Roy Newcombe

Story

Reason for leaving homeland: Perhaps, at age 20, to escape strict parents and a household of older brothers in a tiny house, his mundane job with the Great Western Railway and dream of finding excitement and a new life at the other side of the world.

About the Journey: A photograph of him sitting on a banister of the ship shows a handsome, cavalier, Errol Flynn lookalike, full of fun and hope.

Impressions on Arrival: He eventually moved to Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, living alone, and when my mother met him. He didn’t know how to wash or iron clothes and threw away his shirts, buying new ones when needed!

From South Wales to New South Wales

My Father, Roy Newcombe came from Bedlinog, a small town in the north-east of Mid Glamorgan, high up in the Taff-Bargoed Valley in South Wales. He was born as 10:30am on 1 September 1905 at his parents’ home, Station House, very close to the railway tracks. His twin brother Lionel was born 15 minutes later. Their father, James Henry Newcombe was the Station Master; their Mother Elizabeth Ann nee Hobby.

Photos of Henry and Elizabeth show them to be quite serious people and I am always impressed when I see a photo of middle-aged Elizabeth and her perfect posture. Elizabeth would have had to have been the most organised of wives and mothers – she bore six sons and two daughters, three sets of twins among them. Sadly the only girls (twins) died when infants. As a widow, she travelled to Sydney in 1937, at the age of 70, and I treasure the photograph of my father with her and my mother and two sisters, before I was born. It would have been quite a reunion of mother and son after 10 years apart.

His school report tells us that Roy was “honest, trustworthy and of excellent behaviour”. Later he continued the family tradition working with the Great Western Railway. His father, as mentioned, rose to become a Station Master and his grandfather was a Railway Policeman. Roy became a Railway Assist/Number-Taker but at the age of 20, two years before his father died, he left his village and travelled to London to embark on the adventure of his lifetime, sailing to Sydney on the SS Benalla.

On learning this, I kept wondering – why did he leave his parents and brothers? Was he unhappy at the prospect of years working in a mundane clerical position? Did he just want more from life and to see what it was like on the other side of the world? We may never know but it is possibly a mix of both.

Roy married my mother, Thursa Evelyn nee Cohen, in Sydney in 1928. After a long and happy marriage Roy died in Sydney, NSW, on 6 October 1966.

Much later he was the one who started me on what was to become a long quest to learn about my family history which has given, and continues to give me and my family, untold enjoyment. I submit this story from my sisters, family and me as a tribute to Roy Newcombe and know that my mother would be smiling down on us with love and pride. We are very happy he made the journey!

Written by Elizabeth Kerry Newcombe

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