Antony Jinman
Renowned polar explorer Antony Jinman is most widely recognised for being the twelfth Britain to have skied to the Geographic North Pole and ski solo to the Geographic South Pole. He also lays personal claim to being recognised by the Queen and gaining Royal Patronage from HRH The Prince of Wales after an expedition to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
His hunger for exploration began as a boy dreaming of the day he could follow in the footsteps of fellow Plymothian and Antarctic explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott coming one step closer when he served as a surveyor in the Royal Navy on board the Captain’s namesake ship HMS Scott.
Just a few years into his military career, after a period of ill health, Antony made the difficult decision to put life in the armed forces behind him, and faced a very lonely transition from sailor to civilian. From what can only be described as a real low in his life, Antony has shown resilience which is evident in the work he does now offering support to others which was not available to him at the time.
As a qualified International Mountain Leader, Antony now leads teams in all manners of challenging environments, including seismic survey operations in Libya, Egypt, Kurdistan and Yemen to manage both safety and performance. And just before the age of 30, Antony realised his dream, reaching the Geographic North Pole in 2010. Keen to share his knowledge and experiences with his ‘Education Through Expeditions’ (ETE) initiative – which promotes Polar science and education to schools in Devon – Antony made it possible for 8,000 children to track his journey through email and satellite Wi-Fi, documenting the moment he stood at the South Pole using drones.
ETE is now a permanent feature in regional schools, encouraging students to learn more about climate change and sustainability in these remote regions and some of the youngsters have even had the chance to experience this first hand. Closer to home, Antony has teamed up with fellow former Navy colleague leading expeditions as career development opportunities for young people, training them to be future leaders, enhancing their personal attributes. Antony’s spin-off company, ETE Live-Learning brings University Field-Work and Research, as well as business enterprise initiatives, into schools through a web-based learning platform.
Antony’s commitment to developing others has earned him an Honorary Doctorate in Education (Ed.D) from the University of the West of England and he also holds the title of Explorer in Residence at Plymouth University. And through his associations as a Fellow of the Sir Winston Churchill Memorial Trust promoting Inuit Culture and the Polar environment within schools, Antony received recognition from the Queen and gained Royal Patronage from HRH The Prince of Wales following an expedition to celebrate the Queens Diamond Jubilee.
"I send my grateful thanks to the Team Members of the Arctic Jubilee Expedition 2012 for their kind message of loyal greetings, sent on the occasion of the Sixtieth Anniversary of my Accession to the Throne. In return, please accept my good wishes for a most memorable and successful Diamond Jubilee Expedition." ELIZABETH R.
