"Mad Jack" Churchill: A Life Too Unbelievable
For Fiction When Jack Churchill died in 1996, one British
newspaper said in its obituary that it would have been impossible to invent him because
a fictional character with his story would not have been credible. But why is that? What exactly is so unbelievable about a man
who charged into battle in World War II wielding a broadsword and who shot at Nazis with a
longbow? A man who played the bagpipes while his unit
was making a landing into enemy territory? A man who, time and time again, narrowly escaped
death because fortune truly favors the bold? A man who, when he finally had it with the
military life, went on to become a surfer? Truly, there is nothing weird about that,
at least not to "Mad Jack" Churchill - a man proclaimed by the Royal Explorers Club as
one of the greatest adventurers to have ever lived. Early Years
"Mad Jack" was born John Malcolm Thorpe Fleming Churchill on September 16, 1906, in Surrey,
England. His father, Alec Fleming Churchill, worked
as an engineer and, later, Director of Public Works, which meant that he moved the family
around a lot for his job. Churchill first grew up in the former British
colony of Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, and then Hong Kong before relocating again to England. Jack had two younger brothers who would also
go on to have distinguished careers in the military, although not nearly as colorful. Churchill received his education at the Dragon
School in Oxford and King William's College on the Isle of Man before enrolling in the
Royal Military College at Sandhurst. He finished military school in 1926 and joined
the 2nd Battalion of the Manchester Regiment on deployment to Burma, now Myanmar. Over there, Churchill didn't see a lot of
action, mostly patrolling the Irrawaddy River by boat to check up on villages along the
way. He found various hobbies to pass the time. This is where he first started playing the
bagpipes, tutored by the Pipe Major of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, a regiment
first raised back in 1793. He also bought a Zenith motorcycle and took
it for road trips through Southeast Asia. He had a memorable, but dangerous encounter
while riding across India when he ran into a water buffalo. For a while, it seemed like Churchill's military
career would be a short and unmemorable one. After getting bored with military life, he
retired from the Army in 1936. He went on a grand tour of Europe, accompanied
by another former member of the Manchester Regiment who became a prominent soldier in
his own right by the name of Rex King-Clark. Image suggestion: Churchill archery
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/article-2255533-16b41bf7000005dc-290_306x484.jpg Churchill took advantage of these free years
by putting one of his greatest skills to good use – archery. He took part in competitions, even representing
Great Britain at the 1939 World Archery Championships in Oslo, Norway. His proficiency even earned Jack a few small
movie roles where he portrayed archers in films such as The Thief of Baghdad and A Yank
at Oxford. The War Begins
Churchill enjoyed his time away from the military, but, as soon as World War II started, he joined
up with the Manchester Regiment again and was deployed to France as part of the British
Expeditionary Force (BEF). This is where Churchill established his "colorful"
persona and became known as "Mad Jack" or "Fighting Jack Churchill", as he was also
sometimes called. The extent of his "peculiarities", shall we
say, is still a matter of debate. Churchill himself was never one to tout his
own accomplishments so most stories come from secondary sources. When you are dealing with a grand persona
like that of "Mad Jack", it is pretty easy to mix up myth with truth. Image suggestion: Claybeg
First off, there was the sword. Churchill, indeed, carried one with him because,
in his own words, "any officer who goes into action without his sword is improperly dressed". It is often said that Churchill favored the
Scottish claymore. That is not strictly correct, as we are not
talking about the famous, large, two-handed great sword. Instead, he wielded a smaller, one-handed
version also called a claybeg to avoid confusion. The main differences between the two, apart
from the size, were that the claybeg had a basket hilt instead of a cross hilt and was
single-edged, unlike its larger counterpart. Churchill probably chose this weapon because
it had been used for hundreds of years as the full-dress sword for officers of the Highland
regiments. Image suggestion: Charge exercise. Jack with sword on the far right. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jack_Churchill_leading_training_charge_with_sword.jpg
"Mad Jack" did not get to use his sword in combat too often. Instead, he relied on it to signal and inspire
