Group Captain Maurice Ashdown Newnham OBE, DFC (31 August 1897 – October 1974) was a World War I flying ace credited with 18 aerial victories.
[2] He sold off the motorcycle division and turned the company from producing sports cars to building nondescript family sedans.
[3] The Bombing of Coventry destroyed the motorcycle plant and damaged the automobile factory seriously enough to shut down production.
[6][7] After a spell of administrative duties, he was promoted to flight lieutenant in 1942 and established and ran the British Parachute Training School, a feat he recorded in his book, Prelude to Glory.
Newnham was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) (Military Division), in the 1944 Birthday Honours list.
On the night of 23–24 September Lt. Newnham carried out a very successful long distance raid on an enemy aerodrome.
Undeterred by this, he succeeded, and effectively bombed the aerodrome, obtaining two direct hits on a large Zeppelin shed.