Newton-Thompson was born in London to lawyer Cyril Newton-Thompson and his wife Joyce, who later became the first female mayor of Cape Town. He however grew up in South Africa, where he attended Diocesan College and then the University of Cape Town.
University of Cape Town. Diocesan College.
He played international rugby union for England and was also a first-class cricketer. In 1940 he returned to England after receiving a Rhodes Scholarship for Trinity College, Oxford. His studies at Oxford were interrupted by, where he served with the South African Air Force.
He was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross after fighting with a Spitfire Squadron in Italy.
In 1946, Newton-Thompson appeared in seven first-class matches for the Oxford University Cricket Club as a right handed middle order batsman. He could only score 171 runs from 14 innings and went wicket-less from his 24 overs of right-arm slow bowling.
He also played rugby union for Oxford University as a scrum-half and was the team"s captain in 1946. England selected Newton-Thompson in two Tests during their 1947 Five Nations Championship campaign, which saw them share the title with Wales.
Newton-Thompson played two further first-class cricket matches after returning to South Africa.
He scored 78 in his debut innings for Western Province against the Marylebone Cricket Club in Cape Town, his only half century at that level Four of the Master Control Console"s bowlers were Test cricketers, including a young Alec Bedser, who dismissed him in both innings. He was then picked in a Cape Province representative team which played the Master Control Console a week later but he couldn"t repeat his previous effort and scored 0 and 28.
A lawyer, he ran successfully in 1961 for a seat in South African parliament, as the United Party candidate for Pinelands.
He re-contested his seat in the 1974 general election and was campaigning in South-West Africa when he was killed in an air crash.
From 1961 until his death in 1974, Newton-Thompson was a member of South African parliament.
