Levison Wood

Levison Wood
FRGS
Born Levison James Wood
(1982-05-05) 5 May 1982
Hartshill, Staffordshire, England
Residence London, England
Occupation Military officer, explorer, photographer and journalist
Military career
Allegiance  United Kingdom
Service/branch  British Army
Years of service 2001-2004, 2005–2010, 2012 – present
Rank Major
Service number 564688
Unit Parachute Regiment
77th Brigade
Battles/wars

War in Afghanistan

Website www.levisonwood.com

Major Levison James Wood FRGS (born 5 May 1982)[1] is a British Army officer and explorer. He is best known for his extended walking expeditions in Africa, Asia, and Central America; over the course of nine months, from 2013-2014, he undertook the first ever expedition to walk the entire length of the river Nile from Nyungwe Forest in Rwanda, beginning in December 2013. The expedition was commissioned as a four-part documentary series for Channel 4 in the UK. He also wrote The Sunday Times bestselling book detailing the expedition, Walking the Nile.

In 2015, he walked the length of the Himalayas, from Afghanistan in the west to Bhutan in the east. He has also undertaken numerous other overland journeys including a foot crossing of Madagascar and mountain climbing in Iraq. He documents his journeys through books, documentaries, and photography.

Life

The son of teachers Janice (née Curzon) and Levison Wood Sr, Wood was born on 5 May 1982 at the North Staffordshire Royal Infirmary in Hartshill, Staffordshire and grew up in nearby Forsbrook.[2] Levison was educated at Painsley Catholic College,[3] before obtaining an honours degree in History at the University of Nottingham. He was commissioned as an officer into the Parachute Regiment on 13 April 2006[4] where he spent four years, serving in Afghanistan in Helmand, Kandahar, and Zabul. Wood was promoted to Captain on 13 October 2008.[5]

He left the army in April 2010, took up a career in journalism and photography, and has become a bestselling author. He has extensive experience in travel and exploration in over 80 countries and in 2011 was made a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Wood acts as patron and ambassador for a number of charities including the Tusk Trust and the ABF The Soldiers' Charity.[6] He recently rejoined the army, serving as a reservist Major in the 77th Brigade.[7]

Walking expeditions

The expedition to walk the length of the Nile was inspired by explorers John Hanning Speke, Richard Francis Burton, David Livingstone, and Henry Morton Stanley.[8] Wood was accompanied by numerous guides, journalists (including Matthew Power), and friends along the different stages of the route. The expedition was commissioned into a television programme for Channel 4 that aired in January 2015, and Wood detailed the trip in his book Walking the Nile.[9] Power died during the programme from severe heatstroke. Wood was forced to abandon a 450 mile section in South Sudan due to heavy fighting caused by civil war.[10]

In 2015, Wood embarked on another challenge: to walk the length of the Himalayas from Afghanistan to Bhutan, filming a documentary series and writing another book about the experience, which was published in January 2016.[6][11]

Channel 4 broadcast Walking the Americas from January 2017, featuring an expedition from Mexico to Colombia.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Wood, Levison [@Levisonwood] (5 May 2015). "What a place to spend a birthday!" (Tweet). Retrieved 26 December 2015 – via Twitter.
  2. ↑ Taylor, Jeremy (10 January 2016). "Relative Values: the explorer Levison Wood and his father". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  3. ↑ Hermione Eyre (8 April 2015). "Tough guy: Levison Wood on walking the Nile and being ten times tougher than Bear Grylls". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  4. ↑ "No. 57994". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 May 2006. p. 7379.
  5. ↑ "No. 58912". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 December 2008. p. 19637.
  6. 1 2 3 "Biography". LevisonWood.com. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  7. ↑ Brown, Larisa (13 March 2016). "TV heartthrob dubbed '10 times tougher than Bear Grylls' rejoins army as major in new elite force the 77 Brigade". Daily Mail. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  8. ↑ James Meikle (14 November 2013). "Briton to walk length of the Nile on 4,250-mile trek from Rwanda to Egypt". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  9. ↑ Wood, Levison. "Walking the Nile on Channel 4". Channel 4.
  10. ↑ "Explorer Levison Wood completes River Nile walk". BBC News. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  11. ↑ "Channel 4 tracks Levison Wood Walking the Himalayas". Channel 4. 26 August 2015. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
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