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History of the Hash House Harriers

Hashing began in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1938, when a casual group of British colonial officers and expatriates began meeting on Monday evenings to run, in a fashion patterned after the traditional British Paper Chase (game), to rid themselves of the excesses of the previous weekend. This original group consisted of four members: Cecil Lee, Frederick "Horse" Thomson, Ronald "Torch" Bennett, and Albert Stephen (A.S.) Ignacious "G" Gispert. John Woodrow was also an original member of the group, but is rarely credited as a founder, having left Malaysia soon after the war and returning to Scotland.

After meeting for some months, they were informed by the Registrar of Societies that as a "group," they would require a Constitution and an official name. A.S. Gispert suggested the name "Hash House Harriers" in homage to the Selangor Club Annex, where the men were billeted, so named the "Hash House" for its notoriously monotonous food. The final word, "Harriers," refers to the role of those in the chase, where the "hare" was given a head start to blaze a trail and mark his path with shreds of paper, and then pursued by a shouting pack of "harriers." Apart from the excitement of chasing the hare and finding the "true" path, harriers reaching the end of the trail would be rewarded with beer, ginger beer, and cigarettes.