To begin at the beginning, as they say in all the best yarns, one should go back to 1938 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia when a group of ex-patriates associated with the rubber plantations started a modified paper chase in order to work up a decent thirst before retiring to the Selangor Club.
 
There the restaurant was known locally as the "Hash House" so naturally the name was adopted by the harriers and in contrast to other groups undertaking similar activities the name stuck. The particular genius of the founding father, A S Gispert, nicknamed "G", was to make the traditional hare & hounds running more fun by making it non-competitive. But you knew all that really, didn't you?
 
So we will move on quickly to the Second World War and its aftermath which became known as the Malayan Emergency when British and Australian troops joined in the fun and when posted elsewhere began new chapters and the Hash House Harriers spread throughout the world rather like the AIDS virus spread from a central origin in Africa.
 
For more details about Hashing, click here.