Colonel Sir Hugh Boustead began his career inauspiciously by deserting as a mid-shipman from the Royal Navy in 1915 in order to see service with the South African Scottish in France, where he fought as a private soldier and junior officer from the Somme to the Armistice. But this was only the beginning of an extraordinary life. A life of adventure and of great service to underdeveloped countries. During his long life he met many of the famous people of his time. From schooling under George Mallory of Everest fame to Brigadier Ralph Bagnold and the Long Range Desert Group and Eric Shipton of Mt. Everest. Boustead worked with Major General Orde Wingate and Emperor Haile Selassie during the Ethiopian campaigns of World War II.<BR>At odd intervals in his life he represented Britain in the Olympics, explored the Libyan desert, assaulted Everest with the Shipton expedition, fought with Denikin against the Red Army on the Russian steppes, and won the Army Lightweight boxing championship.