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Bill Newton

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William Ellis (Bill) Newton
Bill Newton, c. 1942
Nickname(s)"The Firebug"
AllegianceAustralia Australia
Service/branchAustralia Citizens Military Force
Royal Australian Air Force
Years of service1938–1943
RankFlight Lieutenant
UnitNo. 22 Squadron (1942–1943)
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsVictoria Cross

William Ellis (Bill) Newton VC (8 June 1919 – 29 March 1943) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to a member of the British and Commonwealth forces. He was honoured for his actions as a bomber pilot in Papua New Guinea during March 1943 when, despite intense anti-aircraft fire, he pressed home a series of attacks on the Salamaua Isthmus, the last of which saw him forced to ditch his aircraft in the sea. Newton was still officially posted as missing when the award was made in October 1943. It later emerged that he had been taken captive by the Japanese, and executed by beheading on 29 March.

Raised in Melbourne, Newton excelled at sport, playing cricket at State level. He joined the militia in 1938, and enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force in February 1940. Described as having the dash of "an Errol Flynn or a Keith Miller",[1] Newton initially served as a flying instructor in Australia before being posted to No. 22 Squadron in New Guinea, operating Boston light bombers. He was on his fifty-second mission when he was shot down and captured. Newton's was the only Victoria Cross awarded to an Australian airman in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II, and the only one earned by an Australian flying with an RAAF squadron.

Early career

Born in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda, Bill Newton was the son of dentist Charles Ellis Newton and his wife Minnie. He was educated at Melbourne Grammar School, where he completed his Intermediate Certificate.[2] Considered at school to be a future leader in the community, Newton was also a talented all-round sportsman, playing Australian rules football, golf and water polo, as well as gaining selection in the Victorian Cricket Association Second XI.[3][4]

Newton at Wagga, New South Wales, in 1941

Newton had been a sergeant in his cadet corps at school, and joined the militia on 28 November 1938.[5] Employed in a silk warehouse when World War II broke out in September 1939, he resigned his position to enlist the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) on 5 February 1940.[2][6] Newton underwent flying training at RAAF Station Laverton, and was commissioned as a Pilot Officer on 28 June. After completing his advanced training at RAAF Station Point Cook in September, he became a flight instructor and was promoted to Flying Officer on 28 December.[5] Newton was raised to Flight Lieutenant on 1 April 1942 and posted to No. 22 Squadron, based at Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, the following month.[5][6]

New Guinea Campaign

Flying a Douglas Boston twin-engined bomber, Newton made the first of his fifty-two operational sorties on 1 January 1943. During February he flew low-level missions through monsoons and hazardous mountain terrain, attacking Japanese forces ranged against Allied troops in the Morobe province.[7] In early March he took part in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, one of the key engagements in the South West Pacific theatre,[8] bombing and strafing Lae airfield to prevent its force of enemy fighters taking off to intercept Allied bombers attacking the Japanese fleet.[7][9] Newton gained a reputation for driving straight at his targets without evasive manoeuvre, and always leaving them in flames. This earned him the nickname "The Firebug".[2][3]

Attacks on Salamaua

Douglas Bostons of No. 22 Squadron over New Guinea, c.1942–43

On 16 March, Newton led a sortie on the Salamaua Isthmus in which his aircraft was hit repeatedly by Japanese anti-aircraft fire, damaging fuselage, wings, fuel tanks and undercarriage. In spite of this he continued his attack and dropped his bombs at low level on buildings, ammunition dumps and fuel stores, returning for a second pass at the target in order to strafe it with machine-gun fire.[2][7] Newton managed to get his crippled machine back to base and, two days later, made a further attack on Salamaua with five other Bostons. As he bombed his designated target, Newton's aircraft was seen to burst into flames. Attempting to keep his aircraft aloft as long as possible to get his crew away from enemy lines, he was able to ditch the Boston in the sea approximately 1,000 yards (910 m) offshore.[1][2]

The Boston's navigator, Sergeant Basil Eastwood, was killed in the landing but Newton and his wireless operator, Flight Sergeant John Lyon, survived and swam for shore.[7] They were soon captured, however, by a Japanese patrol of No. 5 Special Naval Landing Force.[6] The two airmen were taken back to Salamaua and interrogated until 20 March, before being moved to Lae where Lyon was bayoneted to death on the orders of Rear Admiral Fujita, the senior Japanese commander in the area.[7][10] Newton was later returned to Salamaua where, on 29 March 1943, he was beheaded with a Samurai sword by the naval sub-lieutenant who had captured him.[1][8] Newton's executioner was killed in the Philippines soon after, and Fujita committed suicide at the end of the war.[5]

Revelations and reactions

It was initially believed that Newton had failed to escape from the Boston after it ditched into the sea, and he was posted as missing.[1] The details of his capture and execution were only revealed later that year in a diary found on a Japanese soldier. Newton was not specifically named, but circumstantial evidence clearly identified him, as the diary entry recorded the beheading of an Australian Flight Lieutenant who had been shot down by anti-aircraft fire on 18 March while flying a Douglas aircraft.[4] The Japanese observer described the prisoner as "composed" in the face of his impending execution, and "unshaken to the last".[8]

General Headquarters South West Pacific Area, however, while releasing details of the execution on 5 October, initially refused to name Newton. Aside from the lack of absolute certainty, Air Vice Marshal Bill Bostock, Air Officer Commanding RAAF Command, contended that identification would change the impact of the news upon Newton's fellow No. 22 Squadron members "from the impersonal to the closely personal" and hence "seriously affect morale".[4] News of the atrocity provoked shock in Australia.[8] To alleviate anxiety among the families of other missing airmen, the Federal government announced on 12 October that the relatives of the slain man had been informed of his death.[4]

Victoria Cross

Newton was awarded the Victoria Cross on 19 October 1943 for his actions on 16–18 March, becoming the only Australian airman to earn the decoration in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II, and the only one while flying with an RAAF squadron.[5][8] The citation, which incorrectly implied that he was shot down on 17 March rather than 18 March, and as having failed to escape from his sinking aircraft,[5] read:

Newton c. 1942–43

Air Ministry, 19th October, 1943.

