Ranulph Fiennes
Encyclopedia
Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet, OBE
(born 7 March 1944), better known as Ranulph (Ran) Fiennes, is a British adventurer and holder of several endurance records. He is also a prolific writer. Fiennes served in the British Army for eight years including a period on counter-insurgency service while attached to the army of the Sultanate of Oman
. He later undertook numerous expeditions and was the first person to visit both the North
and South
Poles by surface means and the first to completely cross Antarctica on foot. In May 2009, at the age of 65, he climbed to the summit of Mount Everest
. According to the Guinness Book of World Records
he is the world's greatest living explorer. Fiennes has written numerous books about his army service and his expeditions as well as a book defending Robert Falcon Scott
from modern revisionists.
shortly after the death of his father, Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, commanding the Royal Scots Greys, who died of wounds on 24 November 1943. His mother was Audrey Joan, younger daughter of Sir Percy Newson, Bt
. Fiennes inherited his father's baronet
cy, becoming the 3rd Baronet of Banbury
, at his birth. Fiennes is the third cousin of actors Joseph
and Ralph Fiennes
and is a distant cousin of Britain's royal family.
After the war his mother moved the family to South Africa, where he remained until he was 12. Fiennes then returned to be educated at Sandroyd School
, Wiltshire and then Eton
, after which he joined the British Army
.
, where he specialised in demolition
s.
Service life was enlivened by various scrapes and escapades, including an occasion when Fiennes and another officer procured a very lively, squirming piglet, covered it with tank grease and slipped it into the crowded ballroom of the army's Staff College, Camberley
. On another occasion, offended by the construction of an ugly concrete dam built by 20th Century Fox for the production of the film Doctor Dolittle
in the Wiltshire
village of Castle Combe
– reputedly the prettiest village in England – Fiennes planned to demolish the dam. He used explosives which he later claimed to have accumulated from leftovers on training exercises. Using skills from a recently completed training course on evading search dogs by night, he escaped capture, but he and a guilty colleague were both subsequently traced. After a court case, Fiennes had to pay a hefty fine and he and his co-conspirator were discharged from the SAS. Fiennes was initially posted to another cavalry regiment but was then allowed to return to his regiment.
Becoming disillusioned by his British Army service, in particular his career prospects, he spent the last two years of his service seconded to the army of the Sultan of Oman
. At the time, Oman
was experiencing a growing communist insurgency supported from neighbouring South Yemen. Fiennes had a crisis of conscience soon after arriving in Oman, as he became aware of the Sultan's poor government. However he decided that the oppression threatened by a communist takeover, combined with moves towards progressive change within the Sultanate system, justified his part in the conflict. After familiarisation, he commanded the Reconnaissance Platoon of the Muscat Regiment, seeing extensive active service in the Dhofar Rebellion
. He led several raids deep into rebel-held territory on the Djebel Dhofar and was decorated for bravery by the Sultanate.
on a hovercraft in 1969 and on Norway
's Jostedalsbreen Glacier
in 1970. Perhaps his most famous trek was the Transglobe Expedition
he undertook from 1979 until 1982. Fiennes and two fellow members of 21 SAS, Oliver Shepard and Charles Burton, journeyed around the world on its polar axis using surface transport only. Nobody else has ever done so by any route before or since.
As part of the Transglobe Expedition
Ran and Charlie Burton completed the Northwest Passage
. They left Tuktoyaktuk on 26 July 1981, in the 18 ft open Boston Whaler and reached Tanquary Fjord on 31 August 1981. Their journey was the first open boat transit from West to East and covered around 3,000 miles (2,600 nautical miles or 4,800 km) taking a route through Dolphin and Union Strait following the South coast of Victoria and King William Islands, North to Resolute Bay via Franklin Strait and Peel Sound, around the South and East coasts of Devon Island, through Hell Gate and across Norwegian Bay to Eureka, Greely Bay and the head of Tanquary Fijord. It is also worth pointing out that, once they reached Tanquary Fijord, they had to trek 150 miles via Lake Hazen to Alert before setting up their winter base camp.
In 1992 Fiennes led an expedition that discovered the lost city of Ubar
in Oman. The following year he joined nutrition specialist Dr Mike Stroud to become the first to cross the Antarctic continent unsupported; they took 93 days. A further attempt in 1996 to walk to the South Pole solo, in aid of Breast Cancer charity, was unsuccessful due to a kidney stone
attack and he had to be rescued from the operation by his crew.
In 2000, he attempted to walk solo and unsupported to the North Pole. The expedition failed when his sleds fell through weak ice and Fiennes was forced to pull them out by hand. He sustained severe frostbite
to the tips of all the fingers on his left hand, forcing him to abandon the attempt. On returning home, his surgeon insisted the necrotic fingertips be retained for several months (to allow regrowth of the remaining healthy tissue) before amputation
. Impatient at the pain the dying fingertips caused, Fiennes attempted to remove them himself (in his garden shed) with a hacksaw
; this didn't work so he picked up a Black & Decker with a micro blade in the "village" and cut them off just above where the blood and the soreness were.
