‘Blashers’ to lead youths to adventure

Press, 9 March 1982, Page 25

‘Blashers’ to lead youths to adventure

NZPA London Hundreds of British youths have applied for two weeks of adventure at the Government’s expense under on Army officer with a reputation resembling Bulldog Drummond, Biggies and James Bond. The Defence Department has announced it will spend about ?3.4M on an “adven-ture-’training scheme.” designed to take up to 7000 boys or girls aged between 16 and 18 off the streets and on to rafts or on horseback in remote areas of Britain. In'command of the courses will ■be one of the British Army’s more colourful characters,; Lieutenant-Colonel John . Blashford-Snell, aged 45. f • The colonel known as "Blashers,” has led a number of expeditions to wild and often.; dangerous parts of the world. He has been attacked by crocodiles in Africa, by bats in Central America and by a stingray in the Indian Ocean. He was also assaulted by bandits while exploring the Blue Nile. .But he has always emerged unscathed, occasionally striding through London’s Heathrow Airport in shorts and Pith helmets.

“Blashers is an irresistible figure of fun,” 'says the “Daily Mirror,” “His great strength is that he has always- been able to see the joke.” Critics of the adventure scheme say it amounts to a political manipulation of young people among Britain's 3,000,000 unemployed. But the colonel differs.. “Young people are not getting the chance today, as I did 20 years ago, to do something exciting and to gain self-respect,” he said. Defence officials said there had been an “enthusiastic” response to the scheme from young people. “Blashers” himself will organise the activities at Fort George, an Army barracks near Inverness, in Scotland. He promised no easy time for the volunteers. “It will be remote with bad weather and so on,” he said. The youths would sail in boats and rafts, fly in light aircraft, drop supplies by parachute, and go on treks with packhorses. Participants would achieve something and gain selfrespect, he said.