The KING has been graciously pleased, on the advice of Australian Ministers, to confer the VICTORIA CROSS on the undermentioned officer in recognition of most conspicuous bravery: —

Flight Lieutenant William Ellis NEWTON (Aus. 748), Royal Australian Air Force, No. 22 (R.A.A.F.) Squadron (missing).

Flight Lieutenant Newton served with No. 22 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, in New Guinea from May, 1942, to March, 1943, and completed 52 operational sorties.

Throughout, he displayed great courage and an iron determination to inflict the utmost damage on the enemy. His splendid offensive flying and fighting were attended with brilliant success. Disdaining evasive tactics when under the heaviest fire, he always went straight to his objectives. He carried out many daring machine-gun attacks on enemy positions involving low-flying over long distances in the face of continuous fire at point-blank range.

On three occasions, he dived through intense anti-aircraft fire to release his bombs on important targets on the Salamaua Isthmus. On one of these occasions, his starboard engine failed over the target, but he succeeded in flying back to an airfield 160 miles away. When leading an attack on an objective on 16th March, 1943, he dived through intense and accurate shell fire and his aircraft was hit repeatedly. Nevertheless, he held to his course and bombed his target from a low level. The attack resulted in the destruction of many buildings and dumps, including two 40,000-gallon fuel installations. Although his aircraft was crippled, with fuselage and wing sections torn, petrol tanks pierced, main-planes and engines seriously damaged, and one of the main tyres flat, Flight Lieutenant Newton managed to fly it back to base and make a successful landing.

Despite this harassing experience, he returned next day to the same locality. His target, this time a single building, was even more difficult but he again attacked with his usual courage and resolution, flying a steady course through a barrage of fire. He scored a hit on the building but at the same moment his aircraft burst into flames.

Flight Lieutenant Newton maintained control and calmly turned his aircraft away and flew along the shore. He saw it as his duty to keep the aircraft in the air as long as he could so as to take his crew as far away as possible from the enemy's positions. With great skill, he brought his blazing aircraft down on the water. Two members of the crew were able to extricate themselves and were seen swimming to the shore, but the gallant pilot is missing. According to other air crews who witnessed the occurrence, his escape-hatch was not opened and his dinghy was not inflated. Without regard to his own safety, he had done all that man could do to prevent his crew from falling into enemy hands.

Flight Lieutenant Newton's many examples of conspicuous bravery have rarely been equalled and will serve as a shining inspiration to all who follow him.[11]

Legacy

Newton's medals on display at the Australian War Memorial

Buried initially in an unmarked grave in Salamaua, Newton's body was recovered and re-interred in Lae War Cemetery after Salamaua's capture by Allied troops in September 1943.[10][12] In early 1944, the recently-constructed No. 4 Airfield in Nadzab was renamed Newton Field in his honour.[13] For many years, the story of Newton's death was intertwined with that of Australian commando Sergeant Len Siffleet, who had also been captured in New Guinea. A famous photograph showing Siffleet about to be executed with a Samurai sword was discovered by American troops in April 1944 and was thought to have depicted Newton in Salamaua. However, no photograph of the airman's execution is known to exist.[14]

Newton's mother Minnie was presented with her son's Victoria Cross by the Governor-General, the Duke of Gloucester, on 30 November 1945. She donated it to the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, where it remains on display with his other medals.[10][15] He is also commemorated on Canberra's Remembrance Driveway.[12]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Macklin, Bravest, pp.195–197
  2. ^ a b c d e Stephens, Australian Dictionary of Biography, pp.470–471
  3. ^ a b Stephens & Isaacs, High Fliers, pp.88–90
  4. ^ a b c d Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force 1939–1942, p.699
  5. ^ a b c d e f Staunton, Victoria Cross, pp.253–255
  6. ^ a b c Flight Lieutenant William Ellis Newton, VC: Timeline at Australian War Memorial. Retrieved on 27 February 2009.
  7. ^ a b c d e Wilson, The Brotherhood of Airmen, pp.125–127
  8. ^ a b c d e Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp.164–167
  9. ^ A brave and determined man at Air Force News, Vol. 45, No. 3. Retrieved on 27 February 2009.
  10. ^ a b c Wigmore et al, They Dared Mightily, pp.163–164
  11. ^ "No. 36215". The London Gazette (invalid |supp= (help)). 15 October 1943.
  12. ^ a b William Ellis Newton VC at Remembrance Driveway. Retrieved on 27 February 2009.
  13. ^ Odgers, Air War Against Japan, p.186
  14. ^ Flight Lieutenant William Ellis Newton, VC at Australian War Memorial. Retrieved on 27 February 2009.
  15. ^ Victoria Crosses at the Memorial at Australian War Memorial. Retrieved on 27 February 2009.

References

Further reading

  • Weate, Mark (1999). Bill Newton VC: The Short Life of a RAAF Hero. Loftus, NSW: Australian Military History Publications.
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