Lt Col. Stewart Francis Newcombe (1878–1956) was a British army officer and associate of

T. E. Lawrence Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British Army officer, archaeologist, diplomat and writer known for his role during the Arab Revolt and Sinai and Palestine campaign against the Ottoman Empire in the First W ...

. He was commissioned in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

in 1898 and fought in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

. He served with the

Egyptian army The Egyptian Army (), officially the Egyptian Ground Forces (), is the land warfare branch (and largest service branch) of the Egyptian Armed Forces. Until the declaration of the Republic and the abolishment of the monarchy on 18 June 1953, it w ...

from May 1901 until 1911. In 1913 and 1914 he was engaged in strategic survey work in the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai ( ; ; ; ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a land bridge between Asia and Afri ...

, where he worked with and became a friend of Lawrence. At the end of 1916, he was appointed Chief of the British Military Mission in the

Hejaz Hejaz is a Historical region, historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes the majority of the western region of Saudi Arabia, covering the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif and Al Bahah, Al-B ...

where he again worked with Lawrence and played a key role in the

Arab Revolt The Arab Revolt ( ), also known as the Great Arab Revolt ( ), was an armed uprising by the Hashemite-led Arabs of the Hejaz against the Ottoman Empire amidst the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On the basis of the McMahon–Hussein Co ...

. In November 1917 Newcombe was captured by the Turks but escaped and went into hiding in Istanbul. Newcombe gave his name to the Paulet-Newcombe Agreement, which represents most of the modern border between today's Syria, Lebanon, and Israel.

Early life

S. F. Newcombe was born in

Brecon Brecon (; ; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Breck ...

, Wales, the son of Edward Newcombe, and educated at

Christ's Hospital Christ's Hospital is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 11–18) with a royal charter, located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. T ...

and

Felsted Felsted (sometimes spelt Felstead) is a village and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Bannister Green, Bartholomew Green, Causeway End, Coblers Green, Cock Green, Frenches Gre ...

. He entered the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of Officer (armed forces), commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers o ...

where he was awarded the

Sword of Honour The ''Sword of Honour'' is a trilogy of novels by Evelyn Waugh which loosely parallel Waugh's experiences during the World War II, Second World War. Published by Chapman & Hall from 1952 to 1961, the novels are: Men at Arms (Waugh novel), ''M ...

. Commissioned in the

in 1898, he served in the

. He served with the

from May 1901 until 1911.

Surveying work

In 1913 and the early part of 1914, following short spells at the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

, he carried out a survey across the

Beersheba Beersheba ( / ; ), officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most p ...

, under the auspices of the

Palestine Exploration Fund The Palestine Exploration Fund is a British society based in London. It was founded in 1865, shortly after the completion of the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem by Royal Engineers of the War Department. The Fund is the oldest known organization i ...

. He was joined by

Leonard Woolley Sir Charles Leonard Woolley (17 April 1880 – 20 February 1960) was a British archaeologist best known for his Excavation (archaeology), excavations at Ur in Mesopotamia. He is recognized as one of the first "modern" archaeologists who excavat ...

and

who had been appointed as archaeological experts. The

Negev Desert The Negev ( ; ) or Naqab (), is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southern end is the Gulf of Aqaba and the resort town, resort city ...

was of strategic importance, as it would have to be crossed by any Ottoman army attacking Egypt in the event of war and the survey updated mapping of the area, showing features of military relevance such as water sources. This began a lifelong friendship and collaboration with Lawrence who would become famous as "Lawrence of Arabia".

First World War

When Turkey entered the First World War, Newcombe was sent out to Egypt as assistant to

Gilbert Clayton Brigadier-General Sir Gilbert Falkingham Clayton, (6 April 1875 – 11 September 1929) was a British Army intelligence officer and colonial administrator, who worked in several countries in the Middle East in the early 20th century. In Egypt, ...

, who was head of both the Military and Political Intelligence Services there. Among the picked group of officers who worked with Newcombe were George Lloyd,

Aubrey Herbert Colonel The Honourable Aubrey Nigel Henry Molyneux Herbert (3 April 1880 – 26 September 1923), of Pixton Park in Somerset and of Teversal, in Nottinghamshire, was a British soldier, diplomat, traveller, and intelligence officer associat ...

, Woolley and Lawrence. Newcombe served at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

from September 1915 until December 1915, and was awarded the D.S.O.: "For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty near Anzac, Gallipoli Peninsula, on 29 October 1915. During rescue operations he entered a mine tunnel soon after the first casualties were reported, and, although suffering from the effects of fumes, he continued to lead rescue parties till he was completely disabled by the gas". Five men died in the rescue in Tunnel C2. At the end of 1916, after a spell in France, he was appointed Chief of the British Military Mission with the

Sharif of Mecca The Sharif of Mecca () was the title of the leader of the Sharifate of Mecca, traditional steward of the Holiest sites in Islam, Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The term ''sharif'' is Arabic for "noble", "highborn", and is used to desc ...