Despite suffering from a heart attack and undergoing a double heart bypass operation just four months before, Fiennes joined Stroud again in 2003 to carry out the extraordinary feat of completing seven marathons in seven days on seven continents in the Land Rover 7x7x7 Challenge for the British Heart Foundation
. "In retrospect I wouldn't have done it. I wouldn't do it again. It was Mike Stroud's idea". Their routes were as follows:
Originally Fiennes had planned to run the first marathon on King George Island
, Antarctica. The second marathon would then have taken place in Santiago, Chile. However, bad weather and aeroplane engine trouble caused him to change his plans, running the South American segment in southern Patagonia first and then hopping to the Falklands as a substitute for the Antarctic leg.
Speaking after the event, Fiennes said the Singapore Marathon
had been by far the most difficult because of high humidity and pollution. He also said his cardiac surgeon had approved the marathons, providing his heart-rate did not exceed 130 beats per minute. Fiennes later said that he forgot to pack his heart-rate monitor, and as such did not know how fast his heart was beating.
In March 2007, despite a lifelong fear of heights, Fiennes undertook a personal challenge to climb the Eiger
by its much-feared North Face, with sponsorship totalling £1.8 million to be paid to the Marie Curie Cancer Care
Delivering Choice Programme. On 24 May 2008, Fiennes had to abandon an attempt to be the oldest Briton to climb Mount Everest
when, in another climb for charity, he was forced to turn back as a result of exhaustion after reaching the final stopping point of the ascent. A spokesman reported that Fiennes suffered with heart problems and vertigo
during the climb.
On 20 May 2009, Fiennes successfully reached the summit of Mount Everest
, becoming the oldest British person to achieve this. A BBC news report stated that Fiennes was the first person to ever have climbed Everest and crossed both polar ice-caps. Of the other handful of adventurers who had visited both poles, only 3 had successfully crossed both polar icecaps: Ousland, Hubert and Fiennes. Fiennes, in successfully summiting Everest in 2009, therefore definitely became the first person ever to achieve all three goals. Ousland kindly wrote to congratulate him. Fiennes continues to compete in UK-based endurance events and has seen recent success in the veteran categories of some Mountain Marathon
races. His training nowadays consists of regular two-hour runs around Exmoor
.
When he was a guest on the British motoring show Top Gear as a "Star in a reasonably priced car", his lap time on the Top Gear Test Track in a Suzuki Liana was 1:51.
. In 2003, he published a biography of Captain Robert Falcon Scott
which attempted to provide a robust defence of Scott's achievements and reputation, which had been strongly questioned by biographers such as Roland Huntford
. Although others have made comparisons between Fiennes and Scott, Fiennes says he identifies more with Lawrence Oates
, another member of Scott's doomed Antarctic team.
in the South West England
region – fourth on their list of six. The party received 30,824 votes – insufficient for any of their candidates to be elected.
He is also a member of the libertarian
pressure group The Freedom Association
.
on 9 September 1970. They ran a country farm estate in Exmoor
, Somerset where they raised cattle and sheep. Ginny built up a herd of Angus cattle
while Sir Ranulph was away on his expeditions. The extent of her support for him was so great that she was the first woman to receive the Polar Medal
. The two remained married until her death from stomach cancer
in February 2004.
According to an interview on Top Gear, Fiennes was considered for the role of James Bond
during the casting process, making it to the final six contenders, but was rejected by Cubby Broccoli
for having "hands too big and a face like a farmer", and Roger Moore
was eventually chosen.
Fiennes embarked on a lecture tour, where in Cheshire
he met horsewoman Louise Millington, whom he married at St Boniface's Church, Bunbury
, one year and three weeks after Ginny's death. A daughter, Elizabeth, was born in April 2006. He also has a stepson named Alexander.
On 6 March 2010, he was involved in a three-car collision in Stockport
which resulted in minor injuries to his person and serious injuries to the driver of another car. He had been in Stockport to participate in the annual High Peak Marathon in Derbyshire as part of a veterans' team known as Poles Apart that, despite the freezing conditions, managed to win in only 12 hours.
, followed in 1995 by University of Central England, in 2000 by University of Portsmouth
, 2002 by Glasgow Caledonian University
, 2005 by University of Sheffield
, 2007 by University of Abertay Dundee
and September 2011 by University of Plymouth
. Fiennes later received the Royal Geographical Society
's Founder's Medal.
Fiennes was appointed OBE
in 1993 for "human endeavour and for charitable services" – his expeditions have raised £14 million for good causes.
