Mad, Bad And Totally Loony: History’s Most Eccentric People

Published April 5, 2015
Updated November 7, 2023

Weird People In History: John “Mad Jack” Churchill

Being eccentric isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, sometimes the exact opposite is true. Take Mad Jack Churchill, for example. He was a British officer in World War II and his weapon of choice was a Scottish broadsword, as he felt that “any officer who goes into action without his sword is improperly dressed”.

Churchill also carried a longbow (he supposedly holds the record for the last bow-and-arrow wartime killing), along with a set of bagpipes which were used to… inspire his troops.

John Mad Jack Churchill

Source: Wikipedia

Churchill was eventually captured by the Germans during a dangerous mission that took place behind enemy lines. The enemy spared his life initially, mistakenly believing that Churchill was a relative of the Prime Minister.

Once Churchill’s true identity was discovered, Hitler’s order was to execute immediately. Fortunately for Mad Jack, Captain Hans Thorner—the German commander of the concentration camp—disagreed with Hitler and disobeyed the order, saving Churchill’s life.

Churchill Holding Bow Eccentric People

Jack was actually a skilled archer.

After being transferred out of the camp, Mad Jack wrote Thorner a thank-you note. In a serendipitous twist, that letter actually ended up saving Thorner’s life.

When the former German officer was tried as a war criminal, the letter—along with Churchill’s willingness to testify in his defense—exonerated the German official. Though he wasn’t the craziest in terms of eccentric people, his quirks made him stand out as a unique officer.

Picture Of Mad Jack Churchill

Mad Jack to the far right during training exercises, sword in hand.


Enjoy this look at history’s most eccentric people? Then check out our other posts on interesting facts and fascinating things you don’t know about Nikola Tesla.

author
Kiri Picone
author
Kiri Picone holds a B.A. in English and creative writing from Pepperdine University and has been writing for various digital publishers for more than 10 years.
editor
John Kuroski
editor
John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of interest include modern history and true crime.