Bill Fairbairn’s passion for the polar regions began with a 6-man expedition to NE Greenland in 1971, shortly before joining the Royal Navy. At the time of the Cambridge Svalbard Expedition 1974 (CSE 74) and writing the notes on which this book is based, Bill was a serving Sub Lieutenant and had been up to the Arctic ice edge again, north of Iceland, during the Cod War in 1973.
He was granted leave to join CSE 74 for three months, in a totally non-military capacity, whilst an engineering student at Magdalene College, Cambridge. He subsequently returned to Svalbard for two months with CSE 76, visited West Greenland in 1983 and circumnavigated Svalbard in comfort in 2013 with his wife. He was elected President of The Arctic Club for 2013.

Bill had a broad 32-year career in the Royal Navy, trained as an Engineer, retiring as a Commodore. Three years in defence business followed before becoming Director of Technical Support for The Marine Society and Sea Cadets’ offshore fleet for over seven years. There, he played a pivotal role in the design, build and delivery of a new Tall Ship, the Sail Training Brig TS Royalist, named and commissioned by Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, in 2015. For his services to young people, he was awarded an MBE.
He is a qualified Yachtmaster Offshore and held a Private Pilot’s License for 25 years. His polar travels have continued since, with huskies in Arctic Finland in 2018 and a month sailing the Barque Europa from Argentina to Antarctica and back in 2019 with his daughter. His son has also served at sea off Antarctica.