TERRITORIAL Army soldier Corporal Gordon Barrett endured searing temperatures in a 250 kilometre trek across one of Africa's most hostile deserts.
Cpl Barrett of the Lancastrian and Cumbrian Volunteers, left behind his civilian role as a staff nurse with Burnley Healthcare Trust to take on the scorching sun of the Namibian desert.
Gordon was one of 15 volunteers selected to take part in the venture which covered some of the continent's toughest terrain.
The team spent three weeks in Africa with more than two weeks trekking across sparse landscapes with nothing more than a lone elephant or giraffe for company.
Gordon said: "I like a physical challenge so it was a great opportunity to sample a different environment, even one as hostile as that from the points of view of the weather and the environment.
"I have never been one for sitting on the beach or by the pool for hours and there was no chance of doing either of those.
Gordon joined the TA in 1989 and has served in Cyprus, the USA, Switzerland, Austria, France, Germany and Gibraltar.
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