's forces in the

where he again worked with Lawrence and played a key role in the

. After the capture of

Wejh Al Wajh (), also written Al Wejh, is a coastal city in north-western Saudi Arabia, situated on the coast of the Red Sea. The city is located in the Tabuk Province. It is one of the largest cities in Tabuk region, with a population of 50,000 as of ...

, the demolition raids on the Hejaz Railway were largely his work, along with his colleague Major Henry Hornby. Lawrence was later to pay Newcombe a blended compliment in his book ''

Seven Pillars of Wisdom ''Seven Pillars of Wisdom'' is the autobiographical account of the experiences of British Army Colonel T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") while serving as a military advisor to Bedouin forces during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empi ...

'' when he wrote; 'Newcombe is like fire,' they (the Arabs) used to complain, 'he burns friend and enemy', referring to his enthusiasm for destroying this vital artery that supplied the besieged Ottoman garrison in

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

. Newcombe was captured during the

Third Battle of Gaza The Third Battle of Gaza was fought on the night of 1–2 November 1917 between British and Ottoman forces during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I and came after the British Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) victory at the Ba ...

leading a party of seventy men of the

Imperial Camel Corps The Imperial Camel Corps Brigade (ICCB) was a camel-mounted infantry brigade that the British Empire raised in December 1916 during the First World War for service in the Middle East. From a small beginning the unit eventually grew to a brigad ...

behind enemy lines to cut the

Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...

road with machine-gun fire to prevent the Turkish garrison of

escaping the British advance. During heavy fighting with several Turkish battalions his force was surrounded and forced to surrender after running out of ammunition on 2 November 1917. Newcombe was held in Turkey. He escaped from a

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

at Brusa (Bursa) with the aid of a French woman, Mlle Elizabeth Chaki, and went into hiding in Istanbul. After helping draft peace proposals he eventually escaped but was too late to be involved in the signing of the armistice held on HMS ''Liverpool''.

Lowell Thomas Lowell Jackson Thomas (April 6, 1892 – August 29, 1981) was an American writer, Television presenter, broadcaster, and documentary filmmaker. He authored more than fifty non-fiction books, mostly travel narratives and popular biographies of ex ...

, in his book ''With Lawrence in Arabia'' (1924), wrote "But months later, after having survived smallpox and all the other luxuries of Turkish prison life, the colonel escaped from his cell in Constantinople through the aid of a beautiful Syrian girl, who then concealed him in her home." (pg 304). "Then, as any born hero of melodrama would expect to do as the climax to his romantic career, he married the beautiful Syrian girl who had helped him escape---and we hope lived happily ever after." (pg 305)

Marriage and later life

Newcombe married Elsie Chaki in London in April 1919. Their son, born in 1920, was christened Stewart Lawrence in recognition of his father's friendship with T. E. Lawrence who became the boy's godfather. Their daughter Diana Louie, born 1921, became Baroness Elles. Newcombe went to Malta in 1929 as Chief Engineer, retiring in 1932. In 1935, Newcombe was one of the six

pallbearers A pallbearer is one of several participants who help carry the casket at a funeral. They may wear white gloves in order to prevent damaging the casket and to show respect to the deceased person. Some traditions distinguish between the roles o ...

at Lawrence's funeral. As noted in the memoirs of

David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary List of national founders, national founder and first Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister of the State of Israel. As head of the Jewish Agency ...

, Israel's first Prime Minister, Newcombe was in December 1937 involved in an effort to start negotiations between the Zionist Movement and prominent Palestinian Arabs, aimed at trying to end the violent confrontations then engulfing Mandatory Palestine. The initiative failed due to irreconcilable differences over the key issue of Jewish immigration to Palestine. Newcombe's medals were sold at auction in 1992 but were then revealed to have been stolen in 1955.''The Times'' 9 November 2009
/ref>

References

Bibliography

*Anderson, Scott (2013). ''Lawrence in Arabia''. Doubleday. . *Webber, Kerry (2015). Newcombe, Stewart Francis (1878–1956), army officer and surveyor, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (article 105134) online by subscription.

External links

In the Shadow of the Crescent – A Portrait of Colonel Stewart Francis Newcombe, D.S.O, R.E
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newcombe, S. F. 1878 births 1956 deaths British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I British World War I prisoners of war Knights of the Legion of Honour Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Royal Engineers officers World War I prisoners of war held by the Ottoman Empire People from Brecon People educated at Felsted School People educated at Christ's Hospital Military personnel from Powys