STUART Shearer Newton spent much of his life in public service overseas, mostly in Africa, and after retirement he was elected as a Liberal Democrat councillor for Winchester City Council, representing Micheldever and neighbouring villages. He was born in 1934 in South Shields, on Tyneside, and vividly remembered the bombing raids of World War Two. His two older brothers served in Kenya and Palestine, and their letters home widened his horizons. In 1955, he joined the Colonial Service and was posted to a Beau Geste fort in Wajir, in the desert of northern Kenya. His transportation was a camel, and his pet was a lion cub. The lion eventually became too much of a handful (and gave him a shoulder scar that lasted for life), and was sold to MGM, to feature in movies, and perhaps even as one of the famous roaring lions in the opening credits.