From "Scoop of the 20th Century" to Abused Elder

Clare Hollingworth went to work for The Daily Telegraph in 1939. Her career took off almost instantly:

She had been in the business for only a week in 1939 when she noticed, travelling towards the Polish border from Germany, that huge screens of hessian had been erected along the roadside, concealing the valley behind from passing traffic.

As she looked, the wind caught a loose piece of tarpaulin, revealing large numbers of troops, hundreds of tanks, armoured cars and field guns, lined up, battle ready - and facing Poland. She had stumbled across the beginning of World War Two.

 Miss Hollingworth went on to cover wars in Algeria and Vietnam. Now 98 and living in Hong Kong. she has been unfortunate enough, the Telegraph reports, to attract one of those creatures who believe the elderly and their money should live apart:

Sadly Miss Hollingworth, whose hearing and eyesight are not what they once were, has been subject to a mercurial acquaintance, who separated her from her money and has failed to repay it, even following a court case at the end of which he agreed to do so.