David George Newton was born in Hemel Hempstead on Wednesday, 24th February 1886 and baptised on Thursday, 6th May at St Mary’s Church in the same year. He was the sixth son and child of Henry Newton and Emily South who had a large family of eleven children together. The children were: Henry, Walter, Alfred, Bertie, Arthur, Rose, Horace, David, William, George and Charles. Arthur died in 1900 aged eighteen.

David grew up in Moor Cottages, popularly known as ‘Star’ Cottages, which were located on Blackbird’s Moor in Boxmoor. He started school at Boxmoor JMI in 1891 and left to join his father ‘Hawking’ just before Christmas 1898. ‘Hawking’ typically entailed selling goods door to door or in the street and this appears to have been Henry Newton’s lifelong occupation. Each of the boys joined their father after leaving school and before moving on to more secure jobs.

In 1907, David married Jane Saunders who hailed from Eaton Bray but who had come to work in Hemel Hempstead. They married in the summer and the newly weds moved into number 15 Moor Cottages a couple of doors away from David's parents. Their only child, a son named Dennis David, was born the following year. By 1911, David worked as a ‘Carter’ for R. R. Bradshaw who was listed in the local commercial directory as “coal, wood & coke merchant & general carrier”. Bradshaw was also a sales agent for the Anglo-American Oil Company (Esso today) out of Ebbern’s wharf at Frogmore End and by the time of his enlistment David was the local branch manager. Anglo-American had been supplying paraffin lamp oil and refined petroleum products to the UK since 1889 and by 1905 had gained a Royal Warrant for the supply of ‘Pratt’s Perfection Motor Spirit’. There were over 3,500 sales agents across the country by 1910 offering the company’s wares.

Following the passing of the second Military Service Act in May 1916, which extended liability for service to married men, David attested at Watford and enlisted with the Royal Sussex regiment in August. He went to Witley Camp in Aldershot to train and was sent to France in February 1917 to join the 13th Battalion.

The 13th (Service) Battalion (3rd South Down) was one of the original ‘Pals’ type battalions, and along with the 11th and 12th they were collectively referred to as “Lowther’s Lambs”, after the M.P. who raised them. On the 30th June 1916, all three Battalions went over the top in a diversionary attack at a position called the Boar’s Head, near Richebourg l’Avoue. In just under twenty-four hours, 1,100 casualties were incurred in a fruitless attack that had no effect on the enemy’s abilities to withstand next day’s assault on the Somme. In regimental history this is known as “The Day Sussex Died”.

By July 1917 the Battalion were in position close to Pilckem Ridge north of Ypres as it prepared to attack the enemy. When the assault began the 13th Battalion achieved its objectives fairly quickly and were able to hold and consolidate the captured ground. However, during the night of the 31st into the morning of the 1st August the Germans sent down a heavy bombardment on the captured positions and it was during this time that most of the Battalion casualties were incurred.

David was one of the unfortunate soldiers to fall and he died on Tuesday, 31st July 1917.

David is Remembered with Honour in Buffs Road Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium, where his name is engraved on a Special Memorial Cross at the back of the graveyard. The inscription on the memorial, requested by his mother Emily, reads: “THEIR GLORY SHALL NOT BE BLOTTED OUT”.

He was 31 years old when he died.

David was eligible for the British War Medal and the Allied Victory Medal.