In 1986 Fiennes was awarded the Polar Medal
for "outstanding service to British Polar exploration and research." In 1994 he was awarded a second clasp to the Polar Medal, having visited both poles. He remains the only person to have received a double clasp for both the Arctic and Antarctica.
In a 2007 Top Gear special
, the presenters travelled to the Magnetic North Pole
in a Toyota Hilux
. Sir Ranulph was called in to speak with the presenters after their constant joking and horseplay during their cold weather training. As a former guest on the show who was familiar with their penchant for tomfoolery, Fiennes bluntly informed them of the grave dangers of polar expeditions, showing pictures of his own frostbite injuries and presenting what remained of his left hand. Sir Ranulph was given recognition by having his name placed before every surname in the closing credits: "Sir Ranulph Clarkson
, Sir Ranulph Hammond
, Sir Ranulph May
"....
In October 2007, Fiennes ranked 94th (tied with five others) in a list of the "Top 100 living geniuses" published by The Daily Telegraph
. Also in 2007 Ran received the ITV Greatest Briton Award (other nominees included Lewis Hamilton
and Joe Calzaghe
).
In late 2008/early 2009 Fiennes took part in a new BBC programme called Top Dogs: Adventures in War, Sea and Ice, in which he teamed with fellow Britons John Simpson
, the BBC World Affairs editor, and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston
, the round-the-world yachtsman. The team go on three trips, each experiencing each other's adventure field. The first episode, aired on 27 March 2009, saw Fiennes, Simpson
and Knox-Johnston
go on a news-gathering trip to Afghanistan. The team reported from the Khyber Pass
and Tora Bora
mountain complex. They also undertook a voyage around Cape Horn
and an expedition hauling sledges across the deep-frozen Frobisher Bay
in the far north of Canada.
In 2010 Sir Ranulph Fiennes was named as the UK’s top celebrity fundraiser by JustGiving, after raising more than £2.5 million for Marie Curie Cancer Care over the past two years – more than any other celebrity fundraiser featured on JustGiving.com during the same period.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 7 March 1944), better known as Ranulph (Ran) Fiennes, is a British adventurer and holder of several endurance records. He is also a prolific writer. Fiennes served in the British Army for eight years including a period on counter-insurgency service while attached to the army of the Sultanate of Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
. He later undertook numerous expeditions and was the first person to visit both the North
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
and South
South Pole
The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth and lies on the opposite side of the Earth from the North Pole...
Poles by surface means and the first to completely cross Antarctica on foot. In May 2009, at the age of 65, he climbed to the summit of Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
. According to the Guinness Book of 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...
he is the world's greatest living explorer. Fiennes has written numerous books about his army service and his expeditions as well as a book defending Robert Falcon Scott
Robert Falcon Scott
Captain Robert Falcon Scott, CVO was a Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, 1901–04, and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition, 1910–13...
from modern revisionists.
Early life and education
Fiennes was born on 7 March 1944 in Windsor, BerkshireWindsor, Berkshire
Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
shortly after the death of his father, Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, commanding the Royal Scots Greys, who died of wounds on 24 November 1943. His mother was Audrey Joan, younger daughter of Sir Percy Newson, Bt
Percy Newson
Sir Percy Wilson Newson, 1st Baronet was a British banker and jute merchant in India.Newson was born in Suffolk. He was senior partner with Jardine, Skinner & Co in Calcutta and also became president of the Bank of Bengal in 1920 and Governor of the Imperial Bank of India in 1921...
. Fiennes inherited his father's baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
cy, becoming the 3rd Baronet of Banbury
Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes Baronets
The Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes Baronetcy, of Banbury in the County of Oxford, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1916 for the Liberal politician the Honourable Eustace Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, who had previously represented Banbury in Parliament. He was the...
, at his birth. Fiennes is the third cousin of actors Joseph
Joseph Fiennes
Joseph Fiennes is an English film and stage actor. He is perhaps best known for his portrayals of William Shakespeare in Shakespeare in Love, Sir Robert Dudley in Elizabeth, Commisar Danilov in Enemy at the Gates, Martin Luther in Luther, Merlin in Camelot, and his portrayal of Mark Benford in the...
and Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor and film director. He has appeared in such films as The English Patient, In Bruges, The Constant Gardener, Strange Days, The Duchess and Schindler's List....
and is a distant cousin of Britain's royal family.
After the war his mother moved the family to South Africa, where he remained until he was 12. Fiennes then returned to be educated at Sandroyd School
Sandroyd School
Sandroyd School is an independent co-educational preparatory school for both day and boarding pupils in Rushmore Park, near the village of Tollard Royal in Wiltshire.- Introduction :...
, Wiltshire and then Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, after which he joined the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
.
