This Is Your Life: Eric Newby

Eric NEWBY (1919-2006)

THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Eric Newby, travel writer, was surprised by Eamonn Andrews - on his birthday - as he arrived at the New London Theatre, having been led to believe he was there to see a different show.

Eric, who was born in London, began his working life in an advertising agency before undertaking an apprenticeship aboard the Finnish windjammer Moshulu, on the "grain race" from Australia to Europe. During the Second World War, while serving with the Black Watch and the Special Boat Service, Eric was awarded a Military Cross for an operation off the coast of Sicily in August 1942, during which he was captured and interned as a prisoner-of-war in the Italian city of Chieti.

Having escaped after the Italian Armistice, Eric hid in the Apennine countryside, assisted by a woman he later married. After the war, he worked intermittently in the women's fashion industry while undertaking various expeditions, including a climb of Mir Samir in Afghanistan. While working as the travel editor for The Observer newspaper from 1964 to 1973, he also published several books recounting his wartime experiences and travel adventures.

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