C.+D.+Newland

Newland, Cecil Dunbar

Cecil Dunbar Newland was born in County Dublin in 1892, the son of Frank Herbert Finucane and Margart Newland, later of Himorton Manor, Rugby. . It seems that his father had died certainly before he was 8 and possibly even before he was born. Cecil lived with his mother, Emma Newland, in his grandfather’s house in Dublin. Following boarding school in Dublin, he joined the Trinity College Dublin OTC and was therefore a prime candidate to enlist as a lieutenant in the 3rd Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Cecil was posted to the Expeditionary Force and he was severely wounded at Ypres on 9 May, 1915. He sustained 28 shrapnel wounds on his legs and back, with two pieces passing straight through his left leg. Eventually he was allowed home leave when he came to Mackworth House – now the Mackworth Hotel. We do not know why he came here. But we have a good idea that a young lady was involved. In May 1916, Cecil married Mabel Harrison here in All Saints church. Mabel was niece to Hollis Briggs, a solicitor who lived in Mackworth House. Later that year, Cecil was posted to Salonika where he contracted malaria. After being transferred to the Gurkhas, Cecil probably served in Afghanistan. He was a captain in the 1st King Georges Own Gurka Rifles, (The Malaun Regiment). He died on the 9th July 1920 from sickness contracted on the North West Frontier of India, and was buried in All Saints Churchyard.


 * Back to Memorial **