Big Red Book
Celebrating television's This Is Your Life
Wally HERBERT (1934-2007)
THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Wally Herbert, polar explorer, was surprised by Eamonn Andrews while watching a film with some outward-bound students at a preview theatre in London's West End.
Wally, who was born in York and had a long-held ambition to become an explorer, spent three years serving with the British Army in the Middle East before taking a job surveying in the Antarctic for the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey in 1955, during which time he became an expert in dog sleighing, and which later led to him gaining work with the New Zealand Antarctic programme.
In 1968, Wally led the British Trans-Arctic Expedition, a 3,800-mile surface crossing of the Arctic Ocean from Alaska to Spitsbergen, a unique trek in the history of polar exploration, which some historians billed as the 'the last great journey on Earth.' Wally also wrote several books, which he illustrated with critically acclaimed paintings and drawings, including some of the first landscapes of the North Pole.
"What a dirty rotten trick!"
programme details...
- Edition No: 594
- Subject No: 591
- Broadcast date: Wed 24 Feb 1982
- Broadcast time: 7.00-7.30pm
- Recorded: Wed 10 Feb 1982 7.00pm
- Venue: Royalty Theatre
- Series: 22
- Edition: 21
- Code name: Fur
on the guest list...
- Marie - wife
- Kari - daughter
- Pascale - daughter
- John Alderton
- Pauline Collins
- Helen - mother
- Kathleen - sister
- Dennis Kershaw
- Dr Hugh Simpson
- Myrtle Simpson
- Robin Simpson
- Sir Miles Clifford
- Freddie Church
- Dr Roy Koerner
- Allan Gill
- VADM Sir Peter Buchanan
- Martin Kilt
- Geoff Renner
- Peter Otway Filmed tributes:
- Chris Bonington
- Robin Knox-Johnson
- John Blashford-Snell
- Lord John Hunt
related appearances...
- Pauline Collins - Apr 1972
- John Alderton - Feb 1974
production team...
- Researcher: Katie Lander
- Writers: Tom Brennand, Roy Bottomley
- Directors: Paul Stewart Laing, Terry Yarwood
- Producer: Jack Crawshaw
- names above in bold indicate subjects of This Is Your Life
an uncharted adventure
Screenshots of Wally Herbert This Is Your Life
Series 22 subjects
Bob Champion | Bill Fraser | Wayne Sleep | Ian Botham | Cannon and Ball | Rob Buckman | Angela RipponJulia McKenzie | Jackie Milburn | Paul Shane | Peter Adamson | Kiri Te Kanawa | Mickie Most | Anita Harris
Mike Brace | Faith Brown | Robin Bailey | Rod Hull | Bob Monkhouse | John Toshack | Wally Herbert
Joe Gormley | Roger Whittaker | Alan Whicker | Peter Davison | Douglas Bader