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IN 1955, six young men set out to make history by being the first to drive 19,000 miles overland from London to Singapore. Many had tried, all had failed. But after six months of hard slog this team finally made it, and a bedazzled young BBC producer, David Attenborough, commissioned a TV series to share their incredible adventure with a post-war-weary British public. The book written about the journey – The First Overland – has never been out of print, and has inspired generations of adventurers since.
Many years later, (now Sir) David paid tribute in a special programme to mark “this wonderful journey”. It was a journey, however, he was sure “could not be made again today.” Attenborough’s words planted a seed in the mind of 87 year old Tim Slessor, one of the surviving ‘First Overlanders’, who was determined to prove otherwise. In 2019, backed by a team from across the world, Tim finally got his chance.
So began what’s been called “the mother of all road trips”, an audacious, madcap and heart-warming adventure in a 64 year old car crossing 23 countries, in which absolutely nothing went to plan right from the very start.
We’ve been overwhelmed by the number of people who’ve got in touch to ask how they can contribute towards the costs of the Last Overland Expedition. We’re very grateful for the offer, but we wanted to harness that awesome goodwill from around the world to support two incredible causes close to our hearts: Dementia UK, Walking with the Wounded and The Gurkha Welfare Trust.
