Sir Ranulph Fiennes". Military Speakers. Archived from the original on 25 June 2020 . Retrieved 26 August 2014. Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Bt. O.B.E." Kobold Watch. 2 November 2003. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012 . Retrieved 28 March 2012. Fiennes has long been fascinated by the qualities of the rugged explorers from the early part of the 20th century and how they willingly travelled into unknown territory, never knowing whether they were on the verge of a windfall or a catastrophe.

In the 2007 Top Gear: Polar Special the presenters travelled to the Magnetic North Pole in a Toyota Hilux. Fiennes 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".... [43] Moods of Future Joys (2007), Adlibbed Ltd. ISBN 978-1-897312-38-4 (by Alastair Humphreys, foreword by Ranulph Fiennes). Home of the Blizzard: A True Story of Antarctic Survival, Birlinn Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84158-077-7 (by Sir Douglas Mawson, foreword by Ranulph Fiennes). I said yes because I didn’t want to be unpopular with the client. I sort of opened my eyes as we left the platform, but I then kept them shut for the rest of the ride. Race to the Pole: Tragedy, Heroism, and Scott's Antarctic Quest (2005), Hyperion; reprint edition. ISBN 978-0786888580.Fiennes stood for the Countryside Party in the 2004 European elections 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. Contrary to some reports, he has never been an official patron of the UK Independence Party. [25] He is also a member of the libertarian pressure group The Freedom Association. [26] In August 2014, Fiennes was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue. [27] Media appearances [ edit ] In May 2007, Fiennes received ITV's Greatest Britons Award for Sport beating fellow nominees Lewis Hamilton and Joe Calzaghe. In October 2007 Fiennes ranked 94th (tied with five others) in a list of the "Top 100 living geniuses" published by The Daily Telegraph. [44]

a b Day, Alan (3 January 2006). Historical Dictionary of the Discovery and Exploration of the Northwest Passage. Scarecrow Press. pp.91–93. ISBN 9780810865198. Archived from the original on 21 October 2023 . Retrieved 19 November 2020. Last August at home, the gutters got full of leaves, and I was too scared so I sent my wife up and I held the ladder. Fiennes spent the last two years of his army career seconded to the army of the Sultan of Oman. At the time, Oman was experiencing a growing communist insurgency supported from neighbouring South Yemen. 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. After eight years' service Fiennes relinquished his commission on 27 July 1971. [10] Expedition leader [ edit ] Preparation for what came to be called the Transglobe Expedition began in 1972 and occupied much of Fiennes’s and Ginny’s time during the rest of the decade. The trekking team, led by Fiennes and including fellow Britons Charles Burton and Oliver Shepard, had a support crew of some three dozen people, including Ginny. They departed from Greenwich, England, in September 1979, attempting to stay as close as possible to the Greenwich meridian as they journeyed southward over land and water, until they reached the coast of Antarctica in January 1980. They remained there until October, when Fiennes, Burton, and Shepherd departed on snowmobiles for the South Pole, which they reached on December 15. Setting out again after a short time at the American base there, they arrived at the Scott Base on the west coast of Antarctica in mid-January 1981, having made the continental traverse in a record-setting 67 days.

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Countdown, 19 November 2013. When he recounted this story, Fiennes initially confused Frazer with another Carry On actress, Barbara Windsor, excusing himself on the grounds that they were both "big up top".

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 before amputation, to allow regrowth of the remaining healthy tissue. Impatient at the pain the dying fingertips caused, Fiennes cut them off himself with an electric fretsaw, [15] just above where the blood and the soreness was. [8] [16] After the war his mother moved the family to South Africa, where he remained until he was 12. While in South Africa he attended Western Province Preparatory School in Newlands, Cape Town. Fiennes then returned to be educated at Sandroyd School, Wiltshire and then at Eton College. And, if the whole of the motor industry had to switch to electric vehicles, that would be good – because then we would be heading in the right direction.”

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Fiennes is one of a kind. If he had been born 200 or 300 years ago, he would probably have fought at Trafalgar or set up the Bow Street Runners. In his sphere, sitting around doing nothing isn’t an option. You have to test yourself once, twice, thrice, for as long as you still have a pulse and the ability to dream. Wollaston, Sam (28 March 2009). "Last night's TV: Dogs of war - and yachting". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 31 December 2022 . Retrieved 31 December 2022. Offended by the construction of an ugly concrete dam built in Wiltshire by 20th Century Fox [8] for the production of the 1967 film Doctor Dolittle, Fiennes attempted to destroy the dam but the police foiled the plan. [9] Fiennes had to pay a large fine and he and a co-conspirator were dismissed from the SAS. He was initially posted to another cavalry regiment but was eventually permitted to return to the Royal Scots Greys.

a b "Sir Ranulph Fiennes gets Plymouth University honorary doctorate - BBC News". BBC News. 21 September 2011. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015 . Retrieved 10 August 2015. Fiennes climbs to Everest summit". BBC News. 20 May 2009. Archived from the original on 22 May 2009 . Retrieved 22 May 2009. The north face of the Eiger has killed off 80 people but I could only do it because of that guy.” A fragile planet Amongst his many record-breaking achievements, he was the first to reach both Poles, the first to cross the Antarctic and Arctic Ocean, and the first to circumnavigate the world along its polar axis.Books:: Ranulph Fiennes". ranulphfiennes.co.uk. Archived from the original on 25 February 2020 . Retrieved 25 March 2019. Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge» 'Polar Bytes' no. 48". spri.cam.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 25 May 2018 . Retrieved 25 May 2018. The Last Expedition (2012), Vintage Classics. ISBN 978-0-09-956138-5 (by Captain Robert Falcon Scott, new edition introduction by Ranulph Fiennes).