Army Records Society: The Letters of Lt. Col. Charles a Court Repington Cmg Military Correspondent of the Times, 1903-18

Lieutenant-Colonel Charles a Court Repington CMG was a brilliant staff officer and it was expected that he would reach the highest military rank. But in January 1902 Repington was obliged to retire from the Army - he was alleged to have broken the code of behaviour appropriate for an officer and a gentleman. To supplement his income he became a journalist and in an amazingly short time he was established as Britain's leading military correspondent. His reputation was deserved. He not only made the most of his Army experience and knowledge and his unrivalled access to influential sources of information, but he also had the ability to write about complex subjects in an interesting, clear and simple manner.Repington has been unfairly characterised as a too-clever-by-half, intriguing, unpatriotic scoundrel. His letters reveal something of his true qualities and character while also serving to illuminate that fascinating boundary where publicity and politics merge or, more often, collide.