the men, as can be evidenced by a photograph of a charge exercise in Inveraray. Then there was the bow & arrows. Churchill certainly had the skill to use them
effectively and often took them on patrols as they were a silent weapon. He is credited with making the last recorded
kill with a bow & arrow in World War II when he took down a German soldier in 1940. Finally, to complete the look, "Mad Jack"
Churchill also carried a set of bagpipes. He would often play a few rousing renditions
before battle to boost the men's morale. The "March of the Cameron Men" was an old
favorite. Archery Practice at L'Epinette
Of course, all of Churchill's eccentricities would not have been looked upon so fondly
by his men if he wasn't also a capable leader. When he joined the BEF, he was made second-in-command
of the 4th Infantry Brigade with the 2nd Battalion. His unit was part of the Dyle Plan or Plan
D, an effort by the French army and its allies to stop the German invasion through Belgium. This did not turn out so well. The Allies kept losing battle after battle
and had to retreat while German troops kept advancing westward. Eventually, this culminated in the Battle
of Dunkirk but, before that, Churchill and his men had their own little moment of glory
in the tiny French village of L’Epinette near Richebourg. By this point, Churchill was in command of
the unit because the original commander had been injured in battle. Their goal was to patrol the Maginot Line
and secure the Allied retreat. On May 27, 1940, "Mad Jack" and two infantrymen
were covering the rest of his unit when they saw a small group of five German soldiers
approaching. This was the infamous moment when Churchill
took out his longbow and shot one of the enemies before his squadmates opened fire with the
more traditional machine guns. The reason this is infamous, apart from the
obvious, is because different sources give differing accounts. Some say the target was an officer, others
that he was a soldier. Some say that Churchill hit him square in
the heart while others claim the arrow went in the neck or the stomach. Some sources even assert that the illustrious
moment never happened at all and that "Mad Jack" himself later confessed that he had
lost his bow earlier in the campaign. Indeed, if it did happen, then hitting the
German sergeant in the heart would make the most sense. Churchill was an elite-level archer. He would have the skill and forethought to
go for the lethal shot on the most valuable target. During the fight, Jack took a bullet in the
shoulder, but was also rewarded with the military cross for his bravery. He then fought at Dunkirk where he sustained
another minor injury. Commandos at Vågsøy
Following the evacuation at Dunkirk, Churchill returned to England, but was already eager
to get back to the fighting. In 1941, he joined the British Commandos and
took part in Operation Archery, also known as the Måløy Raid. This was a British effort to launch a raid
on German forces occupying the Norwegian island of Vågsøy. Churchill was dispatched with the No. 3 Commando
battalion where he, once again, served as second-in-command. The raid started in the early hours of December
27. Unbeknownst to the Allies, the German side
also had an additional unit of light infantry mountain troops called Gebirgsjäger which
was there on leave. This prolonged the battle and increased the
number of casualties, but the British were still successful. They took about 100 prisoners, freed around
70 Norwegian resistance fighters, sunk 15,000 tons of shipping and obliterated strategically-significant
docks, warehouses, and fish-oil plants. Moreover, if the Nazis wanted to maintain
control of the area, they would have to redirect troops which could have been used elsewhere. Churchill was in charge of one of the five
parties that the Commandos were divided in. He led his men into action with another stirring
rendition of "March of the Cameron Men". Afterwards, he threw a grenade, took out his
sword and charged into battle. "Mad Jack" sustained an injury during this
fight for which he received another military cross. The exact nature of the injury, however, remains
something of a mystery. It is possible that Churchill was hurt by
a British demolitions charge which detonated too close to him. In another version, the explosion caused the
wall that Churchill was leaning against to crumble and fall on top of him. In, perhaps, the most fitting story, during
the British retreat, Jack "liberated" a bottle of wine to celebrate their success. Again, a charge went off in close proximity
and smashed the bottle, sending a sharp shard of glass flying towards Churchill. Jack returned to England triumphantly to recuperate,
but he would soon experience tragedy. Six months later, his younger brother Robert
