About the Hewitts

Frederic Wyndham Freke Hewitt, or Wyn as those with sufficient closeness called him, threw himself into the world on 8 September 1901, and was lucky in so many respects. His father was a clever, kind man who changed the world of anaesthetics forever for which he was handsomely paid so Wyn lived in nice houses with his two adoring older sisters, pets and household staff, all of whom spoiled him rotten. His mother was incredibly beautiful but alas, it truly was only skin deep. She had little maternal instinct and offered scant love or warmth which made losing his beloved father to cancer when he was 15 and at Eton during WW1 even harder.

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Despite the loss, and whether it was to spite or in spite of his cold social climbing mother, Wyn still had considerable drive and joie de vivre. He was clever, a natural engineer, very sporty, and made friends easily. He also had a raging libido which got him into trouble from the day he discovered ‘what it was all about’.

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Putting 10,000 miles between him and the venomous old harridan, his first unrequited love and a spontaneous rebound secret marriage, he boarded a boat on his own to Australia. He was just 22 years of age. There followed two years of sweat and toil as a Jackeroo, an amusing life in Sydney and the second of his four marriages, and a fortuitous introduction to the celebrity flying ace Smithy (Sir Charles Kingsford Smith) who he joined at the fledgling Australian National Airways as Chief Engineer. After a series of hair-raising aviation feats and near-death experiences he moved back to blighty and safer work, transitioning his love of risk to business building and doing deals.

 

After a third marriage resulted in yet another divorce when a daughter unexpectedly arrived, he rode out WW2 very happily running a farm near Romsey and his nearby companies. He only realised what true happiness was when he met a lithe, twenty year old catwalk model who fell for his charm and the real man behind it. The late 40s/early 50s and Wyn’s riches were spent on a boat, living in Paris and rallying fast cars around Europe. He won and lost races, he lost his best friend to suicide, and after seven years of bliss, he also lost the girl when the natural biological order of things kicked in; she wanted children and he didn't. They split amicably which was fortunate since the model was his favourite nephew and heir’s sister-in-law.

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During his final quarter century and having met Judy for the first time in 1950, his burgeoning father/daughter relationship ‘lite’ was sabotaged by a wave of gallic jealousy from his very young fourth wife (another former mannequin) who towered over him and their life together amongst the rich and famous (Picasso was an acquaintance) in Mougins on the Cote d’Azur. Relations did improve and in the end, there was a very pleasant winding down with family and friends under a shady grove of olive trees. It was a Wednesday, the 29th March 1995 and Wyn was half way through his 93rd year when he died.

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