Andrew Croft was an amazing man. I knew him personally and he was very unnassuming. The book A Talent for Adventure details his life. What a life he had. His life was what every school-boy dreams about: a soldier in the Army, making the rank of Colonel; an outstanding explorer, with one of his expeditions getting into the Guinnes Book of Records for the longest self-supported dog sled journey - I remember one story where Andrew was in Greenland where one of his Huskies was one a piece of ice which snapped away and was floating out to see. Andrew, without thought, trapped a knife in his mouth, jumped in and saved the poor animal; without any thought of his own safety. In his latter life, he was the first Commandant of the Metropolitan Cadet Corps (but not the founder, the blurb is wrong in the book). That is where I met him. He gave 16-18 year olds, like myself the opportunity to live away from home, climb mountains, run marathons and be generally fit (we were in the top 5% fittest in the UK), whilst serving and learning about the community. Even up to his death (which was in 1997), he thought of others before himself; attending passing out parades in the coldest winters. The book is one not to be missed, a man with a life more couragous than many authors of these soldier stories which are on the shelves now. A man who is not well known to the many, but is idolised by the few who knew him. Buy the book, and you will understand why this man made such an impact to me.
