EPIC OVERLAND
Land Rover Series 1 adventure returns
December 14, 2019 saw the end of an epic expedition from Singapore to London in a 1955 Land Rover Series 1.
The Last Overland team drove 19,000km from Singapore to London in one of the original pair of factory Land Rovers that completed the 1955 First Overland expedition from London to Singapore. The 1955 trip was a publicity effort arranged by Land Rover to coincide with the 1956 launch of the Series 1 station wagon and saw six students from both Cambridge and Oxford universities complete the trip.
The car, dubbed ‘Oxford’
(the second car from the original expedition was named ‘Cambridge’ and was destroyed) was re-discovered in 2017 on the remote island of St Helena in the mid-atlantic, before being sympathetically restored and repatriated to the United Kingdom by ‘eccentric Yorkshireman’ Adam Bennett. Adam gifted the car to the Last Overland team for one last adventure.
The car was driven by Alex Bescoby and Nat George, the 21 year-old grandson of Tim Slessor, now aged 87, who was part of the original six-student team who drove the car from London to Singapore in 1955. Tim had intended to drive the car back himself, however fell ill at the start line in Singapore, so was unable to take part.
The expedition started on August 25, 2019 and involved driving through jungles, across deserts and over mountains, taking in 23 countries to return the car to London 111 days later, while raising thousands of pounds for three nominated charities. Find out more at lastoverland.com.