Scottie seated front row, second from the left.
November 1951 - Selarang Barracks, Singapore
The family archives
A curated collection preserving generations of memories, shared stories, and historical moments in a comprehensive gallery. Use this page's drop down menu to select individual galleries or click on the image within your selection from the list below.
Wyn's parents - Frederic William Hewitt, Kt MVO MA MD Cantab and Emmie Elizabeth Clare (she called herself Eve after she married).
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Fred was part of the core medical team summoned as a matter of urgency on 24 June 1902 to operate on King Edward VII who was suffering from an appendix abscess just as he was due to crowned. Fred's first hand account gives unique insight into how the day panned out. Very successfully of course!
Wyn's uncles, aunts and cousins made a good go of it and they were an interesting and amusing bunch.
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Fred and his brothers' maternal grandfather, Thomas Day started manufacturing animal medicines in Wantage, Oxfordshire, launching the first ever known equine tonic ‘Black Drink’ at a price of 10/- for half a dozen bottles. His three brothers took over the family firm and It's still going strong today.
The oldest of Fred and Eve's three children. She was spirited and clever, and as someone who always liked to make a statement, she tinted her hair an extraordinary shade of blue in her later years, wearing matching sequins when she thought an occasion warranted dressing up.Â
Fred and Eve's middle child, she inherited her father’s gentle self-effacing nature but also his sense of spirited fun. She fully admitted to being a tad naughty!
Wyn's early years at home, then school life at Woodcote House, Cheam School, Eton followed by two years as a cadet at Woolwich with the Gunners.
Fred was utterly delighted to embark on parenthood and he started a journal called The Visitors’ Book in which he religiously recorded his growing family’s progress, adding drawings, photos and cuttings reflecting their lives and times over the next 14 years.
The gentleman's residence in Peppard near Henley that Fred bought originally as a country getaway but which then became the family's main home until his untimely death in 1916 when Eve sold it to a friend.
Evelyn's tall, blonde and handsome WW1 veteran husband who was injured in the Battle of El-Hanna. Freddy was an excellent sportsman and magician. Not so much as a businessman.
Wyn's decision to emigrate to Australia aged 22 to escape his mother and an unrequited love changed his life completely.
Wyn's opportune introduction to Smithy and Charlie Ulm secured him the position of Chief Engineer at their fledgling company Australian National Airways in 1930. And boy, what death-defying adventures they had!
After all the adventures with Smithy and Charlie, Wyn decided to move on when the commercial future of ANA was looking very uncertain. He joined IAL as Chief Operations Officer in charge of the fleet's engineering maintenance based out of Croydon initially and then Cairo.
Wyn's love of cars started when he learned to drive his father's new Daimler TB22 Drophead when he was 8 years old. He owned 66 cars and plenty of motorbikes in his lifetime, and shared a passion for all things petrol with friends such as Jack, Clifford, Mervyn and Struan.
Wyn had a huge respect for his two nephews John and Freddie (Sybil's sons) and really enjoyed their company. Scottie progressed well in the Cameronians and spent time in Burma during WW2 then Hong Kong later.
Wyn had a huge respect for his two nephews Freddie and John (Sybil's sons) and really enjoyed their company. Freddie really showed his mettle whilst serving with the 2nd Ox & Bucks in Operation Mallard on D-Day during the Normandy campaign, earning a Military Cross for his bravery.
Having been introduced by her close friend Hazel Drewett, Isobel married Wyn in April 1935 while he was working at IAL. They had a daughter, Judy on 30 December 1930 at which pint Wyn abandoned them both stating he'd always said 'NO children'.
Judy was born on 30 December 1930 at which point Wyn abandoned both daughter and wife. She turned out to be a real chip off the old Dad block, sharing considerable intellect and passion for cars and planes, which Wyn joyfully discovered as they developed a father/daughter 'lite' relationship later in life.
Nigel, Evelyn and Freddy's oldest child, was taken under Wyn's wing when his Dad died young, and mentored to become his business successor. They had a shared passion and skill for engineering. He married Sylvia Harwood who shared her adoptive sister Christine with Wyn (they spent a very happy seven years together).
Sylvia's younger adopted sister Mavis Christine (alongside brother Robert) had a lovely childhood with Fanny and Leonard Harwood. Christine's lithe, blonde and blue-eyed look was loved by the camera (she modelled internationally) as much as by Wyn when they were introduced by his friend Struan Robertson. They spent a very happy seven years together despite the considerable age difference.
Whilst at IAL Wyn needed an assistant and John (Jack) Searle Drewett, a De Havilland apprentice, replied to his ad. He was charming and energetic and they laughed from the off. They worked and played together in some capacity or other from the day they met with the exception of a short period during WW2. Always a man of extremes, Jack was lost to family and friends too young.
Wyn was a canny businessman and built up a nice little stable of engineering businesses, starting with Wyndham Hewitt Ltd. It was Chalwyn that became the backbone of his legacy, taken over by Nigel and then Freddy Page-Roberts, and it's still going strong today.
Wyn had always had a love for France, living in Paris, then Cagnes-sur-Mer, Cabris and finally Mougins where he ended his days. Fine weather, fine food, fine wine, fine women... what wasn't to like?
At Eton, Wyn formed close lifelong friendships with Dick Parry-Okeden and Gordy Wentworth, both of whom would serve him well later when he went to Australia. Other great friends included Clifford Taylor (a luxury car dealer who ended up working with him), Magnus Geddes with whom he set up Wyndham Hewitt Ltd, Monty Lyons (an SOE veteran) and Struan Robertson (they shared a flat before the war) who introduced him to Christine.
The wider Hewitt family and circle of friends often got into all sorts of scrapes and scandals. Wyn had plenty of adventures (usually involving something quite delicious) and there are many great stories to tell.
Miscellaneous family bits'n'bobs that need to be kept somewhere for posterity!
