Lieutenant-Colonel Sir John Robert Pretyman Newman (born John Robert Bramston Newman; 22 August 1871 – 12 March 1947) was an Irish-born

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician. He was the eldest son of John Adam Richard Newman of Newberry Manor,

Mallow, County Cork Mallow (; ) is a town in County Cork, Ireland, approximately thirty-five kilometres north of Cork (city), Cork City. Mallow is in a townland and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of the same name, in the Fermoy (barony), barony of Fermoy. ...

and his wife Matilda née Bramston of

Llangefni ; ) is the county town of Anglesey in Wales. At the 2011 census, Llangefni's population was 5,116, making it the second-largest town in the county and the largest on the island. The community includes the village of Rhosmeirch. Location The ...

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

Early life

Following education at

Charterhouse School Charterhouse is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Godalming, Surrey, England. Founded by Thomas Sutton in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian monastery in Charter ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, Newman received a commission in the 5th Battalion,

Royal Munster Fusiliers The Royal Munster Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1922. It traced its origins to the East India Company, East India Company's Bengal European Regiment raised in 1652, which later became the 101st Regiment ...

. He was appointed a deputy lieutenant and justice of the peace for

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

. In 1898 he served as the county's high sheriff.

Marriages

Newman was married twice. In 1895 he married the Hon. Olivia Anne Plunket, daughter of the 4th Baron Plunkett, who died in 1896. In 1898 he wed Geraldine "Ina" Olivia Pretyman, daughter of Colonel William Pretyman of the

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United Sta ...

, and he assumed the additional surname of Pretyman in place of Bramston. The couple made their home at 79

Eaton Square Eaton Square is a rectangular, residential garden square in London's Belgravia district. It is the largest Squares in London, square in London. It is one of the three squares built by the landowning Grosvenor family when they developed the main ...

in the

Belgravia Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a dangerous pla ...

district of London. His second wife died in October 1935.

Political career

Member of parliament for Enfield

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

he unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary constituency of

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a town within the London Borough of Waltham Forest in east London. The town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and South Woodford to the east, Leyton and Leytonstone to the south, and Tottenham to the west. At ...

as a Conservative candidate. At the next general election in January 1910 he stood at Enfield,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

. The seat was considered to be a safe

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

constituency, but Newman managed to unseat the sitting member of parliament,

James Branch James Branch (27 February 1845 – 16 November 1918), was a British boot manufacturer and Liberal politician. Branch was born in Bethnal Green in the East End of London, where he established a boot factory. An active member of the Liberal Par ...

by 1,242 votes. A further general election was held in December of the same year, and Newman held the seat with a reduced majority of 936 votes. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Newman served with the

Middlesex Regiment The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers Re ...

on the Western Front, reaching the rank of major.

Member of parliament for Finchley

Due to the

no further election was held until 1918. The

Representation of the People Act 1918 The Representation of the People Act 1918 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 5. c. 64) was an act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in Great Britain and Ireland. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act. The act extended the franchise in pa ...

redrew constituencies throughout Great Britain, and Newman was elected as first member of parliament for the new

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. north of Charing Cross, nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, London, Whetstone, Mill Hill and Hendon. It is ...

constituency, which included part of the existing Enfield seat. He held the seat at the 1922 election, but was defeated by his Liberal opponent, T A Robertson, when a further election was called in

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in February 1924 as part of the resignation hours of

Stanley Baldwin Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (3 August 186714 December 1947), was a British statesman and Conservative politician who was prominent in the political leadership of the United Kingdom between the world wars. He was prime ministe ...

Middle Class Union

Newman was on the right wing of Conservative politics. He expressed admiration for fascism in his role as vice-president of the

Middle Class Union The Middle Classes Union was founded in February 1919 to safeguard property after the Reform Act 1918 had increased the number of working-class people eligible to vote. Sir George Ranken Askwith and Conservative MP and Irish landowner J. R. Pre ...

formed in 1919 as an Anti-Socialist group to maintain public services in the event of strike action.

Later life

Newman was the director of a number of companies including Allied Cement and Stream-Line Filters. In 1928, while chairman of Perfecta Meters Limited, he wrote a letter to a shareholder of the company making allegations against the managing director of the company. Newman was found guilty of

libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

, and damages of 1,500 pounds were awarded against him. Newman died on 12 March 1947 in

Farnham Farnham is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tributary of the ...

, Surrey, and was cremated in

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...

two days later.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Newman, John Pretyman Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge People educated at Charterhouse School 1871 births 1947 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 Middlesex Regiment officers Royal Munster Fusiliers officers High sheriffs of County Cork British Army personnel of World War I Irish justices of the peace 19th-century British Army personnel Deputy lieutenants of County Cork