Name Sandy Glen Died March 6, 2004 | Education Balliol College Awards Patron's Gold Medal | |
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Sandy glen at lake carolina in ne columbia sc new homes built by crown communities
Sir Alexander "Sandy" Richard Glen KBE DSC (18 April 1912 – 6 March 2004) was a Scottish explorer of the Arctic, and wartime intelligence officer. He later invested in the shipping industry, pioneered package holidays, and became chairman of the British Tourist Authority.
Contents
- Sandy glen at lake carolina in ne columbia sc new homes built by crown communities
- Early life
- Arctic exploration
- War service
- Travel industry
- Writing
- Honours and awards
- References
He was appointed CBE in 1964 and KBE in 1967.
Early life
Born in Glasgow, Glen was the son of a Glasgow shipowner and educated at Fettes College and Balliol College, Oxford.
Arctic exploration
He first travelled to the Arctic as crew on a fishing boat owned by a Cambridge law don, and spent two months surveying in the mountains.
The next year, he led his own a 16-man Oxford University summer expedition, in the winter spent some months with the Lapps of northern Sweden, then in the following summer, returned to Spitsbergen for a few weeks.
In 1935 the 23-year-old Glen led an Oxford University expedition which established a station on the ice cap of North East Land and carried out research in glaciology, geology and radio propagation in high latitudes, He wrote Under the Pole Star in 1937.
War service
In January 1940 Glen was posted to Belgrade as assistant naval attache at the British legation, but when in March, 1941 the 17-year-old Peter II of Yugoslavia participated in a British-supported coup d'état opposing the Tripartite Pact German retribution was swift, and Belgrade was bombed within three days. The British legation left and made their way home via Albania, Italy, unoccupied France and Spain.
He later served with distinction in dangerous clandestine operations in Yugoslavia in support of Josip Broz Tito; and in Albania and Bulgaria.
Glen was awarded the DSC - and later a bar - the Norwegian War Cross, the Czechoslovak War Cross and was appointed a Knight of St Olav.
He knew Ian Fleming and is often given as one of the inspirations for James Bond.
Travel industry
He joined a syndicate to buy shipbrokers H Clarkson & Co, a subsidiary of which later became a pioneer of package holidays - Clarksons Holidays. The holiday division was sold in 1972 to Court Line, a shipping company and charter airline, which collapsed in August 1974.
Glen was a director of British European Airways and chairman of the British Tourist Authority from 1969 to 1977.