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Neil Laughton

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Neil Laughton
Neil Laughton in the Watkins Mountain Range, East Greenland. First ascent, May 2005
Born31 October 1963
Alma materUniversity of Westminster
Occupations
  • Adventurer
  • Entrepreneur
  • Motivational speaker
  • Business coach
Spouse(s)Caroline Reay-Jones, 2006
Children3

Neil Adrian Denis Laughton (born 31 October 1963) is a former SAS Special Forces officer, entrepreneur and adventurer. As an adventurer he has completed the Explorers Grand Slam and hold a number of records for his activities on land, sea and air.

Personal life

Neil A D Laughton was born in Woolwich, London on 31st October 1963, the eldest son of Captain RFG Laughton (Royal Navy) and Gillian E Cocks. Laughton grew up in rural Somerset and went to boarding school in Sussex (Worth Abbey). Upon leaving school in 1982 Neil joined the Royal Marines.

Laughton married Caroline Reay-Jones in 2006; they live in Sussex with their three children.

Military service

He was commissioned into the Royal Marines at the age of 19 on 28 April 1983[1] and won the coveted Green Beret but resigned his commission in July 1984 after his father died from cancer. After a spell in the corporate world, Laughton volunteered for Selection into the 21st Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve) in 1991 and was awarded his sandy coloured beret with famous winged dagger logo bearing the motto "Who Dares Wins". He was awarded his parachute wings in 1992, completed the Explosives and Demolitions course at Hereford and was commissioned at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 6 August 1995.[2] He served in A Sqn, 21 SAS as a Troop Commander until 2003 before resigning his commission at the rank of Captain.

Qualifications and awards

Laughton attended the University of Westminster as a Post-Graduate student, graduating in 1993 with a Diploma in Management Studies. In 1995 The Royal Geographical Society selected him for the Ness Award in 2005 for "Leadership of expeditions and encouragement of others". After joining the Institute of Directors in 2007, he was awarded the Institute's Certificate of Company Direction in 2011[3][4].

Career

Early business career

Following his military career Laughton held several management roles within the construction industry before moving moving into self employment from which his entrepreneurial actives stemmed.

Entrepreneurial activities

In 1994 Laughton founded Office Projects Group Limited as chairman with Andrew Russell as commercial director. OPL managed and delivered commercial interior and exterior fit-out and refurbishment projects for a range of blue-chip UK customers and was acquired by Balfour Beatty in 2011[5]. Since then he has held non executive director roles as well as founding the Business Leadership Academy, co-founding Brighton City Airways (City Airways) and is founder and Managing Director of Laughton & Co Ltd[6].

Charity

Through his expeditions Laughton has raised funds to support charitable causes, these have included Great Ormond Street Hospital, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, Community Action Nepal and Global Angels. He has founded and directed a number of events for charities including the annual Great Sussex Bath Race[7], the Rockinghorse Sportathlon and Speedee Boarding[8]. These events are all held in support of Sussex Based charities Chestnut Tree House[9],LifeCentre[10] Rockinghorse[11] and Heart.

Laughton is currently Chairman of the Scientific Exploration Society[12] a charity founded by John Blashford-Snell in 1969 (Charity no. 267410), a role he has held since 2018.

Associations

Laughton founded the Penny Farthing Club in 2013 and has been club secretary since it's creation[13]. He was appointed Chairman[12] of the Scientific Exploration Society in 2018.

Expeditions

Laughton's first expedition was a three-day canoe journey in Somerset with a school friend aged thirteen. He has continued to organise and lead more than fifty adventurous journeys on seven continents, by land, sea and air. He has completed the Explorers Grand Slam

Seven Summits

Laughton completed the seven summits in the course of 9 years raising money for Great Ormond Street Hospital[14]

  1. Aconcagua - January 1991
  2. Kilimanjaro - July 1992
  3. Denali - May 1993
  4. Elbrus - February 1994
  5. Carstenz - April 1995
  6. Everest - May 1998
  7. Vinson - January 2000

Mount Everest, Nepal

Laughton has taken part in five expeditions on Mount Everest.

Laughton Grylls Everest
Neil Laughton and Bear Grylls on the summit of Mount Everest 16 May 1998

1996

During his first Mt Everest expedition in the spring of 1996 Laughton did not reach the summit. He was amongst the climbers caught in the "worst storm in 100 year" whilst at an altitude of 8,000m 9-11 May 1996.[15].

1998

In 1998, Laughton returned to Mt Everest leading an expedition team that includes the young Bear Grylls. They successfully reached the summit of Mt Everest on 16 May 1998, at which point Bear is the youngest Briton to achieve this[16].

