Claire Hollingworth turned 100 today.
Here are the key points about Claire from the Guardian: (Happy 100th to our former war correspondent)
Clare Hollingworth was 27 when she became a journalist – like much else in her life, thanks to a mixture of ferocious determination and barely credible luck. Having run into the editor of the Daily Telegraph in the last week of August 1939, she persuaded him to hire her and send her, the next day, to Poland. A few days later, she was returning across the border after a trip into Germany to buy supplies, when she noticed that large hessian screens had been erected on either side of the road. As she drove past, one of the screens flapped back in the wind to reveal hundreds of German tanks lined up and facing Poland. She had stumbled across the scoop of the century – the beginning of the second world war.
I talked with Claire often at the Foreign Correspondents Club in Hong Kong.
When I was active in the FCC (1999-2003) Claire regularly came in for lunch. In fact, when I was on the board of governors, we voted to reserve one table in particular for her so she could enjoy her lunch in peace and catch up on the latest news on the television.
I am very pleased to have had the opportunity to meet such a stalwart figure in my chosen field. I only wish I had more time in Hong Kong to get to know her better.
Those entering the profession should look at Claire’s life and learn from it.
Journalism, Journalists and the World 