Officer
Fiennes served eight years in the British army – in his father's regiment, the Royal Scots Greys – and was later seconded to the Special Air ServiceSpecial Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
, where he specialised in demolition
Demolition
Demolition is the tearing-down of buildings and other structures, the opposite of construction. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for re-use....
s.
Service life was enlivened by various scrapes and escapades, including an occasion when Fiennes and another officer procured a very lively, squirming piglet, covered it with tank grease and slipped it into the crowded ballroom of the army's Staff College, Camberley
Staff College, Camberley
Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army from 1802 to 1997, with periods of closure during major wars. In 1997 it was merged into the new Joint Services Command and Staff College.-Origins:...
. On another occasion, offended by the construction of an ugly concrete dam built by 20th Century Fox for the production of the film Doctor Dolittle
Doctor Dolittle (film)
Doctor Dolittle is a 1967 American musical film directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Rex Harrison, Samantha Eggar, Anthony Newley and Richard Attenborough. It's adapted by Leslie Bricusse from the novel series by Hugh Lofting, primarily The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, The Story of Doctor...
in the Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
village of Castle Combe
Castle Combe
Castle Combe is a small village in Wiltshire, England, with a population of about 350. It is renowned for its attractiveness and tranquillity, and for fine buildings including the medieval church. The 14th century market cross, erected when the privilege to hold a weekly market in Castle Combe was...
– reputedly the prettiest village in England – Fiennes planned to demolish the dam. He used explosives which he later claimed to have accumulated from leftovers on training exercises. Using skills from a recently completed training course on evading search dogs by night, he escaped capture, but he and a guilty colleague were both subsequently traced. After a court case, Fiennes had to pay a hefty fine and he and his co-conspirator were discharged from the SAS. Fiennes was initially posted to another cavalry regiment but was then allowed to return to his regiment.
Becoming disillusioned by his British Army service, in particular his career prospects, he spent the last two years of his service seconded to the army of the Sultan of Oman
Sultan of Oman
-List of Imams :-Nabhan Dynasty :-Ya'ariba Dynasty :-Banu Ghafir Dynasty :-Ya'ariba Dynasty :-Al Said Dynasty :-See also:...
. At the time, Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
was experiencing a growing communist insurgency supported from neighbouring South Yemen. Fiennes had a crisis of conscience soon after arriving in Oman, as he became aware of the Sultan's poor government. However he decided that the oppression threatened by a communist takeover, combined with moves towards progressive change within the Sultanate system, justified his part in the conflict. After familiarisation, he commanded the Reconnaissance Platoon of the Muscat Regiment, seeing extensive active service in the Dhofar Rebellion
Dhofar Rebellion
The Dhofar Rebellion was launched in the province of Dhofar against the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, which had British support, from 1962 to 1976. It ended with the defeat of the rebels, but the state of Oman had to be radically reformed and modernised to cope with the campaign.-Background:In...
. He led several raids deep into rebel-held territory on the Djebel Dhofar and was decorated for bravery by the Sultanate.
Adventurer
Since the 1960s Fiennes has been an adventurer. He led expeditions up the White NileWhite Nile
The White Nile is a river of Africa, one of the two main tributaries of the Nile from Egypt, the other being the Blue Nile. In the strict meaning, "White Nile" refers to the river formed at Lake No at the confluence of the Bahr al Jabal and Bahr el Ghazal rivers...
on a hovercraft in 1969 and on Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
's Jostedalsbreen Glacier
Jostedalsbreen
Jostedalsbreen is the largest glacier in continental Europe. It is situated in Sogn og Fjordane county in Western Norway. Jostedalsbreen lies in the municipalities of Luster, Balestrand, Jølster, and Stryn. The highest peak in the area is Lodalskåpa at a height of .Jostedalsbreen has a total area...
in 1970. Perhaps his most famous trek was the Transglobe Expedition
Transglobe Expedition
In 1979, adventurers Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Charles R. Burton set out to make the first circumpolar navigation, traveling the world "vertically" traversing both of the poles. Starting from Greenwich in the United Kingdom, they went south, arriving at the South Pole on December 17, 1980. Over the...
he undertook from 1979 until 1982. Fiennes and two fellow members of 21 SAS, Oliver Shepard and Charles Burton, journeyed around the world on its polar axis using surface transport only. Nobody else has ever done so by any route before or since.
As part of the Transglobe Expedition
Transglobe Expedition
In 1979, adventurers Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Charles R. Burton set out to make the first circumpolar navigation, traveling the world "vertically" traversing both of the poles. Starting from Greenwich in the United Kingdom, they went south, arriving at the South Pole on December 17, 1980. Over the...
Ran and Charlie Burton completed the Northwest Passage
Northwest Passage
The Northwest Passage is a sea route through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways amidst the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans...
