Latest News About GB Challenge Press Articles Launch Day The Route The Team The Boat Training HMS Illustrious Schedule Charities Donate Friends of the Challenge Sponsors Contact	2nd LT Ben Jesty Date of Birth 01/04/80 I am 24 years old, but will be 25 at the time of the row.  I was born and brought up in Highgate in North London and also in the countryside of Suffolk.  I learnt to row at Westminster School where I was a pupil from 1993 to 1998.  Having done my A-Levels I went to Edinburgh University, where I got a degree in History.  It was while I was at university that the idea of joining the Army first occurred to me.  I graduated in 2002 and went to the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst the following spring.  I commissioned into the Grenadier Guards in April 2004.  The First Battalion is currently approaching the half-way point in a six-month winter tour of Bosnia.   Rowing has been the most important catalyst in my life.  At school I had the good fortune to be in the 1st VIII for 4 years.  The friends I made during those 4 years are still amongst the closest I have.  I think this is a testament to the intensity and dedication that we all had as we grew up and rowed together.  The experience of rowing with an even smaller group of people, for more than a month non-stop, with no escape, will be the ultimate test of that team-work and dedication.  Rowing has also influenced my choice of career because the virtues of an oarsman are also those of a soldier: fitness, determination, selfless commitment to a common cause and of course team-work.   My Army career is in its infancy but so far it has been enormously rewarding, from the physical and disciplinary challenges of Sandhurst to the diverse problems of being a platoon commander and the witty banter of the guardsmen.   Aside from the Army and rowing I also completed the London Marathon in 2001.  My time was far from glorious but crossing the finish line felt like an achievement in itself.  Like most people my age I enjoy going out with my friends, but when I’m not doing that I enjoy reading, music, fishing, cycling, golf and travelling.  This last one I will be doing quite a lot of in May next year! Ben Jesty's Online Diary - click here to read