AN army captain based in Brecon has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s birthday honours list.

Capt Louis Rudd, 49, who is based at the Dering Lines Infantry Battle School, has been recognised for his “outstanding leadership and determination” after leading the first British Army team to cross the Antarctic unaided.

Capt Rudd, who is the infantry school’s motor transport officer, only heard the news a few days before the announcement was made public on the Queen’s official birthday last Saturday (June 9).

He had been leading a British Army team on a 570km hike across Greenland’s ice cap and so did not learn he was going to get the award until he returned last week.

He said: “I was shocked to receive the news to be honest. I was informed of the award by the Commanding Officer here at Dering Lines. I’ve still no idea who nominated me. I’d been leading a team of six on an expedition in Greenland, so I was out of communication with no access to phone or email. Obviously, I was over the moon when I heard.”

The 49-year-old, who is married to Lucy and has three grown-up children, has served in the Army for 33 years and received his posting to Brecon just over a year ago. He lives in Hereford and travels to Brecon every day for work. His job involves looking after all of the infantry battle school’s transport arrangements.

Capt Rudd has been skiing with the British Army for seven years and now has his sights set on becoming the first man to ski solo and unaided across Antarctica.

He is hoping to complete the 1,770km trek in honour of his friend and fellow polar explorer Lt Col Henry Worsley MBE, who died attempting the same feat two years ago. Capt Rudd picked up the bug for skiing and polar exploration as a child when he read books about the exploits of great British explorers such as Captain Scott and Ernest Shackleton and the Norwegian Roald Amundsen.

He said his solo expedition later this year is called ‘Beyond Endurance’. He has chosen to name it after Endurance, the ship Shackleton sailed on in his ill-fated attempt to cross the Antarctic in 1915.

Shackleton led his crew to safety after the Endurance was crushed by drifting ice floes. The crew managed to survive for several months on the remote and ice-bound Elephant Island while Shackleton went for help in one of the ship’s lifeboats.

Providing he can raise the funding, he plans to leave the UK on his world record attempt this October. He said: “I’m planning the expedition as a tribute to my good friend Henry Worsley, who tragically died attempting the journey in 2016. As a fitting tribute to Henry and his family I am hoping, if I can raise the funding and get approval from the Army, to complete his journey.

“I am quite confident that I can succeed in this trip because I have quite a lot of experience now and I know many of the pitfalls. What I need is the support of businesses and individuals with funding to cover the costs of the trip.”

The expedition which he led in 2016 and for which he has been awarded the MBE, involved leading a six-man team of Army Reservists on a 1,100-mile traverse of Antarctica.

The six were chosen out of more than 100 applicants and their journey was followed by Sky News and the BBC’s The One Show. Altogether it raised £50,000 for the Soldiers’ Charity of which Capt Rudd is an official ambassador.

The citation for his MBE, which he expects to collect from Buckingham Palace this summer, reads: “Such was the quality of his leadership, his humility and enthusiasm, his team mates held him in particularly high esteem and would have done anything for him.

“His physical and emotional investment in the expedition has been the culmination of his long and dedicated service as a soldier.”

Anyone keen to sponsor Capt Rudd’s next expedition can contact him via his website https://lourudd.com.