TWO brothers, who served in the SAS, inspired a generation yesterday as they joined pupils at a North-East school in paying tribute to those who fell in conflict including their younger sibling.
The Education Village, Darlington, played host for the first time to retired SAS officer Peter Newton and his medic brother David at a poignant parade and wreath laying ceremony for Armistice Day.
They stood in respectful contemplation for the two minutes’ silence before wreathes were laid by army and air force cadets at a plaque commemorating former Haughton school boy John Newton.
The SAS corporal died alongside 20 comrades during the Falklands Campaign aged just 22. His unit had been ‘cross-decking’ in a Sea King helicopter from HMS Hermes to the troop carrier Intrepid when it crashed into the South Atlantic. Official reports blamed the crash on a large seabird being sucked into the engine air-intake.
Shortly after a plaque was hung on the wall of the old Haughton School. Today it takes pride of place in the main thoroughfare of the Education Village, which is home to Haughton, Springfield and Beaumont Hill academies.
Every year pupils pay tribute to those who died as a result of conflict but for the first time this year Cpl Newton’s family attended the service and parade, organised by acting head of year Adele Norris.
Peter Newton said: “We didn’t realise that the school marked John’s death every year. We were very impressed that his old school hung a plaque so quickly after he died and it is great to see it there on the walls of the Education Village.”
David Newton added: “It is good that the younger generations remember and appreciate what has gone on in the past.”
EVAT Chief Executive Mike Butler said: “We were so pleased that the Newtons could join us for our parade, a ceremony upon which we place a great deal of emphasis. It is crucial that none of us ever forgets the sacrifices made by John and so many others in the service of this country.”
For Cadet Corporal Ellie Armstrong the event was both moving and inspirational. “It is incredible to think that three brothers from Darlington all served in our country’s most elite regiment and this has left me truly inspired,” she said.