John Verdun Newton

John Verdun Newton
Jack Newton in London, December 1943
Member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
for Greenough
In office
20 November 1943 – 14 January 1944
Preceded byWilliam Patrick
Succeeded byDavid Brand
Personal details
Born(1916-04-12)12 April 1916[1]
Dongara, Western Australia
Died14 January 1944(1944-01-14) (aged 27)[1][2]
Warmeloh, Germany
Cause of deathKilled in action
Political partyLabor Party
Military service
AllegianceAustralia
Branch/serviceRoyal Australian Air Force
Years of service1941–1944
RankFlight Lieutenant
Battles/warsSecond World War
Service no.415270

John Verdun Newton (12 April 1916 – 14 January 1944) was an Australian politician and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) officer. While serving with the RAAF in Europe during the Second World War, Newton was elected to the Parliament of Western Australia for the seat of Greenough at the 1943 state election, but was killed in action 55 days later.[1][3]

While many other members of Australian parliaments (MPs) have simultaneously served in wars, Newton's tenure was unusual because he was: both preselected and elected while he was overseas;[3][4] one of only a few serving members of Australian parliaments to fly on combat operations;[n 1][5] neither sworn in, nor able to sit in parliament, and[1][6] killed in action while he was an MP.

  1. ^ a b c d World War Two Nominal Roll, 2002, Newton, John Verdun (2 November 2014).
  2. ^ Aviation Research Neustadt, 2013?, Crashed allied a/c in Braunschweig (2 November 2014).
  3. ^ a b The West Australian, 8 November 1943, p. 2.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference record was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Government of Australia, 1943 UK0837. (Photograph of John Verdun Newton.) (2 November 2014).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference parliament was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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