who was a lieutenant with the Royal Navy was killed in action off the coast of Malta. Strange Strategy in Salerno
The newly-promoted Lieutenant-Colonel Churchill was now in charge of the No. 2 Commando battalion
which was assigned, in 1943, to take part in the Allied invasion of Italy. The unit first landed in Sicily and then in
Salerno. Both times, "Mad Jack" had his trademark sword
on his waist, bow & arrows strapped around his chest and bagpipes under arm. It was an unusual sight but, then again, so
were Churchill's tactics which, nevertheless, proved effective. Although Italy withdrew from the war, the
Germans still had troops in the Bay of Salerno. The Allies initiated "Operation Avalanche"
with the goal of eliminating the Nazi presence. Churchill's commandos had the task of disabling
the artillery fire on the western half of the bay. During the final counterattack, "Mad Jack"
came up with a counterintuitive strategy. He knew that the location made a surprise
attack impossible. Instead, he went for the complete opposite. He organized his men in six parallel columns. They attacked in the middle of the night,
repeatedly shouting "Commando" to avoid friendly fire. The battalion won the fight, completed its
objectives and took 136 prisoners but, somehow, Churchill's crowning moment came afterwards. Precious Prize in Pigoletti
Jack excelled as a commando. He liked to carry out stealthy raids and counterattacks,
leading small teams of hand-picked soldiers. One night in Italy, he went out accompanied
by just a corporal, hoping they might run into a German or two. They did. They spotted two figures smoking cigarettes
in the darkness. They were Nazi soldiers, part of a group digging
trenches in the nearby village of Pigoletti. Churchill and his corporal snuck up and subdued
them, taking one each. "Mad Jack" then used his soldier as a human
shield and entered the village with his sword drawn. He went from one small digging team to another,
taking them by surprise and forcing them to surrender. In the end, he took 42 prisoners and made
them march back to his camp. He had them carry their own mortars, bombs,
and wounded to slow them down. Churchill even allowed the soldiers to keep
their weapons, but he did make sure to remove all the rifle bolts. He was further rewarded with the Distinguished
Service Order. Disaster at Brač
Next up for Churchill was to take part in the Maclean Mission in 1944 in Yugoslavia. The country had quite an adept resistance
force known as the Partisans which was led by Josip Broz Tito and was causing plenty
of headaches for the Nazi war machine. The main purpose of the mission was to establish
contact with the Partisans, find out all there was to know about them and help them fight
the Germans however possible. Image suggestion: Yugoslav Partisans
"Fighting Jack" and his commandos were tasked with conducting a raid on the island of Brač. Specifically, they wanted control of Vidova
gora which, at 2,560 ft, is the highest peak not only on Brač, but the entire Adriatic
Islands. This mission did not turn out so well for
Churchill. Once again, he led the charge by playing the
bagpipes as his men ran into battle. However, the position was heavily fortified,
including mines and artillery. Only a few men, Churchill included, managed
to reach the objective and they were also incapacitated by shrapnel from mortar fire. The remaining survivors were taken prisoner. Prisoner of War
What happened next was a nice moment of serendipity or karma, depending on what you believe. The man in charge of the POW camp was one
Captain Hans Thornerr. He treated his prisoners well. As a show of gratitude, Churchill wrote him
a "thank you" letter and even invited him to England, after the war, to have dinner
with him and the wife. Thornerr kept the letter and it saved his
life later when he was captured by Yugoslav forces and tried as a war criminal. During his time as a prisoner, "Mad Jack"
was moved around a lot and this was mostly because the Germans incorrectly thought he
might be related to Winston Churchill. First, he was taken to Berlin for interrogation
and, afterwards, was sent to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Oranienburg. He was held in Special Camp A which, as its
name would imply, was reserved for prominent prisoners of war. Image suggestion: Bertram James Great Escape
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3516441/Great-Escape-hero-s-battle-payout-Nazis-Prisoner-survived-13-break-outs-fight-compensation-told-not-held-concentration-camp-proper-eventually-got-18-000.html Churchill was not there for long because he
started working on an escape plan almost as soon as he arrived. In September 1944, he and a small group of
British officers dug a secret tunnel and made their way out. Among his co-escapees was Royal Air Force
officer Bertram James. He took part in no less than 13 breakouts
