TRURO SCHOOL ASSOCIATION
THE TRURONIAN
F.M. Anthony (Tony) COLLINS CO50 (1931 - 2020)
year in the Mediterranean for six years but Tony didn’t enjoy British winter weather so we sailed the Atlantic in 1988 with Guy leaving from Mogan, Gran Canaria and arriving in Antigua three weeks later. We sailed in the West Indies where in the fort on the Isles de Saintes (Tony cheekily wrote in the visitors book “Look out the British are coming!”), Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas continuing on to Florida.
He attended Bristol University in 1951 with the aim of becoming a Civil Engineer. However due to too many students on the course, he did his two years National Service in the Royal Air Force. He signed up as aircrew and became a pilot flying first in a small Auster’s and Tiger Moths and eventually, Meteor jets. He was made an officer and invited to stay on in the RAF as a PA. His original intention was to finish his studies at the university but flying gave him a new ambition to become a civil pilot to see something of the world and he joined BOAC in May 1954.
Guy, also was educated at Truro School, became a Saturation Diver in the North Sea but he was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2001 and died in March 2011 from this disease. He was married and had three sons.
Tony was born in Portscatho on 28th September 1931. He was at Truro School from 1942 to 1950 and, I gather, enjoyed both learning and sports. He played in the rugby team, did cross-country running and by all accounts, ran quite fast a fast mile.
He received further trained BOAC and also gained the necessary navigation Licence required at the time. He flew with the Air Line for 27 years and flew in Constellations, Brittania’s, VC10’s and, lastly, the Lockheed Tri-start 500. In 1956 Tony and I married and during his working years we had raced in various dinghy types. While living in Highcliffe, Hants (now Dorset) our son, Guy CO77 was born in 1959. Tony brought plans and built our first cruiser, “Westerner I” in our back garden. We moved back to Cornwall in 1964 and in this small 24ft boat once sailed up the coast to Salcombe and across to the Channel Islands. We also raced locally with St Mawes Sailing Club. Tony took early retirement, aged 52 in order to indulge his love of sailing and he bought a French boat – a Dynamique 44 with a lifting keel - “Westerner IV”. We cruised for six months of the
66
When we knew Guy was so unwell, Tony brought a French Tobago Catamaran which we kept on a mooring in Puerto Pollenca Mallorca. We sold “Westerner IV” in the states. We mainly used “Westerner V” as a floating home. During all these cruising years the family had been able to join us for holidays from time to time. Tony and I were married for 64 years but, sadly his last 5 years were difficult for him due to various heart problems and what the medics termed Parkinsonism. He died peacefully at home on 2nd October 2020 a few days after his 89th birthday.
Reginald Cyril WOODWARD CO50 (1932 - 2021)
Reginald passed away at Treliske Hospital on 3rd April 2021, aged 89. During the 1980s Cyril proudly held the post of Chairman of the Truro School Former Pupils’ Association. Reginald leaves behind wife Joan, son Winston CO93 and daughter Catherine. He will be missed by all his family and friends.
Patrick Jonathon VICKERS CO67 (1948 - 2021)
Tribute by Brenda Collins, Tony’s widow
Patrick passed away peacefully at St Julia’s Hospice in Hayle after a short illness. He spent his career in the caring profession, both for the youth and the elderly before retiring in 2003. A devoted husband, father and grandfather who will be sadly missed by all that knew him.