Clare Hollingworth's family are sad to announce that Clare passed away this evening in Hong Kong. She was 105.
Although Clare made her name by getting the scoop on WWII – from the frontlines in Poland – that event arguably overshadowed some equally impressive achievements.
During the research for Clare's recently published biography “Of Fortunes & War: Clare Hollingworth, first of the female war correspondents” her great nephew Patrick Garrett uncovered documents detailing he...r work saving been two and three thousand souls from the Nazis, on the eve of WWII.
During the war Clare was all over the Balkans, the Middle East, and North Africa. She was in Palestine for the final runup to the foundation of Israel. She covered the civil war in Algeria, and was in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Vietnam during their conflicts.
She was one of the first western correspondents in China at the tail end of the cultural revolution.
And aged 70, when most people are beginning to think about retiring, Clare upped sticks and set up a new life in Hong Kong.
Clare's latter years were not easy – and her final battles were in the Hong Kong courts to get an account for the majority of her life savings, which had been removed by another HK expat after he secured control of her account. Thanks to the assistance of generous friends, despite these severe financial problems, Clare was able to maintain her independent lifestyle in Hong Kong, close to her beloved Foreign Correspondents' Club.
Clare pushed the boundaries for women in journalism, and though she has gone, her legacy will certainly live on.