from Nazi POW camps during World War II. Just a few months prior to this, he was among
the men who escaped from Stalag Luft III in the event immortalized in books and cinema
as "The Great Escape". Back to Churchill, he sprained his ankle during
the breakout at Sachsenhausen and, while he never complained about it, it did slow him
down. He was recaptured near the town of Güstrow
and, this time, was sent to another prisoner camp in Tyrol in Austria. Of course, Jack managed to escape again one
night when the floodlights were not working. He made his way through the Alps into Italy
where he was found and rescued by an American recon unit. On the Way to Burma
His time spent as a prisoner did nothing to dull Churchill's appetite for action. The Germans might have surrendered, but the
Japanese were still waging war in the Pacific theater. He went off to fight them in Burma, but by
the time he had reached India, the Americans dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki and the Japanese forces had capitulated. Half-jokingly, "Mad Jack" said to one of his
friends that "if it hadn't been for those damned Yanks we could have kept the war going
for another ten years". After the War
The Second World War might have ended, but there were plenty of other conflicts for a
man like Jack Churchill. He took advantage of the more relaxed atmosphere
to fulfill some of his less-important military goals. He took parachuting courses and joined the
5th Parachute Battalion, successfully executing his first jump on his 40th birthday. He also entertained his love of everything
Scottish by transferring to the Seaforth Highlanders and becoming commander of a Scottish regiment. The Hadassah Medical Convoy Massacre
Churchill's last bloody moment in battle occurred in 1948, during the final months of the British
Mandate of Palestine. He was deployed as an officer with the Highland
Light Infantry, 1st Battalion, at a time when conflicts between Jewish and Arab forces were
common in the region. On April 13, a convoy of medical staff and
supplies escorted by members of the Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah was on its
way to Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem when it was ambushed by Arab fighters. Churchill and his men were in the area and,
although British orders were to stay out of the fight, he tried to evacuate members of
the convoy in an APC. Possibly apocryphal, but the story goes that
"Mad Jack" walked alone towards the ambush, smiling and carrying a blackthorn stick. His reasoning was that "people are less likely
to shoot you if you smile at them". Meanwhile, his Highland Light Infantry provided
cover fire, but one of the British soldiers was killed in the shootout. Churchill's offer of help was turned down
out of belief that Haganah forces will come to the rescue with a better coordinated effort. With one of his soldiers down and his assistance
refused, Jack withdrew his men. Haganah forces did not arrive in time and
two of the convoy trucks caught fire, killing 77 of the 79 people aboard. Later on, Churchill assisted with the evacuation
of Hadassah Hospital, bringing around 500 medical staff and patients to safety. Life Out of the Spotlight
Churchill's military career lasted until his retirement in 1959, but the last decade or
so was significantly less exciting than the escapades that preceded it. He spent this time mostly as an instructor
at various training facilities such as the Army Apprentices School in Chepstow and the
Land/Air Warfare School in Queensland, Australia. Churchill's private life was in stark contrast
to his military service as it was quiet and unassuming. In 1941, he married Rosamund Margaret Denny,
granddaughter of Sir Archibald Denny, a famed naval architect. Together, they had two sons named Malcolm
John Leslie Churchill and Rodney Alistair Gladstone Churchill. During his years down under, Jack became a
fan of surfing and continued his hobby when he returned to England. He had his final brush with fame in 1955 when
he became the first person to ride the wave of the River Severn. Afterwards, he kept out of the limelight until
he died in 1996 in Surrey, aged 89. Churchill avoided the headlines for the last
decades of his life, but he still retained traces of the rambunctious young man who treated
the Second World War as one giant, thrilling adventure. He kept busy by refurbishing steamboats, making
radio-controlled model ships and taking part in motorcycle speed trials. When he worked in London, Churchill enjoyed
freaking out fellow train passengers on his commute back home by calmly getting up, opening
a window and throwing his briefcase outside. But there was always method to Jack's madness. What the other riders did not know was that
he was actually hurling the briefcase in his own back garden so he would not have to carry
it from the train station.
