Killed in action on 20th March 1917 in the area of the Somme in France and commemorated on Villers-Bretonneux Memorial. When he signed up in 1915 it shows he had previously been in the Australian Army for 5 years as Corporal in the light Horse. It appears he was made Lieutenant when he re-enlisted in the Australian Infantry. His mother Isabella was shown as his next of kin. Isabella (Nee McLean) was the second wife of Matthew Haggar and they were married in 1889 in Victoria, Australia. Matthew was born 1840 in Richmond, Surrey, England and previously married in 1860 Lambeth, Surrey, England and died in Australia in 1911.

Eric Newman is shown in the Electoral Rolls for Victoria, Australia from 1914 to 1917 and his profession was shown a Timber Hewer. He was born in Victoria in 1892.

We can trace Eric Newman’s ancestry back to Hannah Haggar and Thomas Boarum who had a son George Haggar baptised in 1795 at Shephall a parish near Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. Hannah was Eric’s Great Grandmother.