. They left Tuktoyaktuk on 26 July 1981, in the 18 ft open Boston Whaler and reached Tanquary Fjord on 31 August 1981. Their journey was the first open boat transit from West to East and covered around 3,000 miles (2,600 nautical miles or 4,800 km) taking a route through Dolphin and Union Strait following the South coast of Victoria and King William Islands, North to Resolute Bay via Franklin Strait and Peel Sound, around the South and East coasts of Devon Island, through Hell Gate and across Norwegian Bay to Eureka, Greely Bay and the head of Tanquary Fijord. It is also worth pointing out that, once they reached Tanquary Fijord, they had to trek 150 miles via Lake Hazen to Alert before setting up their winter base camp.
In 1992 Fiennes led an expedition that discovered the lost city of Ubar
Iram of the Pillars
Iram of the Pillars , also called Aram, Iram, Irum, Irem, Erum, Wabar, Ubar, or the City of a Thousand Pillars, is a lost city on the Arabian Peninsula.-Introduction:Ubar, a name of a region or a name of a people, was mentioned in ancient records, and was spoken of in folk...
in Oman. The following year he joined nutrition specialist Dr Mike Stroud to become the first to cross the Antarctic continent unsupported; they took 93 days. A further attempt in 1996 to walk to the South Pole solo, in aid of Breast Cancer charity, was unsuccessful due to a kidney stone
Kidney stone
A kidney stone, also known as a renal calculus is a solid concretion or crystal aggregation formed in the kidneys from dietary minerals in the urine...
attack and he had to be rescued from the operation by his crew.
In 2000, he attempted to walk solo and unsupported to the North Pole. The expedition failed when his sleds fell through weak ice and Fiennes was forced to pull them out by hand. He sustained severe frostbite
Frostbite
Frostbite is the medical condition where localized damage is caused to skin and other tissues due to extreme cold. Frostbite is most likely to happen in body parts farthest from the heart and those with large exposed areas...
to the tips of all the fingers on his left hand, forcing him to abandon the attempt. On returning home, his surgeon insisted the necrotic fingertips be retained for several months (to allow regrowth of the remaining healthy tissue) before amputation
Amputation
Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma, prolonged constriction, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on individuals as a preventative surgery for...
. Impatient at the pain the dying fingertips caused, Fiennes attempted to remove them himself (in his garden shed) with a hacksaw
Hacksaw
A hacksaw is a fine-tooth saw with a blade under tension in a frame, used for cutting materials such as metal or plastics. Hand-held hacksaws consist of a metal arch with a handle, usually a pistol grip, with pins for attaching a narrow disposable blade. A screw or other mechanism is used to put...
; this didn't work so he picked up a Black & Decker with a micro blade in the "village" and cut them off just above where the blood and the soreness were.
Despite suffering from a heart attack and undergoing a double heart bypass operation just four months before, Fiennes joined Stroud again in 2003 to carry out the extraordinary feat of completing seven marathons in seven days on seven continents in the Land Rover 7x7x7 Challenge for the British Heart Foundation
British Heart Foundation
The British Heart Foundation is a charity organisation in Britain that funds research, education, care and awareness campaigns aimed to prevent heart diseases in humans.-Foundation:...
. "In retrospect I wouldn't have done it. I wouldn't do it again. It was Mike Stroud's idea". Their routes were as follows:
- 26 October – Race 1: PatagoniaPatagoniaPatagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
, South America - 27 October – Race 2: Falkland IslandsFalkland IslandsThe 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...
, "Antarctica" - 28 October – Race 3: Sydney, Australia
- 29 October – Race 4: SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , 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...
, Asia - 30 October – Race 5: London, England
- 31 October – Race 6: CairoCairoCairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt - 1 November – Race 7: New York, USA
Originally Fiennes had planned to run the first marathon on King George Island
King George Island
King George Island is the largest of the South Shetland Islands, situated at , off the coast of Antarctica in the Southern Ocean. The Island was named after King George III...
, Antarctica. The second marathon would then have taken place in Santiago, Chile. However, bad weather and aeroplane engine trouble caused him to change his plans, running the South American segment in southern Patagonia first and then hopping to the Falklands as a substitute for the Antarctic leg.
Speaking after the event, Fiennes said the Singapore Marathon
Singapore Marathon
The Singapore Marathon is an annual international marathon race which is held on the first Sunday of December in the city of Singapore. It is an IAAF Silver Label Road Race...
had been by far the most difficult because of high humidity and pollution. He also said his cardiac surgeon had approved the marathons, providing his heart-rate did not exceed 130 beats per minute. Fiennes later said that he forgot to pack his heart-rate monitor, and as such did not know how fast his heart was beating.
