Lieutenant Colonel Augustus Charles Newman, (19 August 1904 – 26 April 1972) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer and recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Details

Newman was educated at

Bancroft's School Bancroft's School is a co-educational independent day school located in Woodford Green, London Borough of Redbridge. The school currently has around 1,000 pupils aged between 7 and 18, around 200 of whom are pupils of the Preparatory School an ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

. On leaving school he joined a firm of Civil Engineering and Public Works Contractors and was commissioned into the part-time Territorial Army in 1925, rising to the rank of major by 1939. He was 37 years old and a lieutenant colonel in

The Essex Regiment The Essex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment served in many conflicts such as the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II, serving with distinction in all three. ...

, attached to No. 2 Commando during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the

(VC). On 28 March 1942 in the attack on St. Nazaire,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, Lieutenant Colonel Newman was in charge of the military forces and he was one of the first ashore, leading his men and directing operations quite regardless of his own safety. Under his inspiring leadership the troops fought magnificently and held vastly superior numbers of the enemy at bay until the demolition parties had done their work. The colonel then attempted to fight through into open country and not until all the ammunition was spent were he and his men overwhelmed and taken prisoner.

Subsequent career

After the Second World War, Newman continued in the Territorial Army, subsequently commanding 21 (Artists) Special Air Service Regiment. He served as Deputy Lieutenant of Essex, 1946 to 1948. On 1 October 1959 he was appointed Major in the

Engineer and Railway Staff Corps The Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps is a part of the Royal Engineers in the British Army Reserve. It is intended to provide advisers on engineering and logistics to the British Army at a senior level. Following its work creating the NHS Nighti ...

. His VC is on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the Imperial War Museum, London.

References

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
''(Kent)''

''(detailed description of the action)''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newman, Augustus 1904 births 1972 deaths Burials in Kent British Army Commandos officers British Army personnel of World War II British World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Deputy Lieutenants of Essex Engineer and Railway Staff Corps officers Essex Regiment officers Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Bancroft's School People from Chigwell Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Special Air Service officers World War II prisoners of war held by Germany British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Military personnel from Essex