Aug 5, 2019
Interview: David Newman, Chairman of The George Daniels Trust – Part I
David Newman was one of George Daniels’ oldest friends, having met the late watchmaker half a century ago. They shared a bond born out of a common love for watches, clocks and fast cars – Mr Newman is 78 but drives a Porsche 911. In fact, their friendship is best illustrated by a tale Daniels recounted with obvious relish in his autobiography All in Good Time: Reflections of a Watchmaker. Sometime in the early 1960s, just after Daniels bought a new home, he and Mr Newman had to push a naked Bentley chassis from a rented garage, through South Norwood High Street, past a police station, over a bridge and railway line, in order to install the half-complete automobile in Daniels’ new home. The chassis naturally got stuck at the bridge, causing a traffic jam several blocks long made up of spectators who just left a nearby Crystal Palace football game. With help from passersby, the duo managed to get enough momentum for the chassis to roll along on its own, although only Daniels was on board. More importantly, Mr Newman was also one of Daniels’ most trusted friends – the watchmaker appointed Mr Newman chairman of the George Daniels’ Educational Trust, making the former building surveyor the lead guardian of the Daniels legacy. Long retired from his professional career, Mr Newman now oversees the trust almost full time. Most of the trust’s substantial income goes to fund education, a cause close to Daniels’ heart. Though a negligible portion of the trus...
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