I was deeply saddened to hear of Tony passing away and would like to offer my deepest condolences, to Angela and his girls, whom I have never met. I will be unable to attend his funeral due to distance and present employment for a really large aircraft company. In memory of Tony I wanted to offer you a wee story that I think might make you appreciate what kind of guy and how professional he was
Back in 1975 I was a seventeen year old RAF Police Dog handler at RAF Lossiemouth. I regularly carried out night shift patrols on an area that included the ATC tower. The nights were long and sometimes cold and I was befriended by a young chap from the North East of England who turned out to be Tony Turnbull. Tony was always good for a hot cup of coffee or tea and a biscuit. We found that we had a few things in common, including making models and he invited me to view his efforts. Even back then he was a highly skilled modeller with an eye for detail and produced fine example of tanks and aircraft. We only lived a few rooms apart in the block, six man rooms then and we would meet socially for a pint now and again. I was posted to Hong Kong and like a lot of RAF friendships it was put on ice and I often wondered if our paths would ever cross again.
Twenty years or so, later in 1997, I was sat in the Mess at MPA and I heard this voice call out my name. It was Tony. As my moniker suggests I was now a member of FCF or DFCIT (Flying Complaints!!) as it is now known. Back in the UK I ran the Skyguard but had been detached as a member of the SIB to the Falklands. It was as if we just picked up where we left off. By this time Tony was a Master Aircrewman on the Seakings at 78 Sqn. I had never known that he had re-mustered until then. He almost immediately offered to get me a flight and I spent a great day with him and his crew on a sortie. I was so lucky to witness Tony in his professional element. During the sortie the a/c changed call signs to Rescue from Tiger and was tasked to pick up a sick fisherman from a Chilean boat off the coast. We returned to Fox Bay and the a/c was refuelled at the heli replen there. The sea was giving it laldy and I was fortunate to be there and witness Tony and his bravery at first hand, watching him go and get his guy and bring him onboard. On the R/T we laughed at my poor Spanish requesting the pax not to vomit all over the helicopter. At that time FIBs was always playing the Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony and I could hear through my headset Tony whistling away. That always stuck with me.
A couple of days later Tony came to see me. “Best you get up the Medical Centre, that guy had suspected TB…..Cheers Tony!”
I last saw him at Henlow, think he was visiting the Aviation Medicine Centre there and we had a pleasant chat over coffee in the Mess.
Hope this wee story was ok, I wanted to share it. I’ll bet there are so many more out there about him. I never forgot him and he never forgot me. I felt so privileged to have known a man such as Tony…. rest in peace mate.