Ray Newman Death, Obituary – On the occasion of Squadron Leader Ray Newman’s passing away on January 3, 2019, our sincerest condolences go out to all of his friends and family members in the Royal Air Force (Retired). It is with a heavy heart that we have to break the news to you that he has passed away, but we are obligated to do so. In September of 1965, he took over for Don Exley as the Air Electronics Officer of the Squadron, a position that he remained in until October of 1968, when he was relieved by another officer. He served in this capacity until his retirement.
In recognition of the crew of the Ray’s achievement of coming in second place in the communications category in 1967, the Bomber Command Individual Navigational Medal was awarded to the crew. This accolade was bestowed upon the crew as recognition for their outstanding achievement in the contest. Additionally, the squad was able to properly deploy the one and only live Blue Steel that the Squad had. This was a major accomplishment for the team. This was an extremely significant achievement.
Ray had been stationed on Christmas Island as part of Operation Grapple during the years 1957 and 1958, which were the years in which the United Kingdom carried out its first H-bomb tests. These were also the years in which Ray had been stationed on Christmas Island. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland exercised governance over the island during this time period. Experiments like this were a necessary component of the pathway that led humanity into the atomic age. After a predetermined length of time had passed, Ray was sent to a different unit that was responsible for intelligence and electronic warfare.
Reunions were something that Ray and the other members of his crew made it a point to show up for on a more or less continuous basis, and it was something that they all looked forward to (Don Exley, Ed Carter, Dave Moore). They were a part of the very first batch of students to enroll in the Vulcan training program that had been formed by the Association, and they were among the very first students to sign up for that program.