A personal tribute to Fil, also known as Tony

Apologies to my blog-reading friend, but I’m not going to be grumpy today.

Sad, yes, but grumpy, definitely not. You see, Fil died on Tuesday this week. To the uninitiated, that’s Father-in-Law Tony – SWMBO’s father.

Whilst I mourn his passing, I rejoice in a life lived well and to the full.

Tony would have been 90 had he made it to his birthday next month. He and Mil (Mother-in-Law, Elizabeth – you’re getting the hang of this, aren’t you?) had been married for 62 years and spent the last three and a half years living in a residential nursing home in Suffolk.

After volunteering to serve in India in WW2, Tony returned to the UK to follow in his father’s footsteps and train as a veterinary surgeon, qualifying in 1952.

He and Elizabeth, who was also a veterinary surgeon, ran their own practice in what is now Blyth’s Meadow in Braintree, Essex before Tony retired early.

Feeling too young to stop work completely, but eager to be free of the pressures associated with running his own business, he took a job working for the British Horse Society as an inspector of riding schools.

Tony then went on to work for his cousin who owned a building and joinery business in Colchester. Tony was happy in the wood workshop where he made new friends and was able to enjoy a strict nine to five routine which was in sharp contrast to his veterinary work.

It was also the beginning of a deep interest in working with wood, particularly turning and carving, as Tony went on to make rocking horses for a retailer in London, helped design and make a sign for his then home village and then designed and carved nine other village signs around Essex.

Tony loved sailing and kept a boat at West Mersea in Essex for a number of years. He was passionate about the sport and even tried to teach me the finer points. Let’s just say that I’m more of a landlubber than a sailor.

He caught the travel bug while in his late 50s and over the next 20 years or so frequently visited his children and other members of the family who were living abroad, including Dubai, Australia, Gibraltar, Belgium and Germany.

It was a shame that Elizabeth did not share this interest but she never, ever begrudged his trips, happy to stay at home and look after the dogs and the house.

Tony, I salute you. I always enjoyed your company, particularly when we went out for “some fresh air”, pipe and B&H in respective hands.

You will be greatly missed and remembered with fond affection by all who knew you.