“Mad Jack” Churchill Did Things His Way...and So Should You

If I asked you to start a fire with a flint and steel, you’d probably tell me it’s easier with a butane torch. If I asked you to write a computer program with pen and paper, you’d think I was crazy. But sometimes, there’s a method to the madness. Sometimes the unconventional way of doing things is what people remember - and respect - the most.?

Q: What Happens When You Bring a Sword to a Gunfight?

Meet John “Mad Jack” Churchill.?A British soldier born in 1906, his life and exploits are still a little mysterious to this day. For example, some say he was born in England…others in Hong Kong or Sri Lanka.?

He graduated from Sandhurst in 1926 and, ten years later, left the army for a career in journalism. In his spare time, he practiced archery. That skill earned him a trip to the World Archery Championships in 1939.

But in 1940, after Hitler invaded Poland and Great Britain declared war on Germany, Churchill went back into the army. He took his longbow with him and put it to good use. That May, his unit surrounded a German patrol near the French town of L’Epinette. He promptly used a barbed arrow to pick off a German sergeant. As far as anyone knows, this is the only incident of death-by-longbow in World War II.

As far as anyone knows, this is the only incident of death-by-longbow in World War II.

That bow and arrow were still with him on the beach at Dunkirk, as he waited to be evacuated along with the rest of the 4th Infantry Brigade. Rather than wait quietly, he ran up and down the beach with his bow and arrow.

If you thought the craziness ended there, think again.

After Dunkirk, he volunteered to join the Commandos, a group Churchill created to harass and destroy strategic Nazi targets. In occupied Norway, he helped destroy ships and factories…and played the bagpipes as he and his comrades attacked a German garrison. Was he Scottish? Nope. He just really liked bagpipes.

When the British invaded Sicily in 1943, he came ashore with those bagpipes, his bow and arrow, and a Scottish broadsword. Because of course he did.

When the British invaded Sicily in 1943, he came ashore with those bagpipes, his bow and arrow, and a Scottish broadsword. Because of course he did.

In Yugoslavia in 1944, he was one of only seven men to reach the island of Brac in their attempt to take it from the Germans. When shrapnel killed the other six, he was the last man standing - literally. He played the bagpipes until he was knocked unconscious and captured.

The Germans took him to Sachsenhausen, a concentration camp. Because of his last name, they thought he was related to Winston Churchill (he wasn’t) and placed him with other important political prisoners.

He escaped, either by digging a tunnel with several other British prisoners or crawling through a drainpipe (it depends on who you ask).

But the Germans recaptured him, eventually sending him to Dachau and then to a prison hotel in the Austrian Alps, along with family members of the German officers who had tried to kill Hitler in 1944. Yes, that's the same assassination plot that was in the Tom Cruise movie Valkyrie.

In the chaotic last days of the war, he escaped the clutches of the SS and walked 93 miles into Italy, where he was found by an American armored unit.

Long story short, this was a guy who did things his way – often the crazy way, but his way.

A: You Become the Guy Who Brought a Sword to a Gunfight

Based on that story, you might think I’m suggesting we go backwards in time – but that’s not what I’m getting at. I’m not suggesting we replace modern weapons with a broadsword, or a computer with paper and pen.

I am suggesting that we be less afraid to deviate from the status quo.?

I am suggesting that we be less afraid to deviate from the status quo.?

Jack Churchill is a good example of someone who did things his fellow officers probably thought of as crazy. Weird. Impractical. Inconvenient. Impossible.

But it worked.?

Maybe it shouldn’t have, but it did. And today, people are still talking about the only person to use a longbow in World War II.

Not every idea that sounds crazy deserves to be ignored or put on a shelf.

That guy who marches to the beat of his own…bagpipe? He might not be crazy, either. He might just believe in himself and his ideas so much, he’s willing to die for them.

If you have an idea that you believe can lead to success, don’t give up just because someone else tells you it’s too out-of-the-box. A lot of people probably told Jack Churchill to get rid of those bagpipes, leave his bow and arrow at home, and for Pete’s sake, watch where you stick that broadsword.

If you have an idea that you believe can lead to success, don’t give up just because someone else tells you it’s too out-of-the-box.

But if he’d listened, he wouldn’t have been “Mad Jack.” Or “Fighting Jack,” his other nickname.

He wouldn’t be a guy with a nickname at all.

So the next time someone tells you your idea is too big, too weird, or too hard, picture a guy hauling bagpipes, a bow and arrow, and a broadsword into battle. He found a way to achieve his unit’s objectives without giving up his ideas or his individuality – and so can you.

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Ryan J. Pinney, LACP is a twelve-year MDRT member with twelve Top of the Table qualifications. Recognized for using innovative technologies to drive insurance sales, streamline the application process, and speed up underwriting, Ryan has been honored by AdvisorToday as a “4 under 40” Financial Advisor, by LifeHealthPro Magazine as one of the “24 Most Creative People in Insurance,” and as a National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies (NAILBA) ID Twenty award recipient. Utilizing a wide array of digital marketing tools and home-grown technology, his agency sold thousands of policies direct-to-consumer over the internet last year. Ryan is also active in the industry, where he has served as National Trustee for the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) and Divisional Vice President of the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT).