Born in 1886, Sir Cyril was a member of the regular army before joining the Royal Flying Corps in 1914.
He transferred to the RAF in 1919 and served with the Air Force between wars. He was Chief of Air Staff 1937-40 and Marshal of the RAF in 1940, before being appointed Governor-General of New Zealand in 1941.
After his service in New Zealand he was given a peerage, becoming Baron Newell of Clifton-upon-Dunsmoore in the County of Warwick.
He died in 1963.
Biographical information courtesy of NZ Almanack
Read Sir Cyril Newall's biography on Wikipedia