[2] In October 1939 he was sent to France to serve in World War II as a private in the Royal Army Medical Corps.

Newby was released from military service in December 1942, and then taught English Literature at King Fouad University in Cairo until 1946.

[4] In 1947, John Lehmann published Newby's boys' adventure story "The Spirit of Jem" with 41-line drawings and a colour dust wrap by Keith Vaughan.

In 1972, Newby was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his work as managing director of BBC Radio.

[4] In his obituary author, friend and colleague Anthony Thwaite states: "P. H. Newby was one of the best English novelists of the second half of the century.