| P.C.B. Newington | |
| Birth Date: | 1888 7, df=y |
| Birth Place: | Bedfordshire, England |
| Death Place: | Ipoh, Malaysia |
| Education: | Bedford Modern School |
Philip Campbell Beatson Newington (1888–1964) was the author of a cookery book celebrating Malaysian food, something he conceived while starving as a prisoner of war at the Sime Road Camp in Singapore between 1942 and 1945.[1] [2] During his incarceration, Newington founded a Gourmet Club, Good Food, for him and his fellow prisoners; the club celebrated, in precise detail, cooking and eating imaginary meals.[3] [4] A book of his experience and the recipes remembered and created, Good Food, was published in 1947.[5] Always curious of the culture of his adopted home he was, before and after World War II, a contributor to journals on his experiences of local customs.[6] [7] [8]
Newington was baptised on 10 July 1888,[9] the son of Charles Douglas Godfrey Newington and his wife, Frances Maria Newington.[9] He was educated at Bedford Modern School.[10]
Newington began his career in the Sarawak Service, becoming District officer amongst the Melanau at Mukah.[11] [12] [13] He was curious about local culture and was a contributor to many journals during his time as an expatriate.[14] [15] [16]
Newington later became a plantation owner in Sarawak[1] and was a prisoner of war in Singapore between 1942 and 1945.[2] He was initially interned at the Changi Prison[17] where he witnessed the so-called Double Tenth incident and kept a notebook of his experience.[18] After Changi he was transferred to the Sime Road Camp where he founded a gourmet club, Good Food, which celebrated cooking and eating imaginary meals.[19] In her book, Wartime Kitchen, Hong Suen Wong explained that "revelling in the finer details of food and dining in a systematic way... became a way for the prisoners to relieve their hunger and to sustain them psychologically".[19] A book of Newington's experience in the prison of war camp, Good Food, was published in 1947.[5]
In 1919 Newington married Valerie Murray Henderson.[20] He was a prominent Rotarian[21] and died in Ipoh on 15 May 1964.[10]