Across the Divide has had a profound impact on the expedition and medicine communities in the UK

Thursday, 09 February 2017

Leading UK expedition and logistics company Across the Divide, which has organised expeditions around the world and provided logistics and planning support to charities and corporates raising £92million for charity, celebrates its 20th anniversary this month.

In that time, Across the Divide has provided medical support for CBS TV's Survivor Series and helped Helen Skelton run and kayak for Comic Relief. It helped Ben Fogle and James Cracknell ride from Edinburgh to London, and even Sir David Attenborough has reached out for the firm’s expert support. It has also helped the BBC’s Children in Need Rickshaw Challenge team to raise more than £14million over the past five years.

Across the Divide was the first company to provide salaried medical staff on all of its international expeditions and projects, and works with its sister company World Extreme Medicine to train medical professionals to apply their skills to extreme and austere environments, working on expeditions, with endurance athletes and in areas of conflict.

Across the Divide was founded by Mark Hannaford, who grew up in Plymouth and Tavistock, Devon. On reaching the company’s 20th year, Mark said, “The last 20 years have been an incredible adventure for myself and for Across the Divide. We’re grateful to have been involved in some fantastic projects and worthy causes, and have enjoyed it all immensely.

“Looking back, I am struck by the huge improvement in professionalism in the expedition and adventure industry, especially with reference to medical support. Before Across the Divide was founded, it was common for expeditions to have either no medical support or to have a volunteer medic with little experience of the environment.

“Not only do we provide specialised medics for all of our overseas events, Across the Divide – with its sister company World Extreme Medicine – leads the way in terms of extreme medicine expedition. In partnership with the University of Exeter, we have launched the first Extreme Medicine Masters course in the UK.”

David Weil is a Hong Kong-based entrepreneur and long-term business partner to Across the Divide, who said, “Across the Divide has had a profound impact on the expedition and medicine communities in the UK, and the repeat custom of high-profile organisations is testament to the team’s expertise and professionalism.

“We’d like to invite anyone who has participated in an Across the Divide expedition or course over the last 20 years to get in touch with photos and memories. The uptake on the Across the Divide Facebook page has already been fantastic.”

Just before Christmas 2016, Across the Divide was chosen as logistics partner for the People’s Convoy, which took much-needed medical supplies to the Turkish-Syrian border, where they were handed over to local partners to build a children’s hospital near Aleppo.

ENDS

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About Across the Divide:

Across the Divide was established in 1997 in response to a growing need for professionally organised charity treks and corporate challenges. Over the past two decades, it has operated on most of the world’s continents, working with organisations both large and small to raise over £92million.

Partnered with its sister company ‘World Extreme Medicine,’ it has helped Ben Fogle & James Cracknell ride from Edinburgh to London, the BBC Children in Need Rickshaw Challenge team to raise more than £9.4m over the past five years, provided medical support for CBS’s Survivor Series and helped Helen Skelton run and kayak for Comic Relief.