22 Mind-Blowing Facts About Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
9. His Fondness For Pies Prevented Him From Enlisting As A Solider In The Boer War
Conan Doyle attempted to enlist in the British Army for the Boer War (1899-1902) - but due to his large size, brought about primarily due to his love of food, he was deemed to be too overweight to serve as a soldier. Interestingly, Conan Doyle had already served as a doctor on the Greenland whaler Hope of Peterhead in 1880 and latterly as a ship's surgeon on the SS Mayumba during a voyage to the West African coast.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
Conan Doyle attempted to enlist in the British Army for the Boer War (1899-1902) - but due to his large size, brought about primarily due to his love of food, he was deemed to be too overweight to serve as a soldier. Interestingly, Conan Doyle had already served as a doctor on the Greenland whaler Hope of Peterhead in 1880 and latterly as a ship's surgeon on the SS Mayumba during a voyage to the West African coast.