Alan Crofts PhD FRGS
Having an interest in desert lands from his early years Alan organised his first independent expedition in 1995 and crossed the Western Sahara desert from North to South (via Mauritania and Western Sahara); recruiting a specialised team and purchasing a used Land Rover to accomplish the project.
Since then, and taking advantage of skills learnt as an Intelligence Officer in the Royal Air Force he has organised, independent pathfinding expeditions to cross the Central Sahara desert (Libya and Chad); Karakum desert of Turkmenistan (eastern dune system); AL Rub al Khali Arabian empty quarter (Oman, Saudi, UAE); Kalahari and Namib deserts of Botswana and Angola; Thar desert of Northwest India and the Chihuahuan desert of Mexico; He has also conducted solo expeditions in the Atacama desert in Chile and the Simpson desert in Australia using the Hay river track and taken part in a desert survival programme in Jordan run by the Royal Marines. He has been sponsored by industry to path find routes and water sources throughout the Eastern Sahara and the Central Asian Kyzl Kum. A Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society he has presented at the desert workshop at the Society’s annual Explore congress on a number of occasions.
A biochemist by profession, Alan gained his PhD at York University in England and took up a post-doctoral research post at Johns Hopkins Medical School in Baltimore, United States of America. His book, “Desert exploration for the busy professional” that describes expedition planning and implementation specifically in arid areas, is in editorial with Gibson Square Publishing, London. He lives in Southport, England and has a 7 year-old son, Joseph.