Daniel Henry Newton

Story:
Daniel Henry Newton was born in Bossington, Hampshire, on 12 Nov 1891 and baptised there on 22 Jan 1892 the son of George Newton and Mary Jane Newton (nee Jewell).  He spent some of his early years in West Tytherley, Hampshire, until the family moved to 'Clonmell', Victoria Street, Shaftesbury, Dorset, sometime after 1906.  Daniel joined the embryo Royal Flying Corps on 22 Nov 1912 and served in a Technical Unit (Service No. 217).  During his service he was attached to the Royal Australian Flying Corps in France and Flanders from 5 Jun 1916.  It was there that he was, first, Mentioned in Despatches on 15 Jun 1916 and then, secondly, awarded the Meritorious Service Medal per a London Gazette announcement on 9 Nov 1916.  He had been promoted to Flight Sergeant in 1916 and qualified for the Victory and British War Medals as well as the 1914/15 Star. By the 1921 Census he is shown still serving in the RAF based at Station Road, Henlow, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, as a Sergeant Major Fitter with the Inland Aircraft Depot.   His marriage to May Flower was recorded in the Devizes, Wiltshire, Registry in 1928.  (His mother, Mary Jane Newton, died in Shaftesbury in 1936 and her her husband, George, moved away). By 1933 he had been promoted to Flight Lieutenant and awarded the MBE on 11 Sep 1933. By the time of the 1939 Register Daniel was living at 'Fairfield', Wood Lane, Eton, Buckinghamshire, a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force working in a Communications Office.  His death was recorded in Bournemouth, Hampshire, on 11 Jun 1978 where he had been living at 5 Queensbury Mansions.  His brother, William George Newton, also served in the conflict with the Dorsetshire Regiment.