is a town in Warwickshire, England. The town is located near the northernmost tip of Warwickshire, close to the border with Staffordshire and Leicestershire and is the administrative headquarters of the borough of North Warwickshire.-History:...
Ball Game, and his intention to campaign for better rehabilitation and mental health care for military veterans and reservists.
Byles is a member of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee
Energy and Climate Change Select Committee
The Energy and Climate Change Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom that came into existence on 1 January 2009.-Formation:...
.
At Prime Minister's questions on 20 October 2010, Byles asked Prime Minister David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
the following:
"Last week, I joined a parliamentary delegation to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, where I was able to pick up a copy of Chairman Mao's Little Red Book. Is the Prime Minister interested to learn that Chairman Mao said: 'Thrift should be the guiding principle in our government expenditure'? If Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
supports coalition policy, does that not mean that the Labour party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
is in a minority of one?"
In May 2011, Francis Boulle
Francis Boulle
Francis Maximilien Yvan Christophe Boulle is a British reality TV actor and diamond heir of French, Norwegian and Cherokee descent.-Early life and education:...
, a British IT entrepreneur, received considerable press coverage for establishing the website called sexymp, which allows visitors to rate the attractiveness of members of the House of Commons. Byles was at one point rated the best looking male MP in the House of Commons.
Byles has come out as a strong opponent of the controversial High Speed Rail project HS2, pledging to vote against his Party's policy by voting against HS2 in Parliament.
Guinness world records
In 2006 Byles and his mother Janice MeekJanice Meek
Janice Meek FRGS is a Guinness World Record holding adventurer, ocean rower, international motivational speaker and polar adventurer...
were belatedly awarded a Guinness World Record certificate for being the first mother and son team to row any ocean in 1997/8.
In April/May 2007, Byles and his mother Janice Meek became the first mother and son team to walk/ski to any Pole. In the 2008 Book of Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
, they are featured on pages 94 and 96. In the 2010 book, they are featured on page 101 and are included in the photo montage on the opening pages.