World War II remained one of the deadliest conflicts in human history. Massive massacres, casualties and destruction of life and property were recorded as nations strove to outdo each other. To inform everyone about the raging atrocities, a number of journalists scoured the frontline for stories, and Clare Hollingworth was one of those people. In addition to being the first to announce the outbreak of World War II to the world, she left a remarkable legacy in journalism. Want to know more about her? To follow.
Who was Clare Hollingworth?
Clare Hollingworth was an English journalist and writer. She was one of the leading female war correspondents for most British and American publications of the 1900s. The British journalist was born on October 10, 1911 in Knighton, Leicester, England. She lived for 105 years. Yes, death did not come for her until January 10, 2017.
During her lifetime, Clare Hollingworth was renowned for her fearless resolve in the face of war as she eagerly reported details of conflicts and invasions of territory. She would even put her life on the line just to give a first-hand account of the war. Below are some interesting facts about this legendary journalist.
What to know about her
1. she was rebellious
Clare Hollingworth was as stubborn as she was fearless. She was born into a middle-class family in Knighton and grew up on a farm owned by the Hollingworth family. His father, Albert Hollingworth, also owned a shoe factory. The old man had a certain love of history, he often took Claire on fun trips to historic battlefields like Naseby, Crecy, Poitiers, Bosworth and Agincourt in Britain and France, much to his wife’s disdain. .
Daisy Hollingworth didn’t want her daughter to be entangled in these tales of bloodshed. She was livid when Clare decided to become a writer and journalist. She made her displeasure known and insisted that Claire should choose a nobler path to explore. Clare first tried to be obedient by enrolling in a home science college in Leicester. She hated school and became restless. She eventually called her mother’s bluff, followed her heart, and lived from her fascination with war.
2. Clare was a Badass reporter
Lady Hollingworth had barely a week in journalism when she started making waves for herself. She was the first to report on the invasion of Poland by German troops which heralded the resurgence of the Second World War. Clare Hollingworth has also covered the abdication of King Carol in Bucharest and even the war in Algeria. She stood out among her colleagues not only for her passion and resilience at work – her methods were unconventional and insane. She didn’t believe in using her femininity to get her way, she preferred to take the dangerous path to get her stories.
Clare is that journalist who could sneak into Germany across a closed border in disguise with the Consul General’s car. She even received a salute from the Germans as she walked past. The journalist has already resisted the arrest of the German police by stripping. In 1965, when India banned foreigners from covering the war with Pakistan, Clare persuaded Indira Gandhi, Minister of Information, to make an exception in her place. She found her way and even smuggled two of her co-workers into Indian under the pretense that they were her servants. At one point, she joined US military operations based in Algiers just to cover reports for the Chicago Daily News.
Clare has received several threats from Secret Army Organization (OAS) terrorists. She escaped from some of their gunmen by threatening to use her shoe. Clare knew she walked too often and was always ready for the worst. This explains why she also slept with a gun under her pillow.
Hollingworth’s tremendous accomplishments as a journalist never went unnoticed. In 1962, she won the Female Journalist of the Year award for her reporting on the civil war in Algeria. Many years later (in 1982), Clare Hollingworth was appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her outstanding service to journalism. She snagged the James Cameron Award for Journalism in 1994 and yet received a lifetime achievement award in 1999.
3. She was unlucky with love
Love was one thing she couldn’t wrap her head around, it never worked out for her. We’d like to think that, far from all the journalistic trickery, Clare Hollingworth wanted something more in life. Maybe some peace and quiet away from all those bombs and gunshots; someone to call herself her own, a lover she could come back to when it’s over.
Alas! It wasn’t meant to be. Clare was first engaged to the son of a family friend. Well, that marriage never happened because she got a job as a secretary in the Union of Nations (UNL) and soon left to pursue her dream. There was definitely no going back for her. In 1936, she fell in love with Vandeleur Robinson, the regional organizer of the LNU in the south-east of England. They get married quickly. Unfortunately, the union could not survive the storms and chaos that followed. Clare didn’t like thoughts of a baby bump and diapers. She would have no children as she preferred to focus solely on her work. She later found out that Vandeleur was having an affair and was threatening to kill his mistress, but it didn’t. didn’t stop his evil behavior. She soon grew frustrated with his serial scams and their marriage went from bad to bad. The couple separated after a divorce in 1951.
Clare tried to give up on love but found herself in the web of love again. This time it was with News Chronicles reporter Geoffrey Hoare. The lovebirds tied the knot in 1952, just a year after her divorce. Finally, a beautiful fairy tale that would last her a lifetime. Unfortunately, she was wrong about that too. Geoffrey died in 1965, leaving her with a stepson to care for.
4. Clare Hollingworth has strange habits
Due to the nature of her job, Clare picked up many strange habits that most never quit. His nephew Patrick Garrett published a biography of the veteran journalist in 2015; he revealed that Clare enjoyed drinking beer for breakfast, a habit she gave up when she was dying.
She didn’t like to keep family photos or children’s drawings. Clare was workaholic and often slept with her shoes by her side, her passport in hand and her up-to-date visa in case she had to leave at midnight to cover a story. She didn’t like fashion very much, but she often had two well-prepared suitcases, one for warm climates and the other for winter. She could go for days without eating or taking a shower. All she needed to keep body and mind together was a typewriter and a toothbrush. The “T&T” as she would call it.
5. She was not a fan of writing
Clare Hollingworth has spent her whole life thinking about her work. Journalism and reporting were all that mattered to her. However, she didn’t feel like scribbling on paper as much as she loved telling and telling war stories. She preferred to paint her wartime experiences in spoken words rather than writing them down.
Claire was unadventurous with the pen and would often run out of words to write. Although she was the author of five books, it can’t be said that it was without a struggle. Her husband, Geoffrey Hoare, was responsible for proofreading and editing her articles and documentaries. He spent all day correcting spelling and grammatical errors, improving the article, and unearthing the main narrative, as Clare had a tendency to bury five paragraphs in one, leaving out the details.