The following obituary was written by Jeremy Lidstone, Tony’s best man at his wedding to Carole, friend and colleague in the Intelligence Corps.

After a sudden and short illness, Anthony (Tony) died on the 26th of August 2022 of heart complications. His passing was all the more unexpected as he remained very fit. Born in 1944, Tony was an only child and lost his father at the tender age of two. Perhaps as a consequence of this, he became very independent, a character trait he took with him throughout his adult life, a trait that served him well during his military career.

Tony won a scholarship to the School where he excelled at sport and took a keen interest in science. Carole knew that his education at Tonbridge School and his career had made him determined, adventurous, impartial and a remarkable man of great integrity.

After commissioning into the Intelligence Corps and completing his Young Officer’s Intelligence Course at the Intelligence Corps centre in Ashford, Kent, where we met, Tony was posted to Northern Ireland in the early days of the ‘Troubles’. As an intelligence officer on the staff of the Brigade headquarters, he quickly won the respect of his colleagues for his keen and incisive mind and analysis of the situation on the ground. Shortly after this, he focussed on his love for science and attended the Staff College at the Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham where he graduated with a BSc degree in physics.

Tony had a distinguished career in the army and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1986 becoming the Commanding Officer of the Intelligence Corps Centre where he started his career. A posting to Dhofar, Oman was the beginning of a lifelong love of the Arab people and Arabic culture. He served as a military attaché at the British Embassy in Beirut where he and his wife travelled extensively in the Lebanon and Syria.  He served in the Ministry of Defence, where our paths crossed again, the Falklands (where he enjoyed driving a captured Argentinian Land rover), Germany, and in the Gulf War as Intelligence officer to Sir Peter De la BiIlliere.

On retirement, Tony continued to travel with his wife to Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Turkey, and took several holidays in Germany. They settled in Devon where Tony pursued his love of sailing. Tony liked nothing better than to sail miles out to sea with Carole, enjoying each other’s company and life on the ocean waves, perhaps taking with him a book on Middle Eastern Archaeology or a novel written in French or German. 

As a child, Tony loved to go on long adventures on his bike. In retirement, he was thrilled with his e-bike and had plans for many further adventures with Carole who he adored. Full of energy and enthusiasm, with a quick and analytical mind, a sharp wit and so many amusing anecdotes, a determination to succeed and win, Tony was a friend who will be sadly missed by all who knew him.  He would not want us to grieve but pull up our socks and get on with it! 
(FH 57-61)