Below is an extract from 'Mad Mike' Hoare: The Legend, in which the author, Chris Hoare, gives a British journalist's impressions on meeting Mike Hoare in the Congo in 1964 …
After 5 Commando took the major city of Stanleyville, they continued to attract a bad press. The preconceived notions of Anthony Mockler, who was sent to the Congo as an 'apprehensive' correspondent for The Guardian newspaper, would be typical. As he says in his book, The New Mercenaries, 'At The Guardian the view was that mercenaries were hired killers. The reason for my apprehension was that my assignment was to track down the leader of the mercenaries, the hired killer par excellence, "Mad Mike" Hoare.'
Mockler continues, 'It was an anti-climax when I discovered that "Mad Mike" Hoare was staying at the Hotel Leopold II where I was myself installed. His physical appearance came as an even greater shock. He bore no resemblance at all to a hired killer. He was short, dapper and neatly turned out in khaki with a major's crown on his epaulettes. He carried an attaché case, not a weapon. He resembled a British officer from a good regiment and appeared to be in no way insane.'
If you would like to enquire about the biography, 'Mad Mike' Hoare: The Legend, or any of Mike Hoare's books, please go to the 'Buy Books and More' tab.