Remembering our Advisory Board

It is a rare gift for humanity to produce a living legend - someone whose life's work transforms our understanding of the natural world and inspires generations to protect it. Dame Jane Goodall was just such a figure. Her groundbreaking research with chimpanzees in Gombe, Tanzania, revolutionised our understanding of primates and fundamentally changed how we view the relationship between humans and animals. Beyond the science, she gave her wisdom and her energy unstintingly – through the Jane Goodall Institute, her Roots & Shoots programme, and countless organisations and individuals whom she touched along the way. Her message was always one of hope: that individual action, however small, can make a profound difference. It is a message the SES holds dear. We were enormously privileged to have her as a member of our Advisory Board, and we are deeply grateful for the light she brought to our work. May she rest in peace, knowing that her tireless efforts will continue to nurture respect for our planet and all its creatures.

As a young officer in the Royal Anglian Regiment, Martin played a leading role as Intelligence Officer on the Blue Nile Expedition in 1968 - one of the epic undertakings that led to the founding of the SES. A longstanding friend of Colonel John Blashford-Snell, he was one of the Society's founder members, and his early involvement in the planning of that expedition was instrumental in shaping what the SES would become. He later carried out the reconnaissance for the Zaire River Expedition with Richard Snailham, and went on to a distinguished military career that included an instructorship at Sandhurst, the introduction of thermal imaging to the Army, and a senior appointment at CBDE, Porton Down. On retirement, Martin became a respected defence consultant and joined the SES Advisory Board, taking a keen interest in the Society’s activities. He also served as military advisor to the Raffles Hotel at the Old War Office - the very building from which SES had launched the Darien and Zaire River Expeditions and Operations Drake and Raleigh. His enthusiasm, energy, and warmth made him a most respected and popular member of the SES family.