In October 1899, twenty-four-year-old Winston Churchill set sail from Southampton Docks for South Africa, where he was to cover the Boer War for the London newspaper, 'The Morning Post'. The young Churchill's exploits on the North-West Frontier of India and in the Sudan had already won him a considerable reputation as an intrepid war correspondent, but for sheer audacity and excitement nothing in his long and distinguished life would compare to his adventures during his sojourn in South Africa.
In Cape Town, Churchill was taken prisoner by a Boer patrol and sent to Pretoria, from where he made a daring escape. He evaded his pursuers by taking refuge in a coalmine, and eventually made it to Lourenco Marques. From there he returned to the fray as a participant and a correspondent, taking part in the battle of Spion Kop and witnessing the relief of Ladysmith, while continuing to enthral readers back in London with his vivid first-hand accounts of the progress of the war. Within three months of his return to Britain in 1900 he became a Member of Parliament.
One hundred years after these extraordinary events, Churchill's granddaughter Celia Sandys followed in his footsteps. She visited campsites and battlefields, and uncovered a host of fascinating new details about this tumultuous period in his early life. This book is both a thrilling adventure story and a unique insight into the life of a young man who went on to become one of his country's greatest leaders.
