Lady Sarah Wilson
Encyclopedia
Lady Sarah Isabella Augusta Wilson (1865-1929), was the youngest daughter of John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough
and Lady Frances Anne Emily Vane
, aunt of Winston Spencer Churchill. In 1899 she became the first woman war correspondent when she was recruited by Alfred Harmsworth
to cover the Siege of Mafeking
for the Daily Mail
during the Boer War
. She was invested as a Dame of Grace of the Knights Hospitaler, Order of St. John of Jerusalem (D.G.St.J.).
The Daily Mail
newspaper recruited Lady Sarah after one of its correspondents, Ralph Hellawell, was arrested by the Boers as he tried to get out of the besieged town of Mafeking to send his dispatch. Lady Sarah was in the right place at the right time to step into the journalistic breach, having moved to Mafeking with her husband, Lieutenant-Colonel Gordon Chesney Wilson Royal Victorian Order (M.V.O.)
at the start of the war, where he was aide-de-camp to Colonel Robert Baden-Powell, commanding officer at Mafeking. Baden-Powell asked her to leave Mafeking for her own safety after the Boers threatened to storm the British garrison. This she duly did, and set off on a madcap adventure in the company of her maid, travelling through the South African countryside until she was finally captured by the enemy and returned to the town in exchange for a horse thief being held there.
When she re-entered Mafeking she found it had not been attacked as predicted. Instead over four miles of trenches had been dug and 800 bomb shelters built to protect the residents from the constant shelling of the town.
Although untrained as a reporter, Lady Sarah soon gained a huge following among Mail readers back in England
who appreciated her matter-of-fact writing style.
On 26 March 1900, she wrote: “The Boers have been extremely active during the last few days. Yesterday we were heavily shelled and suffered eight casualties … Corporal Ironside had his thigh smashed the day before, and Private Webbe, of the Cape Police, had his head blown off in the brickfields trenches.”
But although death and destruction surrounded her, the Mail’s fledgling war correspondent
preferred not to dwell too much on the horrors of the siege. She described cycling events held on Sundays and the town’s celebration of Colonel Baden-Powell’s birthday which was declared a holiday.
Despite these cheery events, dwindling food supplies became a constant theme in the stories she sent back to the Mail and the situation seemed hopeless when the garrison was hit by an outbreak of malarial typhoid. In this weakened state the Boers managed to penetrate the outskirts of the town but the British stood firm and repelled the assault.
The siege finally ended after 217 days when the Royal Horse and Canadian Artillery galloped into Mafeking on 17 May 1900. Only a few people standing in a dusty road, singing Rule Britannia, were there to greet their saviours. But in London
it was a different scene as more than 20,000 people turned out in the streets to celebrate the Relief of Mafeking (which created the verb to maffick, for extravagant and public celebrations)).
Lady Sarah's dispatches and the desperate circumstances of the small outpost had made it a symbol of the ‘bulldog spirit’ and there was much rejoicing at this triumph over adversity.
John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough
John Winston Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough, KG, PC , styled Earl of Sunderland from 1822 to 1840 and Marquess of Blandford from 1840 to 1857, was a British statesman and nobleman...
and Lady Frances Anne Emily Vane
Frances Anne Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
Frances, Duchess of Marlborough & Marchioness of Blandford , was an Anglo-Irish noblewoman, the wife of British peer and statesman John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough. One of her sons, Lord Randolph Churchill was the father of Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill...
, aunt of Winston Spencer Churchill. In 1899 she became the first woman war correspondent when she was recruited by Alfred Harmsworth
Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe
Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe rose from childhood poverty to become a powerful British newspaper and publishing magnate, famed for buying stolid, unprofitable newspapers and transforming them to make them lively and entertaining for the mass market.His company...
to cover the Siege of Mafeking
Siege of Mafeking
The Siege of Mafeking was the most famous British action in the Second Boer War. It took place at the town of Mafeking in South Africa over a period of 217 days, from October 1899 to May 1900, and turned Robert Baden-Powell, who went on to found the Scouting Movement, into a national hero...
for the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
during the Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
. She was invested as a Dame of Grace of the Knights Hospitaler, Order of St. John of Jerusalem (D.G.St.J.).
The Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
newspaper recruited Lady Sarah after one of its correspondents, Ralph Hellawell, was arrested by the Boers as he tried to get out of the besieged town of Mafeking to send his dispatch. Lady Sarah was in the right place at the right time to step into the journalistic breach, having moved to Mafeking with her husband, Lieutenant-Colonel Gordon Chesney Wilson Royal Victorian Order (M.V.O.)
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
at the start of the war, where he was aide-de-camp to Colonel Robert Baden-Powell, commanding officer at Mafeking. Baden-Powell asked her to leave Mafeking for her own safety after the Boers threatened to storm the British garrison. This she duly did, and set off on a madcap adventure in the company of her maid, travelling through the South African countryside until she was finally captured by the enemy and returned to the town in exchange for a horse thief being held there.
When she re-entered Mafeking she found it had not been attacked as predicted. Instead over four miles of trenches had been dug and 800 bomb shelters built to protect the residents from the constant shelling of the town.
Although untrained as a reporter, Lady Sarah soon gained a huge following among Mail readers back in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
who appreciated her matter-of-fact writing style.
On 26 March 1900, she wrote: “The Boers have been extremely active during the last few days. Yesterday we were heavily shelled and suffered eight casualties … Corporal Ironside had his thigh smashed the day before, and Private Webbe, of the Cape Police, had his head blown off in the brickfields trenches.”
But although death and destruction surrounded her, the Mail’s fledgling war correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
preferred not to dwell too much on the horrors of the siege. She described cycling events held on Sundays and the town’s celebration of Colonel Baden-Powell’s birthday which was declared a holiday.
Despite these cheery events, dwindling food supplies became a constant theme in the stories she sent back to the Mail and the situation seemed hopeless when the garrison was hit by an outbreak of malarial typhoid. In this weakened state the Boers managed to penetrate the outskirts of the town but the British stood firm and repelled the assault.
The siege finally ended after 217 days when the Royal Horse and Canadian Artillery galloped into Mafeking on 17 May 1900. Only a few people standing in a dusty road, singing Rule Britannia, were there to greet their saviours. But in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
it was a different scene as more than 20,000 people turned out in the streets to celebrate the Relief of Mafeking (which created the verb to maffick, for extravagant and public celebrations)).
Lady Sarah's dispatches and the desperate circumstances of the small outpost had made it a symbol of the ‘bulldog spirit’ and there was much rejoicing at this triumph over adversity.