The Last Overland
BETWEEN 1955 and 1956, a team of six young men embarked on The Oxford & Cambridge Far Eastern Expedition, and made history by being the first to successfully drive the 10,000 miles from London to Singapore. Now, 64 years later, a member from that first expedition, Tim Slessor (age 87) joined by award-winning film-maker, Alex Bescoby (age 31), will drive the original 1955 ‘Oxford’ Land Rover Series I on a road journey to retrace that first overland expedition.
This time they will make the journey in reverse, from Singapore to London. But as before, they will travel across three continents. It is an expedition that will take them through the jungles of Malaysia and Myanmar, the mountains of the Himalayas and northern Turkey, and the deserts of the Middle East, as well as over 20 countries, including Nepal, China, Uzbekistan, Iran and Bulgaria. The aim is to arrive in London within approximately 100 days of setting out from Singapore.
After one of the 20th century’s most iconic and challenging road journeys, Oxford was subsequently involved in an Ascension Island expedition, but then remained hidden and decaying on the tiny South Atlantic island for decades, before being rescued and restored by Adam Bennett in 2017. Adam, who had grown up steeped in the First Overland story, gifted the Land Rover to Tim and Alex for this latest adventure.
Oxford was transported from the UK to Singapore where it was unveiled at the Jaguar Land Rover showroom on May 30, and will remain there until it sets off on its last journey on August 25 from the infamous F1 pit straight in Marina. It will then be escorted through the streets of Singapore all the way to the country’s border with Malaysia by a parade of other Land Rovers driven by local enthusiasts, including members of the group, Land Rover Owners Singapore.
Upon being reunited with his old Oxford Land Rover, Tim Slessor said: “The last time I seriously drove this old thing was a long time ago. So, as you might imagine, to see SNX891 again is quite moving. After all, before we had set out, the experts had told us that we were geographically ignorant and politically naive; the journey couldn’t be done. All that did was to make us more determined. Six months later, we pulled in to Champion Motors on Singapore’s Orchard Road. I can tell you, the champagne and flash-bulbs really popped that day.”
You can follow the expedition on Facebook – just search ‘The Last Overland: Singapore to London’.