In March 2007, despite a lifelong fear of heights, Fiennes undertook a personal challenge to climb the Eiger
Eiger
The Eiger is a mountain in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland. It is the easternmost peak of a ridge crest that extends across the Mönch to the Jungfrau at 4,158 m...
by its much-feared North Face, with sponsorship totalling £1.8 million to be paid to the Marie Curie Cancer Care
Marie Curie Cancer Care
Marie Curie Cancer Care is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom which provides nursing care, free of charge, to terminally ill people, giving them the chance to choose to be cared for at home...
Delivering Choice Programme. On 24 May 2008, Fiennes had to abandon an attempt to be the oldest Briton to climb Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
when, in another climb for charity, he was forced to turn back as a result of exhaustion after reaching the final stopping point of the ascent. A spokesman reported that Fiennes suffered with heart problems and vertigo
Vertigo (medical)
Vertigo is a type of dizziness, where there is a feeling of motion when one is stationary. The symptoms are due to a dysfunction of the vestibular system in the inner ear...
during the climb.
On 20 May 2009, Fiennes successfully reached the summit of Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
, becoming the oldest British person to achieve this. A BBC news report stated that Fiennes was the first person to ever have climbed Everest and crossed both polar ice-caps. Of the other handful of adventurers who had visited both poles, only 3 had successfully crossed both polar icecaps: Ousland, Hubert and Fiennes. Fiennes, in successfully summiting Everest in 2009, therefore definitely became the first person ever to achieve all three goals. Ousland kindly wrote to congratulate him. Fiennes continues to compete in UK-based endurance events and has seen recent success in the veteran categories of some Mountain Marathon
Mountain Marathon
Mountain Marathon is an extended form of fell running, usually over two days and often with a strong orienteering element. Competitors usually participate in teams of two, and have to carry their own food and tent...
races. His training nowadays consists of regular two-hour runs around Exmoor
Exmoor
Exmoor is an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England, named after the main river that flows out of the district, the River Exe. The moor has given its name to a National Park, which includes the Brendon Hills, the East Lyn Valley, the Vale of Porlock and ...
.
When he was a guest on the British motoring show Top Gear as a "Star in a reasonably priced car", his lap time on the Top Gear Test Track in a Suzuki Liana was 1:51.
Author
Fiennes' career as an author has developed alongside his career as an explorer: he is the author of 19 fiction and non-fiction books, including The Feather MenThe Feather Men
The Feather Men is a 1991 novel by the British adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes.-Plot introduction:The book tells the story of four British Army soldiers, including two members of the Special Air Service, who are assassinated by a hit squad known as "The Clinic"...
. In 2003, he published a biography of Captain Robert Falcon Scott
Robert Falcon Scott
Captain Robert Falcon Scott, CVO was a Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, 1901–04, and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition, 1910–13...
which attempted to provide a robust defence of Scott's achievements and reputation, which had been strongly questioned by biographers such as Roland Huntford
Roland Huntford
Roland Huntford is an author, principally of biographies of Polar explorers. He lives in Cambridge, and was formerly Scandinavian correspondent of The Observer, also acting as their winter sports correspondent...
. Although others have made comparisons between Fiennes and Scott, Fiennes says he identifies more with Lawrence Oates
Lawrence Oates
Captain Lawrence Edward Grace Oates was an English Antarctic explorer, known for the manner of his death, when he walked from a tent into a blizzard, with the words "I am just going outside and may be some time"....
, another member of Scott's doomed Antarctic team.
Politician
Fiennes stood for the Countryside Party in the 2004 European electionsEuropean Parliament election, 2004 (UK)
The European Parliament election, 2004 was the UK part of the European Parliament election, 2004. It was held on 10 June. It was the first European election to be held in the United Kingdom using postal-only voting in four areas. It coincided with local and London elections.The Conservative Party...
in the South West England
South West England (European Parliament constituency)
South West England is a constituency of the European Parliament. For 2009 it elects 6 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation, reduced from 7 in 2004.-Boundaries:...
region – fourth on their list of six. The party received 30,824 votes – insufficient for any of their candidates to be elected.
He is also a member of the libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
pressure group The Freedom Association
The Freedom Association
The Freedom Association is a pressure group in the United Kingdom that describes itself as non-partisan, centre-right and libertarian, which has links to the Conservative Party. TFA was founded in 1975 as the National Association for Freedom and gained public prominence through its anti-trade...
.
Personal life
Fiennes married his childhood sweetheart Virginia ("Ginny") PepperGinny Fiennes
Virginia Frances "Ginny" Fiennes was a noted explorer and wife of adventurer Ranulph Fiennes...
on 9 September 1970. They ran a country farm estate in Exmoor
Exmoor
Exmoor is an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England, named after the main river that flows out of the district, the River Exe. The moor has given its name to a National Park, which includes the Brendon Hills, the East Lyn Valley, the Vale of Porlock and ...
