In the 1890s, Winston Churchill served for some time as a subaltern in India. The following extract is from Land of No Regrets, a book by Colonel Andrew Irvine.
On the first morning out from Bombay my cabin-mate, one Smart, member of a Calcutta firm, and I woke up early and began to chat cheerfully to each other. From the opposite cabin came a peevish cry of "Stop that damned noise." We naturally decided to investigate. Scowling at us from a lower bunk was a particularly cocky young subaltern of the 4th Hussars, clad in a beautiful pair of pink pyjamas.
Smart and I said nothing, but we each took hold of a foot. Whilst he voyaged up and down the cook's galley on his back, we realised that our victim, though his language would have done no credit to a present-day BBC announcer, was a born orator. And he was, for his name was Winston Churchill.
一八九零年代，邱吉爾曾在印度任中尉，以下文字節錄自安德魯．歐文上校《無憾地》一書。
從孟買出海的第一個早上，我很早起牀。和我同一艙房者，是加爾各答一家公司的人，名叫斯馬特，也起了牀。我們高高興興談起來，對面艙房忽然傳來不耐煩的一聲喊：「他媽的，別吵！」我們於是前去查看，只見第四輕騎兵團一個非常狂妄的年輕中尉，身穿漂亮粉紅色睡衣，躺在雙層牀下一層，一臉不悅，瞪着我們。
我們一言不發，各抓住他一條腿。他雙腳朝天，給我們在廚房裏拖來拖去。當時他說的話，今天英國廣播公司播音員可說不得，但我們發覺，這小子天生口才了得。而他的確好口才。他就是邱吉爾。