2007

In 2007 Laughton returned to Everest with Bear Grylls as Team Leader of "Mission Everest". This record-setting Parajet paramotor flight eventually reached 9,000 metres (29,500 ft) flying higher than all the Himalayan peaks and raised £1 million for the charity Global Angels.[17][18]

2015

During an expedition to set the record for the World's Highest Dinner Party. Laughton and his team are on the north side of Everest in Tibet at an altitude of 6,400m (21,000 ft) during the devastating earthquake of 2015. The record attempt is abandoned as the team successfully descend from high altitude to help with the rescue efforts.[19]

2018

Laughton returns again with a team to the north side of Everest and successfully host the World's Highest black tie dinner party on Mt Everest at an altitude of 7,050m (23,129 ft). This expedition raised over £100,000 for the charity Community Action Nepal.[20][21][22][23][24]

Circumnavigations

Laughton holds a number of records for completing first circumnavigations by jet ski and paddle board. In 2000 Laughton was the first person to circumnavigate the British Isles on a jet-ski. This 30 day project raised funds for the RNLI[15]. This was followed in 2017 by the first jet ski circumnavigation of Ireland again in aid of the RNLI and Help for Heroes[25][26]. Later in 2017, Laughton led a team of paddle-boarders in the first circumnavigation by stand up paddle board of Easter Island in the Pacific in November 2017.[27][28]

Greenland

In 2005 Laughton leads an expedition in Greenland and achieves twelve first ascents of previously unclimbed peaks as well as making and ascent of Gunnbjørn Fjeld the highest mountain north of the Arctic Circle[29]

Sky Car

2009 - Pilots the worlds first road legal flying car across the Sahara for charity Alive & Kicking[30][31][32]

Polar Expeditions

1999 - Skis Last Degree to the North Pole and raises money for the Starlight Children's Charity

2001 - Leads Shackleton Memorial Expedition in Antarctica raising money for James Caird Trust[33]

2012 - Skis Last Degree to the South Pole and organises the first official game of cricket at Pole[34][35]

Bering Strait

In the winter of 2016 Neil Laughton and James Bingham attempted to make a crossing of the Bering Strait. The ice was too thin to walk on and would not support their weight, but nor was it possible to paddle through in their kayaks. They began to drift north in the ice into open ocean and had to be rescued airlifted from the ice by a United States Coast Guard helicopter who airlifted them from the ice.[36][37][38][39][40]

Penny Farthing

In 2013 Laughton Founded the Penny Farthing Club [13] and is Captain of the England Penny Farthing Polo Team. He currently holds the position of Club Secretary for the Penny Farthing Club[41]. In 2018 Laughton was part of the team that helped Mark Beaumont set a new British one hour track record on a Penny Farthing bicycle[42][43][41].

Laughton is planning a Penny Farthing World Record attempt to ride from Land's End to John o' Groats in the summer of 2019.

Other notable expeditions

  • 2003 - Helps a wheelchair-bound brittle bone disease sufferer to a 20,000ft world record in Tibet
  • 2004 - Completes the Awesome 8 Extreme Golf Challenge[44][45] raising funds for a Thai orphanage
  • 2006 - Joins Bear Grylls “Lost World” para-motoring expedition in the Amazon jungle in Venezuela
  • 2006 - First person to kayak across the English Channel to France and return by para-motor
  • 2011 - Rides a 500cc Lee Enfield motorcycle 1000 miles across the Himalaya from India to Bhutan
  • 2013 - Leads 40 disadvantaged kids on a trek across the Sinai Desert for British Exploring Society
  • 2014 - Completes trilogy of World War 2 Commando raid expeditions in France, Norway & Crete
  • 2014 - Leads military charity H4H on a para-trike flying expedition in Kenya for wounded soldiers
  • 2015 - Completes a two man paddle across the English Solent in a standard bathtub
  • 2016 - Treks through jungles of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta to climb Colombia’s highest peak
  • 2018 - Helps organise the first mountain marathon in Bamyan Province, Afghanistan for 400 locals

References

  1. ^ "SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 7TH JUNE 1983". The London Gazette. 49370: 7586. 7 June 1983.
  2. ^ "SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 23RD JULY 1996". London Gazette (54473): 9877. 23 July 1996.
  3. ^ Laughton, Neil. "My story: Neil Laughton". Institute of Directors. Institute of Directors. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  4. ^ "A Day in the Life - Neil Laughton". Institute of Directors. Institute of Directors. Retrieved 26 July 2018. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  5. ^ "Balfour Beatty acquires leading office fit-out contractor". Balfour Beatty. 22 August 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  6. ^ "Laughton and Co". Laughton and Co. Retrieved 20 May 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  7. ^ "Great Sussex Bath Race". Great Sussex Bath Race. Retrieved 20 May 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  8. ^ "Speedee Boarding". Speedee Boarding. Retrieved 20 May 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  9. ^ "Chestnut Tree House". Chestnut Tree House. Retrieved 20 May 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  10. ^ "Life Centre UK". Life Centre UK. Retrieved 19 May 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  11. ^ "Rockinghorse". Rockinghorse. Retrieved 19 May 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  12. ^ a b "Chariman". Scientific Exploration Society. Scientific Exploration Society. Retrieved 19 May 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  13. ^ a b "Founder". The Penny Farthing Club. The Penny Farthing Club. Retrieved 19 May 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  14. ^ "7 Summits Facts and Figures of all 7 Summiteers". 7 Summits. August 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  15. ^ a b Attwooll, Jolyon (12 December 2012). "Neil Laughton: the adventure interview". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraphy Media Group. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  16. ^ Cavazza, Manfreda (13 January 2002). "The Routine: Bear Grylls, record-breaking conqueror of Everest". Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  17. ^ Grylls, Bear (19 May 2007). "Flying into a dream". The Telegraph. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  18. ^ "GKN sponsor Bear Grylls for Everest Mission, 2007". Global Angels. 2007. Retrieved 20 May 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  19. ^ "The Britons caught up in the Nepal earthquake and Mount Everest avalanche disaster". ITV News. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  20. ^ Reporters, Telegraph (30 April 2018). "British adventurer hosts the world's highest dinner party – near the summit of Mt Everest". The Daily Telegraph. No. 30 April 2018. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  21. ^ Whitelocks, Sadie (20 May 2018). "Dinner party on Everest: how we broke the world record to have the world's highest feast". Metro.co.uk. Associated Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  22. ^ "Neil Laughton breaks Everest Record and celebrates with Mumm Champagne". G H Mumm Champagne. G H Mumm. Retrieved 19 May 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  23. ^ Walsh, Martin. "The World's Highest Dinner Party". Explorersweb. Explorersweb. Retrieved 19 May 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  24. ^ McFall-Johnsen, Morgan (11 May 2018). "The world's loftiest dinner party was on Mt. Everest". SNEWS. Cruz Bay Publishing Inc. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  25. ^ Reporter, Staff (19 August 2017). "Crew of civvies and veterans sails in to city after epic trip". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  26. ^ "Round Ireland by Jetski!! August 2017". Marine Education. 22 February 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  27. ^ Dawson, Robyn (8 February 2018). "SUP THE SOUTH PACIFIC – EXPLORERS TAKE ON EASTER ISLAND". Red Paddle Co. Retrieved 20 May 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  28. ^ Laughton, Neil (10 January 2018). "Paddle Round… A Pacific Island". Platinum Publishing Group. Retrieved 20 May 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  29. ^ Jones, Stephen (May 2005). "Eighth Summit Expedition to the Watkins Mountains, Greenland 01-23 May 2005 Post Expedition Report" (PDF). The Explorers Club. Retrieved 20 May 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  30. ^ Pavia, Will (14 January 2009). "Adventurer Neil Laughton ready to take his flying car to Timbuktu". The Times. Retrieved 19 May 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  31. ^ Sheerin, Jude (12 January 2009). "By flying car from London to Timbuktu". BBC News. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  32. ^ "Flying car team set off on trip from London to Timbuktu". The Telegraph. 14 January 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  33. ^ "THE SHACKLETON MEMORIAL EXPEDITION 2001". James Caird Society. 2001. Retrieved 19 May 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  34. ^ "Captain Scott commemorative South Pole cricket game won by UK". BBC. 17 January 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  35. ^ Miles, Jeremy (12 December 2012). "A Very British Polar Expedition". Dorset Magazine. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  36. ^ "US Coast Guard rescue two British adventurers stranded on sea ice in Alaska". The Telegraph. 6 March 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  37. ^ Logan, Ross (6 March 2016). "Footage shows dramatic rescue of British adventurers stranded on ice while crossing Bering Strait". Mirror. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  38. ^ Russell, Emily (5 March 2016). "British explorers describe harrowing rescue from Bering Strait". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  39. ^ "Rescue airlift for British pair trapped on Alaska ice". ITV eEws. 6 March 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  40. ^ "Close Calls on Camera. Series 5, episode 8". BBC. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  41. ^ a b Ough, Tom (14 June 2018). "How to go really fast on a penny farthing without dying: a training session with the record breakers". The Telegraph. Retrieved 19 May 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  42. ^ "Mark Beaumont breaks British Penny Farthing record". BBC News. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  43. ^ Robertshaw, Henry (14 May 2018). "Mark Beaumont to take on 132-year-old penny farthing Hour Record". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 19 May 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  44. ^ "Awesome Eight". Awesome Eight. Retrieved 19 May 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  45. ^ "Awesome Eight Golf Challenge". Golf Information. Retrieved 19 May 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

Official Website

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