Al Sylvester MBE
Motivational/Inspirational Speaker
Al Sylvester MBE is a renown Royal Air Force Mountain Rescue Service MRS leader. Over his 2 decades of service, he attended over 400 rescue operations including the rescue and recovery of downed aircrew from military fast jet and civilian aircraft. Thankfully the majority of his rescue missions involved searching for and evacuating injured walkers from some of the most hostile environments of the British mountain ranges. In recognition of his outstanding services to the UK's Search and Rescue Organisation and for his exceptional charitable work in aid of Cancer Research UK he was awarded awarded an MBE. Remaining in the RAF over the next 3 years, Al's next challenge was to organise and lead the RAF's first unsupported attempt on the Geographic South Pole. He displayed the classic case of endeavour, determination and a never-say-die attitude winning over the many doubters. His persistent pleas for backing within the Service did not go unnoticed and he succeeded securing the support of Prince Philip as Patron. Working tirelessly on all the behind scenes admin he also found time to raise £160K through both civilian sponsorship and military contributions to fund the training and entire expedition. While much was achieved under the most extremes of conditions imaginable, his four-man mission ultimately failed to reach their goal. Just 91 miles short and with 1 team member incapacitated, Al rightly decided that the success of this expedition would not take precedence over the lives of his team and ordered its evacuation. After the Antarctic expedition and still suffering the debilitating effects of frostbite, he was assigned to the RAF presentation team; an elite outfit that briefs RAF units worldwide. Following on in 2010, as a result of his years of excellent service, he was awarded the much-coveted Meritorious Service Medal. After concluding his final tour as the College Warrant Officer at the Defence Academy, UK, he walked 881 miles unsupported from Land's End to John O' Groats in memory of his best friend and colleague. In the process he raised over £26K for the Hospice that had been responsible for his friend's palliative care. More recently he has worked as a special educational needs co-ordinator for primary school children. In 2017 he challenged himself to run 2017 miles to raise money for the a children's hospice in Oxford – he succeeded! In 2021 not only did Al run 2021 miles but after 2 years of training, he completed an unsupported 100 mile run in under 35 hours. He is also author of the novels Peaks to the Pole, Walk to Freedom and Everest Dreams, providing heartfelt personal accounts of his adventures to the extreme environments on our planet. Al's presentations contain breathtaking photos, bringing Antarctica and the Himalayas seemingly within touching distance, giving you instant access to another world. Let him take you along on his inspirational journey; talk about the importance of motivation as a leader explain how group dynamics change under pressure and why effective planning preparation and possession of the are vital keys to success.
INTRODUCTION
Work History
Senior Manager
Royal Air Force (February 2, 1983 - October 2, 2014)
2011 - 2014 Defence Academy UK – Leading College Co-ordinator 2008 - 2011 RAF Senior Leadership Team Presentation and Briefing Team 2004 - 2008 RAF Cryptographic Policy and audit Manager 2003 - 2004 Search Manager – UK Aeronautical Rescue Co-ordination Centre 2001 - 2003 Communications Asset Manager on Integrated Project Team 1999 - 2001 RAF Mountain Rescue Service Team Leader (36 person team) 1998 - 1999 Cryptographic Custodian, National forces Croatia/Bosnia 1995 - 1998 RAF Mountain Rescue Service Team Leader (24 person team) 1983 - 1995 RAF Junior management involving communications and RAF Mountain Rescue Service.
Education
Level 7 Award in Leadership and Management
City & Guilds
2011 - 2014
Certificate in Management
Institute of Leadership Management Introductory
2011 - 2013
Facilitator and mentor
Institute of Leadership and Management
2011 - 2013
Publications
Peaks to the Pole (January 1, 2010)
Peaks to the Pole Having served in the Royal Air Force's Mountain Rescue Service for over 20 years, Warrant Officer Al Sylvester found himself posted on promotion to the RAF's Headquarters at High Wycombe, away from the mountains and the life he had lived and breathed for two decades. As he started his tour of duty, he followed his dream of organising his toughest and most challenging expedition of leading the RAF with their first unsupported attempt to the Geographic South Pole. Peaks to the Pole describes how Al started his mountaineering experience within the 11th Grimsby Scout Group taking him and his team to the bottom of the earth. The book describes his willingness for his team to succeed, describing the mental and physical stresses, endless sleepless nights and the boundless determination to achieve his trip of a lifetime. This inspiring story describes how his team survives temperatures of one of Antarctica's coldest seasons, with temperatures as low as -50 degrees as they painstakingly skied for over 6 weeks. Not foreseeing the events that happens on the ice, Al returns home and endures the heart breaking challenges of sustaining frostbite which desperately spiralled into depression. Read how he crawls back from such adversities to rekindle his life to once more inspire people to take on their own challenge of a lifetime.
Walk to Freedom (June 2, 2015)
Before retiring from 31 years in the Royal Air Force, Warrant Officer Al Sylvester MBE decides to draw on his skills and experiences from his service to embark on possibly his toughest physical and emotional challenge to date. Having served in the RAF Mountain Rescue Service (MRS) for over 20 years and led the RAF's first unsupported expedition to the Geographic South Pole in 2006, Al looks closer to home to embark on an epic painstaking journey in memory of his best friend who lost his battle with Cancer. Al's "Walk To Freedom" provides a brutally honest account of his unsupported walk between Land's End and John O' Groats, a distance of 881 miles in under 40 days. Walk to Freedom sees Al walk away from the RAF into civilian street, and back to the Highlands where he spent his most memorable times with his best friend serving together in the MRS. Read how Al overcomes the physical and mental evils involved with walking on the UK's roads, evading the treacherous oncoming traffic of some of this countries worst drivers. WTF and including the sales of this book has raised over £28K including gift aid for the Prospect Hospice, Wroughton who provided Dean with his palliative care.
Everest Dreams (August 1, 2012)
Is a landscape picture diary of the views and experiences you would encounter while trekking to Mount Everest base camp. Encapsulated within the photos is my personal diary describing the breath taking scenery and the physical and mental emotions you would experience while exploring this magical area of the Himalaya's. These incredible photos taken by the expedition members open up this majestic world. This quote sums up things perfectly "The Himalaya's will bring tears to your eyes, then will gently freeze them to your face".