, Somerset where they raised cattle and sheep. Ginny built up a herd of Angus cattle
Angus cattle
Angus cattle are a breed of cattle much used in beef production. They were developed from cattle native to the counties of Aberdeenshire and Angus in Scotland, and are known as Aberdeen Angus in most parts of the world....
while Sir Ranulph was away on his expeditions. The extent of her support for him was so great that she was the first woman to receive the Polar Medal
Polar Medal
The Polar Medal is a medal awarded by the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It was instituted in 1857 as the Arctic Medal and renamed the Polar Medal in 1904.-History:...
. The two remained married until her death from stomach cancer
Stomach cancer
Gastric cancer, commonly referred to as stomach cancer, can develop in any part of the stomach and may spread throughout the stomach and to other organs; particularly the esophagus, lungs, lymph nodes, and the liver...
in February 2004.
According to an interview on Top Gear, Fiennes was considered for the role of James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
during the casting process, making it to the final six contenders, but was rejected by Cubby Broccoli
Albert R. Broccoli
Albert Romolo Broccoli, CBE , nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer, who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career, most of them in the United Kingdom, and often filmed at Pinewood Studios. Co-founder of Danjaq, LLC and EON Productions, Broccoli is most notable as the...
for having "hands too big and a face like a farmer", and Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
was eventually chosen.
Fiennes embarked on a lecture tour, where in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
he met horsewoman Louise Millington, whom he married at St Boniface's Church, Bunbury
Bunbury, Cheshire
Bunbury is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, south of Tarporley, north west of Nantwich, and on the Shropshire Union Canal...
, one year and three weeks after Ginny's death. A daughter, Elizabeth, was born in April 2006. He also has a stepson named Alexander.
On 6 March 2010, he was involved in a three-car collision in Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
which resulted in minor injuries to his person and serious injuries to the driver of another car. He had been in Stockport to participate in the annual High Peak Marathon in Derbyshire as part of a veterans' team known as Poles Apart that, despite the freezing conditions, managed to win in only 12 hours.
Awards and recognition
In 1970, while serving with the Omani Army, Fiennes received the Sultan's Bravery Medal. He has also been awarded a number of honorary doctorates, the first in 1986 by Loughborough UniversityLoughborough University
Loughborough University is a research based campus university located in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, in the East Midlands of England...
, followed in 1995 by University of Central England, in 2000 by University of Portsmouth
University of Portsmouth
The University of Portsmouth is a university in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. The University was ranked 60th out of 122 in The Sunday Times University Guide...
, 2002 by Glasgow Caledonian University
Glasgow Caledonian University
Glasgow Caledonian University is a public university in Glasgow, Scotland.The university was constituted by an Act of Parliament on 1 April 1993 as a result of a merger between Glasgow Polytechnic and The Queen's College, Glasgow....
, 2005 by University of Sheffield
University of Sheffield
The University of Sheffield is a research university based in the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It is one of the original 'red brick' universities and is a member of the Russell Group of leading research intensive universities...
, 2007 by University of Abertay Dundee
University of Abertay Dundee
The University of Abertay Dundee, usually known simply as Abertay University, is a modern university in Dundee, Scotland.- History :The University of Abertay Dundee was created in 1994, under government legislation granting the title University to the Dundee Institute of Technology...
and September 2011 by University of Plymouth
University of Plymouth
Plymouth University is the largest university in the South West of England, with over 30,000 students and is 9th largest in the United Kingdom by total number of students . It has almost 3,000 staff...
. Fiennes later received the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
's Founder's Medal.
Fiennes was appointed OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1993 for "human endeavour and for charitable services" – his expeditions have raised £14 million for good causes.
In 1986 Fiennes was awarded the Polar Medal
Polar Medal
The Polar Medal is a medal awarded by the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It was instituted in 1857 as the Arctic Medal and renamed the Polar Medal in 1904.-History:...
for "outstanding service to British Polar exploration and research." In 1994 he was awarded a second clasp to the Polar Medal, having visited both poles. He remains the only person to have received a double clasp for both the Arctic and Antarctica.
In a 2007 Top Gear special
Top Gear: Polar Special
Top Gear: Polar Special was an episode of the popular series Top Gear, first broadcast on 25 July 2007 on BBC Two. It was an attempt by the BBC's Top Gear crew to be the first to drive a motor vehicle to the 1996 location of the Magnetic North Pole....
, the presenters travelled to the Magnetic North Pole
North Magnetic Pole
The Earth's North Magnetic Pole is the point on the surface of the Northern Hemisphere at which the Earth's magnetic field points vertically downwards . Though geographically in the north, it is, by the direction of the magnetic field lines, physically the south pole of the Earth's magnetic field...
in a Toyota Hilux
Toyota Hilux
The Toyota Hilux is a series of compact pickup trucks produced and marketed by the Toyota Motor Corporation. Most countries used the Hilux name for the entire life of the series but in North America, the Hilux name was retired in 1976 in favor of Truck, Pickup Truck, or Compact Truck...
