In 1898, the young Winston Churchill rode with the 21st Lancers at Omdurman, later describing the charge as a desperate struggle for survival in a "whirling melee of death".
In My Early Life (1930), he portrayed himself as a fearless cavalry officer cutting through enemy ranks while bullets flew around him. He painted a similar picture of his service on the North-West Frontier of India, presenting himself as a calm and decisive officer, while under intense enemy fire.
However, the episode that cemented Churchill’s heroic reputation in the popular imagination was his escape from Boer captivity during the South African War. The then 50-year-old politician portrayed that escape as a solitary feat of courage – a lone fugitive slipping past guards, crossing hostile territory, and reaching safety through determination and ingenuity alone. It was the perfect Victorian adventure story that helped launch his public career.
Are we missing the point about ‘equity’?
Over the past few weeks, the word “equity” has almost become a pejorative.One writer on the en website expressed …