Salvation Army flag flies at North Pole

ON 25 April 2004, at 3:10 pm Hong Kong time, the Salvation Army flag was held proudly at the North Pole by Phil Wall from Raynes Park Corps in London. He and 13 other business leaders had walked the last degree, from 89°-90°, unsupported across the ice in sub-zero temperatures.

They were in safe hands on their gruelling walk – their guides, Alan Chambers, MBE, and Charlie Paton, were the first British team to complete an unassisted trip to the North Pole from Canada. Ann Daniels, the first British woman to guide an expedition to the North Pole, also offered her expertise.

Together, the participants have raised over £200,000 in aid of HopeHIV, a UK-registered HIV/Aids charity of which Phil is the founder. The funds will be used to build and run a residential school for Aids orphans in the Masaka district of Uganda. The school will cater for 105 orphans with hearing or speech impairments. Currently there is nowhere for these children to be educated. Formerly leader of The Salvation Army UK Territory's Mission Team, where he helped set up the annual Roots conference, Phil is now chief executive officer of a leadership and personal development company, Signify.

Of his experience, Phil says: ’It has been a fantastic privilege to walk and ski to the top of the world while encouraging corporate leaders to reflect upon life’s bigger questions of purpose, destiny and legacy. Standing at the pole, I personally found it very challenging, knowing that every entity and individual that God desires to be influenced by the Kingdom was beneath me. It provided a remarkable opportunity to surrender, once again, my life and will to his purposes.'