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Ever traveling to far flung places to cover stories, Macdonald Hastings “seemed [to possess] superhuman powers to make exciting things happen”, according to his son who would also later go on to also be a reporter, Sir Max Hastings.

Childhood and Formative Years

As a child, Mac was bullied “mercilessly”, to quote his son. Young Mac Hastings was sent to a Jesuit boarding school at age seven and experienced terrible treatment from both his classmates and the school staff. In one such incident at the Lancashire school, he was suspended from a later by several other kids and when he was finally taken down by one of the school masters, the man slapped the young Macdonald across the face and ordered him to stop crying. Unfortunately for the boy, the school censored the letters sent home by the students and he was unable to communicate his troubles with his parents.

Later, still during his time at the Jesuit school, Hastings contracted pneumonia, but his troubles went greatly unnoticed. The school matron waved him off and ignored the issue while one of the priests gave him the last rites. Despite this awful neglect, Hastings survived, but never forgot, these childhood injustices.

However, Hastings also had positive experiences, falling in love with the school's cadet corps where he was taught to use firearms, and conversely taking pleasure in exploring the forests and fields in the countryside surrounding his school. Here he discovered his natural talent for public oration, a subject stressed at his academic institution as being of great importance; Hastings readily agreed.

Hastings´ father, too, was a journalist and a playwright. Among his friends appear such notable names as J.M. Barrie, G.K. Chesterton, and Hilaire Belloc, all of whom left their impressions upon Hastings concerning the romanticism and wonder of both journalism and writing in general.

Early Works

At only the age of 47, Hastings´ father passed away, leaving the young Hastings and his mother essentially poor. As such, Hastings returned home from boarding school, no longer able to pay his tuition, and despite offers from family friends who wished to help him complete his schooling, Hastings refused and went in search of work to support himself and his mother.

He worked briefly as a clerk at Scotland Yard, but found the position highly disagreeable. After just a few months, he moved on to J. Lyons, a catering company where Macdonald worked in the publicity department and where he remained for the next nine years, enjoying his job thoroughly.

In 1936, the 26 year old Hastings decided to marry a 52 year old chorus girl, entering into a marriage that was destined to last only for a few months. Despite the brevity of the union, Hastings was required to pay his ex-wife “maintenance” for nearly the rest of his life.

While working at Lyons, Hastings began to branch out, writing journalistic pieces and freelancing them to various news corporations, including the BBC. After nine years at Lyons, Hastings left to pursue freelance journalism.

After his first marriage, Hastings continued to be popular with women and at one point conducted an affair with the wealthy, and married, Ruth Pallant who would be a huge influence on his character in everything from furthering his love of the country life, to refining his personage, to helping him acquire his first “made-to-measure” shotgun.

Entering the News World

His career truly took off in 1939 when, at 29 years old, Hastings was hired by Picture Post, a magazine known for on location reporting and live-action photography. During World War II, from 1939 to 1945, Hastings was in the thick of it all, reporting for the Picture Post from torpedo boats to Channel convoys. He also notably covered the post D Day campaign, earning a reputation simultaneously for courage and for rashness.

From 1945 to 1950, Hastings edited the magazine, Strand, which nonetheless closed in 1950, leaving the now 40 year old Hastings out of work. Again he returned to freelance journalism. Throughout the next decade he was highly productive, writing hundreds of articles, ten novels, and broadcasting with the BBC. In 1951, he served at the “Special Investigator” for The Eagle, a publication which involved the cartoon character Dan Dare, a spaceman, and which aimed to both entertain children and teach good morals. In this light, Hastings became a hero to many British schoolboys of the era, including his son, Max Hastings. Making around 5,000 pounds a year by 1952, Hastings was doing very well for himself and his family.

References

Hastings, Sir Max. "Selfish and reckless - but Max Hasting's daredevil father was a hero to him and every other schoolboy in Britain". 22 Feb 2010. Associated Press Ltd. 