. Sir Ranulph was called in to speak with the presenters after their constant joking and horseplay during their cold weather training. As a former guest on the show who was familiar with their penchant for tomfoolery, Fiennes bluntly informed them of the grave dangers of polar expeditions, showing pictures of his own frostbite injuries and presenting what remained of his left hand. Sir Ranulph was given recognition by having his name placed before every surname in the closing credits: "Sir Ranulph Clarkson
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May...
, Sir Ranulph Hammond
Richard Hammond
Richard Mark Hammond is an English broadcaster, writer, and journalist most noted for co-hosting car programme Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson and James May, as well as presenting Brainiac: Science Abuse on Sky 1.-Early life:...
, Sir Ranulph May
James May
James Daniel May is an English television presenter, journalist and writer. He is best known for his role as co-presenter of the award-winning motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond....
"....
In October 2007, Fiennes ranked 94th (tied with five others) in a list of the "Top 100 living geniuses" published by The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
. Also in 2007 Ran received the ITV Greatest Briton Award (other nominees included Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, MBE is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the McLaren team. He was the Formula One World Champion.Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire...
and Joe Calzaghe
Joe Calzaghe
Joseph William Calzaghe, CBE, MBE is a Welsh former professional boxer. He is the former WBO, WBA, WBC, IBF, The Ring & British super middleweight champion and The Ring light heavyweight champion....
).
In late 2008/early 2009 Fiennes took part in a new BBC programme called Top Dogs: Adventures in War, Sea and Ice, in which he teamed with fellow Britons John Simpson
John Simpson
John Cody Fidler-Simpson CBE is an English foreign correspondent. He is world affairs editor of BBC News. He has spent all his working life at the Corporation...
, the BBC World Affairs editor, and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston
Robin Knox-Johnston
Sir William Robert Patrick "Robin" Knox-Johnston, CBE, RD and bar is an English sailor. He was the first man to perform a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe and was the second winner of the Jules Verne Trophy . For this he was awarded with Blake the ISAF Yachtsman of the Year award...
, the round-the-world yachtsman. The team go on three trips, each experiencing each other's adventure field. The first episode, aired on 27 March 2009, saw Fiennes, Simpson
John Simpson
John Cody Fidler-Simpson CBE is an English foreign correspondent. He is world affairs editor of BBC News. He has spent all his working life at the Corporation...
and Knox-Johnston
Robin Knox-Johnston
Sir William Robert Patrick "Robin" Knox-Johnston, CBE, RD and bar is an English sailor. He was the first man to perform a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe and was the second winner of the Jules Verne Trophy . For this he was awarded with Blake the ISAF Yachtsman of the Year award...
go on a news-gathering trip to Afghanistan. The team reported from the Khyber Pass
Khyber Pass
The Khyber Pass, is a mountain pass linking Pakistan and Afghanistan.The Pass was an integral part of the ancient Silk Road. It is mentioned in the Bible as the "Pesh Habor," and it is one of the oldest known passes in the world....
and Tora Bora
Tora Bora
Tora Bora , known locally as Spīn Ghar , is a cave complex situated in the White Mountains of eastern Afghanistan, in the Pachir Wa Agam District of Nangarhar province, approximately west of the Khyber Pass and north of the border of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in Pakistan...
mountain complex. They also undertook a voyage around Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
and an expedition hauling sledges across the deep-frozen Frobisher Bay
Frobisher Bay
Frobisher Bay is a relatively large inlet of the Labrador Sea in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is located in the southeastern corner of Baffin Island...
in the far north of Canada.
In 2010 Sir Ranulph Fiennes was named as the UK’s top celebrity fundraiser by JustGiving, after raising more than £2.5 million for Marie Curie Cancer Care over the past two years – more than any other celebrity fundraiser featured on JustGiving.com during the same period.
External links
- In his own words (interview with WideWorld magazine, pt1)
- In his own words (interview with WideWorld magazine, pt2)
- Interview with TIME Magazine
- Agent – Guest Speaking Biography, Profile and Video
- Foreword by Sir Ranulph Fiennes of the book Fragile Earth
- http://www.freewebs.com/drskinnersite/ranulphfiennesview.htmForeword to 'Beyond the Setting Sun- 6000 miles on foot for hospice' by Colin SkinnerColin SkinnerDr. Colin Skinner is a British adventurer and molecular biologist who is attempting to walk around the world. To date he has walked over and has crossed Great Britain, Iceland, America and New Zealand...
] - Ranulph Fiennes's Profile London Speaker Bureau
- The National Portrait Gallery collection includes several bromide prints by Bassano from the years 1964 and 1966.
