Obituary: George Newman
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GEORGE NEWMAN, the Road Haulage Association's directorgeneral until his retirement in 1981, has died aged 66.
He was an Oxford graduate who served as a Major in the Royal Army Service Corps before being called to the Bar. He retired in 1954 to become fulltime legal adviser to a large commercial group, and in 1956 joined the secretariat of the International Electrical Association.
Mr Newman became the RHA's chief executive in August 1960 and retired in August 1981, when the present director-general, Freddie Plaskett, took over.
Although some found Mr Newman to be shy and introverted, his keen and analytical mind was respected by his colleagues, who appreciated his lucid style and ability to reconcile the conflicting interests of the component groups within the RHA.
He achieved national prominence in January 1979, when the RHA was plunged into the crisis of the national haulage drivers' strike, and Mr Newman became its principal spokesman on television. He was made an OBE in the 1980 New Year's Honours List.
Mr Newman's first wife, Olga, died some years ago, but he remarried after his retirement and is survived by his second wife, Barbara and by his sons Nicholas, Simon and Paul.
A memorial service will be held in London at a date to be fixed later.