Here is today's tribute to Dad. Many thanks to all who contributed to this. The celebrant did an an amazing job in capturing everyone's thoughts.

TRIBUTE We will now take a few minutes to remember Tony’s life and work. Tony was born in Lucknow, India on the 17th of August 1943, he was the seventh of eight children. His father was a teacher and then Minister of Education for the Province so Tony and his family moved around a fair amount when he was young.

Tony’s sister, Didi, has wonderful memories of the two of them growing up together. They would go bathing in the Manadakini River for hours and watch the flying snakes on the banks. Evenings would be spent on long walks to the ashram. At the end of the sermon, vast meals would be served and they would sit down and enjoy the local cuisine of delicious chutneys, cooked vegetables and purees. Tony was a caring brother to Didi. Once, she cut her finger opening a medicine bottle and Tony was so concerned that he wanted to take her to a dispensary to get her treated. Tony spotted a rickshaw outside the house and headed for the owner who was eating his lunch in a nearby hut. The owner wanted the children to wait until he had finished but Tony was impatient to get his sister to the dispensary and started to pull the rickshaw himself. The poor rickhaw owner had to leave his meal halfway through to take them. Didi’s wound took several weeks to heal and, during this time, Tony nursed it with care.

When Tony was nearly 16, he decided he wanted to leave home to join his sister in Calcutta and left having consulted his father. He didn’t inform his mother however, and she had him hauled back home by a family member. By the time he was 17, Tony had managed to convince her that he should go to England to study and this time she agreed.

Tony arrived in England and studied for his A Levels at Huddersfield Technical College before completing his degree in Electrical Engineering. Although Tony did have family living and studying in England, he enjoyed much independence and quickly made friends for life. He was a very loyal friend to all the Huddersfield people he got to know and always kept in touch with them. A life long friend, Joan, recalls how Tony joined her family circle about a week after his arrival in the UK. They were introduced by Tony’s sister in law who was working as a doctor in the UK. Joan remembers how Tony was always a great tease and thought of her like a little sister. Tony was very independent even then, and would work as a porter when he could. He also showed his brilliant logical mind through games such as Cluedo, which, to Joan’s amazement, he always won.

From the start, Tony’s intelligence was obvious and he was highly regarded by his lecturers who helped him with advice and support regarding his future. Tony was studying for his Masters at Southampton University when he met Chris. He worked in Industry for a while and one day said to Chris, ‘Do you think I should join the Navy?’ to which she replied ‘Yes’. Then Tony said ‘Will you marry me?’ to which she also replied ‘Yes.’ Chris wondered if she had answered differently to the first question, would he have asked the second?... but they were married happily and Tony joined the Royal Navy in 1968 as a graduate entry.

Tony was well respected in the Royal Navy and progressed quickly. He served on HMS Charybdis and HMS Invincible amongst others. Tony served in the Falklands before moving on to several high-ranking jobs in Rosyth, London, at the Ministry of Defence, Brussels, at NATO Headquarters and Rome at the NATO Defense College. Tony was awarded an OBE in 1986 by Her Majesty the Queen and the Freedom of the City of London in 1990.

Tony and Chris had their daughter, Lydia, and Tony and she were very close. Tony taught Lydia the importance of honesty, loyalty and honour and couldn’t help but instill some of the Naval standards in her. His favourite was ‘if a job is worth doing, it is worth doing well’, and he also taught her how to do hospital corners on her bed. Lydia gave Tony and Chris three grandchildren, Joshua, Abigail and Elizabeth, and Joshua gave them a great grandchild, George. Tony was a doting Grandfather and loved spending time with them. Although Lydia and her family live in America, when Tony did see them all he liked to spoil them rotten.

Tony was a wonderful cook. His close and extended family always looked forward to his meals and he would make them with such enthusiasm. In his youth, when in Huddersfield, he would complain about the quality of the Chapattis in the local Indian restaurants, and even offered to make them in exchange for some meals.

Tony was an excellent athlete and played Hockey and Squash as well as Cricket, which was his sporting passion; he was a brilliant Wicket Keeper. He was super fast and mostly too fast for opponents and sometimes for his own team, he seemed to be able to throw at super sonic speed and players would sometimes struggle to react as quickly as he did! He was a much-respected player both in the Navy and local teams.

In 1997, Tony retired from the Royal Navy having reached the rank of Commander, and took a post at Porton Down at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory as their Senior Naval Liaison Officer. He decided during this time that all scientists are mad, Chris did point out that he had been married to one for years! Tony worked there until he retired when he was 60.

Tony was a generous man but had a very pragmatic attitude towards life. He enjoyed practical jokes and tickling as well as magic tricks in his younger days. He liked to solve problems, whatever they were, and liked to help people. His niece, Shiki, remembers that she once had a pair of diamond earrings taken out of a lost bag on a flight to the UK. Tony insisted on buying her a replacement, having already driven up to Heathrow to rescue her when she arrived a day early. Whenever she visited Portsmouth, even in her 30s and 40s, Tony would still be the doting uncle, running round doing errands for her and treating her to her favourite marmalade. Shiki has described his ‘boundless affection and almost obstinate generosity’ that he enveloped her in every time she visited the UK. His Nephew, Vijay, fondly remembers Tony’s generosity to his family; He recalls that Tony once visited when he was young and brought him a model ship and a model plane for his brother. Vijay took heart in how Tony had reached out in the last few years by the medium of Skype. He would call just to say hello and to establish a connection across the vast distances with his family in India.

It was not just family that Tony took into his heart, a neighbour, Teresa, grew up with Tony and Chris living next door but one, and thought so much of Tony that she asked him to give her away at her wedding. Tony helped Teresa with contacts and support with her education and she has said how both Tony and Chris have been a source of support and stability throughout her life. Teresa’s brother, David, also has fond memories of Tony. He wrote to Chris a few days ago and said he was going to miss Tony and his cheeky sense of humour and that each time he thinks of him it brings a smile to his face. Tony was kind enough to put his reputation on the line by sponsoring David in his application for the AIB, which is the examination and course to become an officer in the Royal Navy. David jokes that luckily, for both of them, he never went through with it! He also remembers asking Tony about the reality of collision regulations when in a yacht at sea, and having the right of way over large tankers. Tony explained to him, with a gentle smile, the law of gross tonnage! David said that Tony was a man who never judged, just gently guided.

Although Tony had been previously ill with Cancer, he had recovered and his recent diagnosis was a shock to the family. Tony was taken very quickly and his sudden loss was unexpected. He will be greatly missed by so many people.