Adventurer Bear Grylls dedicates honour to ‘every Scout volunteer’
BEAR GRYLLS says he shares his honour with Scout volunteers around the country as he is made an OBE.
The adventurer and television star, who is also Chief Scout, is recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to young people, the media and charity.
He said: “This really is a huge honour and it’s something, if I’m honest, that I never expected to happen.
“But I really do feel it’s a team effort, this award is for every one of those incredible Scout volunteers.
“We now have over half a million Scouts and volunteers in this country who give up so much of their time and energy to help young people and this award is for you guys, so if you’re a Scout volunteer, congratulations, we share this one together.”
Grylls, 44, whose real name is Edward, had a hunger to explore from a young age.
The son of politician and former Royal Marine Commando Mickey Grylls, he was nicknamed Bear by his sister when he was one week old.
Educated at Eton, his father encouraged him to become a keen climber and sailor and as a youngster he helped found the school’s first mountaineering club.
Grylls served for three years as a Trooper in 21st Regiment SAS, part of the UK Special Forces Reserve, where he was trained in combat survival, demolitions and close-quarter fighting, before he climbed Mount Everest at the age of 23.
He has guided a team circumnavigating the British Isles on jetskis and between 2001 and 2003, he guided a team on an unassisted crossing of the North Atlantic in an open rigid inflatable boat.