At the 22nd of October meeting of the Lodge of Seafarers, the Brethren stood and paid their respects to departed merit W/Bro Robert (Bob) Arthur Newton. Bob crossed the bar to ascend to the Grand Lodge above.
The Eulogy – Read by W/Bro Ivan Vine.
Robert Arthur Newton, a very proud Welshman, came into the world on the 15th of June 1943. Robert, known affectionately by the family as “Big Bob”, became the man of the house at the age of 12 when he was informed on Christmas morning that his father, Ken, had been killed by a drunk driver. Bob had passed his eleven-plus and attained a place at Caerphilly Boys Grammar School. He was always incredibly bright and would have been an asset to any University, but instead of applying, he chose to stay home and support his Nan and Uncle Phillip, so took a job with British Steel. As a 16-year-old wages clerk, he would be sent off to the bank in a taxi with a briefcase in hand.
To make sure he had enough money to support his Mam and younger brother, Bob signed up for the Territorial Army as part of the Military Police and was extremely proud that he was the youngest Sargent in the Mess. He was also very proud to serve with hundreds of rescuers at the Aberfan disaster. Bob was offered a full-time commission with the Military Police but didn’t feel that leaving his Mam and brother alone was the right thing to do.
Bob was very dapper in his day. He loved his music, and on a Saturday night out in 1965, he met Hilary at the Top Rank in Cardiff through his friend Malcolm. Sometime later, Bob proposed to Hilary, and they got engaged on Hilary’s 19th Birthday. They were married on 23rd of November 1968 at St Alban’s church in Splott, with the rugby boys hanging over the church wall with his kit in hand trying to temp him into a game.
Their first home was a flat in Splott before moving to Churchill Park in Caerphilly, where daughter Kath arrived in 1973, with son Matt following in 1975.
Bob continued to work for British Steel and became a Telecommunication Manager on a 24-hour call-out contract for (British Steel UK Wide) It would be nothing for the landline to be ringing at 3 am (no mobile phones in those days) with someone reporting a fault and Bob having to jump out of bed and race to Newport. He was also required to manage the Christmas shutdown, which meant he was always missing on Christmas Eve.
In 1995, the family suffered a near-fatal car crash, when their car was hit by joy riders in Barry. Hilary, brother Keith and sister-in-law Lyn all sustained incredibly nasty injuries, but Bob’s injuries were the most horrific. The staff at Cardiff Royal Infirmary worked incredibly hard to put him back together.
Bob and Hilary both returned to work after their recovery from the accident, with Bob struggling on until he was 60, as he was determined not to be beaten.
Between 2010 – 2014 he saw the birth of his three grandchildren, William, Evie and Elin.
Bob became a Freemason in 1997, being Initiated into Kingswood Chase Lodge in December of that year and became the WM in 2011. Bob thoroughly enjoyed his Masonry, especially visiting the Lodge of Seafarers and attending their social events, so much so that he became a joining member in October 2012. Several years later, he joined Dadycoed Lodge in his hometown of Caerphilly which he attended until his health started to fail.
2022 has been an incredibly hard year for Hilary and the family. They saw Bob’s health decline, yet they had to almost bully him into seeing the Doctor. After many tests and scans, it was finally revealed that there was a problem with his heart, and he was admitted to The Grange to await heart surgery. Within 24 hours, it became clear that Bob had been hiding from everyone just how poorly he was. He slipped away just three days after being admitted to the hospital, surrounded by his family. Bob was a larger-than-life character and a real presence. He has left a huge hole in the lives of his family and will be greatly missed by everyone who knew him.