EXPEDITION BURNABY BLUE
The BBF grew out of an expedition that The Household Cavalry Regiment undertook in 2000.  The whole process was six months in the planning and culminated in 26 soldiers in 8 Land Rovers following a 11,350 mile route that took us from London via France, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Georgia to Azerbaijan.  Highlights included Cappadocia with Professor Norman Stone, a battlefield tour of the Gallipoli campaign, Auschwitz, The Potemkin steps in Odessa, three seas, four time zones, an exchange with the Romanian army, Stalin’s birthplace and the oil sodden shoreline of the Caspian Sea.
CHARITY WORK
It was clear that we needed to do something more than just exploring.  We decided that the best way we could make our mark was by carrying our humanitarian work along the way.  We started renovating a refuge centre in Poland, then found the forgotten orphanages of Romania and then finally the disabled orphans of Azerbaijan
WHY BURNABY?
Colonel Fred Burnaby was a Household Cavalry legend. His adventurous spirit, pioneering achievements, and swashbuckling courage was the inspiration behind this expedition.
A veritable giant of a man, standing at 6ft 4in tall and weighing 20 stone, Burnaby was exceptionally strong. When officers of the regiment shut two small ponies in his bedroom for a joke, he carried them from his room, one under each arm.
He mastered the art of ballooning, spoke a number of foreign languages fluently, stood for parliament twice, and published several books.
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However, he was perhaps most renowned for his travels. In particular in 1875 he set off on horseback to the Khanate of Khiva through Russian Asia, which had just been closed to travellers. Against all the odds, he got there!
