P.C.B. Newington

Born| (1888-07-10)10 July 1888

Bedfordshire, England

Died| 15 May 1964(1964-05-15) (aged 75)

Ipoh, Malaysia

Education| Bedford Modern School

Philip Campbell Beatson Newington (1888–1964) was the author of a cookery book celebrating Malaysian food, something he conceived while starving as a prisoner of war at the Sime Road Camp in Singapore between 1942 and 1945.[1][2] During his incarceration, Newington founded a Gourmet Club, Good Food, for him and his fellow prisoners; the Club celebrated, in precise detail, cooking and eating imaginary meals.[3][4] A book of his experience and the recipes remembered and created, Good Food, was published in 1947.[5] Always curious of the culture of his adopted home he was, before and after World War II, a contributor to journals on his experiences of local customs.[6][7][8]

## Life[edit]

Newington was baptised on 10 July 1888,[9] the son of Charles Douglas Godfrey Newington and his wife, Frances Maria Newington.[9] He was educated at Bedford Modern School.[10]

Newington began his career in the Sarawak Service, becoming District officer amongst the Melanau at Mukah.[11][12][13] He was curious about local culture and was a contributor to many journals during his time as an expatriate.[14][15][16]

Newington later became a plantation owner in Sarawak[1] and was a prisoner of war in Singapore between 1942 and 1945.[2] He was initially interned at the Changi Prison[17] where he witnessed the so-called Double Tenth incident and kept a notebook of his experience.[18] After Changi he was transferred to the Sime Road Camp where he founded a gourmet club, Good Food, which celebrated cooking and eating imaginary meals.[19] In her book, Wartime Kitchen, Hong Suen Wong explained that "revelling in the finer details of food and dining in a systematic way ... became a way for the prisoners to relieve their hunger and to sustain them psychologically".[19] A book of Newington's experience in the prison of war camp, Good Food, was published in 1947.[5]

In 1919 Newington married Valerie Murray Henderson.[20] He was a prominent Rotarian[21] and died in Ipoh on 15 May 1964.[10]

## Selected work[edit]

* Good Food. Published by Charles Grenier, Ipoh, Malaysia[5][22]
* Melanau Memories. Published by Sarawak Museum Journal, 1961[6][7][8][23]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b "Malaysia". 1961. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
2. ^ a b Wong, Hong Suen (2009). Wartime Kitchen. ISBN 9789814217583. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
3. ^ Leong-Salobir, Cecilia (3 May 2011). Food Culture in Colonial Asia. ISBN 9781136726545. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
4. ^ "Private Papers P C B Newington (Documents.7620)". Imperial War Museums. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
5. ^ a b c Good food. worldcat.org. OCLC 6499379.
6. ^ a b "The Sarawak Museum Journal". Sarawak Museum. 1988. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
7. ^ a b "Proceedings of the ... International Symposium on Asian Studies". 1981. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
8. ^ a b "The Sarawak Museum Journal". 1961. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
9. ^ a b "Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History Records at Ancestry.co.uk". ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
10. ^ a b "Malaysia". 1964. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
11. ^ "Janus: Archives of the British Association of Malaysia and Singapore". University of Cambridge. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
12. ^ Colonial Office, Great Britain (1914). "The Colonial Office List for ..." Retrieved 13 November 2015.
13. ^ "Malaysia". 1964. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
14. ^ Metcalf, Peter (1991). A Borneo Journey into Death. ISBN 9789839629903. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
15. ^ "The Sarawak Museum Journal". 1988. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
16. ^ Appleton, Ann L. (2006). Acts of Integration, Expressions of Faith. ISBN 9781929900060. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
17. ^ "Good food (11 / 1298)". Imperial War Museums. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
18. ^ "Private Papers P C B Newington (Documents.7620)". Imperial War Museums. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
19. ^ a b Wong, Hong Suen (2009). Wartime Kitchen. ISBN 9789814217583. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
20. ^ http://www.pustaka-sarawak.com/gazette/gazette_uploaded/1370831200.pdf
21. ^ Morais, John Victor (1982). "Witness to history". Retrieved 13 November 2015.
22. ^ Newington, P. C. B. (1947). "Good Food". Retrieved 13 November 2015.
23. ^ Brunei, Muzium (1969). "Brunei Museum Journal". Retrieved 13 November 2015.