Sad Day
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Join Date: Mar 2005
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Sad Day
It is with a heavy heart that I (Angela his wife) write to you today to let you know that the 'wire has now gone slack'. Tony passed away last night peacefully and pain free with me and his girls by his side.
Tony has planned his funeral with military precision and should you wish to join us to celebrate his life I will post date and time tomorrow.
Angela
Tony has planned his funeral with military precision and should you wish to join us to celebrate his life I will post date and time tomorrow.
Angela
Angela,
My sincere condolences, I am so saddened by the news. I'm sure his plans will be have been immaculate. A peaceful end is what we deserve, but not all are blessed with.
My thoughts are with you.
Courtney
My sincere condolences, I am so saddened by the news. I'm sure his plans will be have been immaculate. A peaceful end is what we deserve, but not all are blessed with.
My thoughts are with you.
Courtney
Angela & family, a very sad day indeed.
I have many happy memories of working with Tony all those years back, on 230 in Germany, which we can recall when times are happier.
Great bloke, highly professional, great fun.
Cheers Tony!
lsh
I have many happy memories of working with Tony all those years back, on 230 in Germany, which we can recall when times are happier.
Great bloke, highly professional, great fun.
Cheers Tony!
lsh
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Sincere condolences
My sincere condolences to you all.
Another of the good guys has departed the fix.
I only worked with Tony a few times, but he was always a pleasure to work with. One of the memorable crewmen.
RIP Fella, I shall raise a glass in your memory tonight.
Regards
Al
Another of the good guys has departed the fix.
I only worked with Tony a few times, but he was always a pleasure to work with. One of the memorable crewmen.
RIP Fella, I shall raise a glass in your memory tonight.
Regards
Al
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Angela, what terrible news – my heart-felt condolences to you and the girls.
Tony was an inspiration to me when I arrived at Lossie as a new winchop in 1992. He was there constantly during my work-up, and coincidentally for my first few jobs, all on “The Ben”. He helped me overcome my over-developed fear of injuring the winchmen, and laughed at me on my first job when I couldn’t believe the Lochaber MRT wanted to be winched on to what seemed to me to be a cliff face. Everything I turned out to be on SAR I owe to Tony and the other Lossie winchmen.
"Tail and Tips are clear”, Tone.
Ang, I don’t think I’ll make the funeral I’m afraid, I’m too far away. My thoughts and love are with you.
Doug
Tony was an inspiration to me when I arrived at Lossie as a new winchop in 1992. He was there constantly during my work-up, and coincidentally for my first few jobs, all on “The Ben”. He helped me overcome my over-developed fear of injuring the winchmen, and laughed at me on my first job when I couldn’t believe the Lochaber MRT wanted to be winched on to what seemed to me to be a cliff face. Everything I turned out to be on SAR I owe to Tony and the other Lossie winchmen.
"Tail and Tips are clear”, Tone.
Ang, I don’t think I’ll make the funeral I’m afraid, I’m too far away. My thoughts and love are with you.
Doug
Last edited by sargs; 25th Aug 2012 at 22:29.
Angela,
So sorry to hear the news. Tony was my instructor at SKTU and followed me up to Lossie. I spent many a happy shift in his company and like sargs, learnt so much from him.
I will always remember one rescue we did together involving lots of cable, hovering at night against a mountain side with minimum tip clearance and a huge drop below. He needed a large mug of tea after that one!
Also, thanks Tony for the hi-line weights in my kit bag when I moved south. Happy memories.
I am sorry that distance will not allow me to attend, Angela. You will all be in my thoughts.
Clive
So sorry to hear the news. Tony was my instructor at SKTU and followed me up to Lossie. I spent many a happy shift in his company and like sargs, learnt so much from him.
I will always remember one rescue we did together involving lots of cable, hovering at night against a mountain side with minimum tip clearance and a huge drop below. He needed a large mug of tea after that one!
Also, thanks Tony for the hi-line weights in my kit bag when I moved south. Happy memories.
I am sorry that distance will not allow me to attend, Angela. You will all be in my thoughts.
Clive
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Very sorry to hear your sad news. Flew with Tone quite a few times during our times together on 230 and he was someone you were always pleased to be crewed with.
My thoughts are with you.
DAW
My thoughts are with you.
DAW
Updated contact number
If you intend coming to give Tony the send off he truly deserves please call Angela on 01542 834150. This number replaces the earlier number given. If you know anyone who doesn't subscribe to Pprune and would wish to attend please pass on the info.
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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.
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.
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This is such sad and shocking news. I couldn't have asked for a better partner through QCI training all those years ago. 'Wore Terny' was a top bloke.
Deepest condolences to Ange and the girls.
Bucko
Deepest condolences to Ange and the girls.
Bucko
