Border Officers 'bump into Churchill' during thunderstorm! (forum archive)

The following text has been archived here from our sister site, the Border Regiment Forum, which is set to close in January 2018. A wiki-based copy of that original post has been preserved here for reference purposes. Note: only selected posts from the forum have been archived (find out why).

Posted by CockneyTone » 03 Jan 2009, 22:45

CockneyTone Lieutenant-Colonel Registered user Posts: 441

Funny who you can bump into? Hope this may be of some interest? Taken from 'Reminiscences' by Brigadier-General G.H. Harrison. (Early 1900, somewhere outside Ladysmith) “MacNab and I, when wandering about some distance from the camps, got caught in a terrific thunderstorm. We took shelter in a deserted farm house and were surprised to find it already occupied by two war correspondents, one of whom was Winston Churchill. He entertained us at length with a most interesting account of his capture by the Boers in the armoured train in the previous November. He told us it was a most unpleasant experience!” It appears that Harrison struck up a friendship with the great man as he goes on to comment that Churchill and other War Correspondents, among them Mr Bennet Burleigh, the celebrated correspondent of the Daily Telegraph lunched in the Border Regiment Mess on several times after this meeting! Harrison added: “These were the most interesting occaisions. Churchill was then a very young man and was perhaps, not unnaturally, regarded as somewhat precocious by the more senior amongst us. He was no respecter of persons, was full of self confidence and at this early age, in spite of considerable opposition, he had managed to see active service both on the Indian Frontier and in the most recent campaign in Egypt. Moreover, he held strong views on the present war, which he was not slow to express. His appearance at lunch, consequently, was viewed by some with misgiving, but within a very short time this was forgiven and all, both seniors and juniors, were listening with avidity to his views!” Regards, Scottie.