Anthony Lynnwell Deacon (1968-1974)
Died 31st July 2021, aged 66
Anthony Lynnwell Deacon was born on April Fool’s Day 1955 at Krugersdorp near Johannesburg. Deciding that South Africa was not the best place to raise a family, in 1957 Wyc and Jean and their two young boys Tony & Roger left Cape Town on one of the famed Union Castle Line ships bound for Southampton in the UK.
The family finally settled in Beaconsfield with Tony attending prep school at The Beacon in Amersham. In September 1968, Tony joined MTS (White House) in Sc Div AII.
He quickly established himself as a high spirited and wilful individual with a strong character, characteristics that occasionally caused clashes with staff members. Tony also had a hard head. In response to one of Tony’s impertinent wise cracks, Roger Coode whacked Tony’s hard head with the back of his hand. Not a wise move as it resulted in a dislocated finger.
Jonathan Kingston recalls a Latin lesson with Mr Woolley studying Roman agriculture:-
Mr Woolley: "OK Boys What is a Suffolk Punch?"
Tony: "A two stroke lawnmower, Sir!"
Mr Woolley: "Ho, Ho most amusing. Take a detention!"
Tony also developed considerable upper body strength and so found his forte as a prop forward playing for MTS 3rd 2nd & 1st XVs. Initially, training before 3rd XV matches consisted of pre-match cigs down in the water meadows with other rebels, notably Colin Louch. John Pallant impressed upon Tony the need for greater fitness and became a lifelong friend in the process.
Tony also became a fine middleweight Judoka, especially noted for his solid grappling Groundwork and in conjunction with Richard Brooman, MTS won the Middlesex Schools Judo in 1973.
Tony joined the RAF section of the School CCF. A particularly memorable day was one Inspection Day at Moor Park. A simulated crashed glider was set up on the playing fields with Tony as the injured pilot. He had mixed a horrid concoction of mixed custard powder & red food dye. At the appropriate moment, the Inspecting Officer came round the corner Tony filled his mouth & when asked how he was feeling spewed the whole lot out down his chin. Very realistic & totally unexpected.
Tony developed an enduring passion for the outdoors and fieldcrafts of all types while at school, greatly fostered by his friendship with Nigel Jones & Keith Morton, with his greatest love being fishing.
In 1972 Tony survived a major car crash when an open topped MG Midget rolled at speed but sadly another MTS boy, his good friend Hilary Lancaster-Brown “Lanky” died. This traumatic tragedy proved to be an epiphany for Tony and helped transform him into the thoughtful, considerate and caring man he became.
Not only did Tony become a most proficient fly fisherman he also became most adept at tying superb fishing flies. His casting was very proficient and elegant to watch and he was also an APGAI (Game Angling Instructor).
Following School, to be different, Tony read Metallurgical Sciences with French at University of Essex. This included a 6 month spell in Toulouse working with Aerospatiale (Sep 76-Feb 77) then 6 months in a steelworks in Witbank, South Africa and finally 6 months back with Aerospatiale in Grenoble (April-Oct 78). His great contribution being the design of upgraded titanium toilet bowls for Concorde.
While in Toulouse, he took workers’ flights back to Filton-Bristol for weekends. At University nearby, Jonathan would be given a message from a confused university secretary “The Fruitbat has landed” – his cue to pick Tony up and consume Newcastle Brown for the weekend before the 6am flight back on Monday.
Back in the UK, Tony became a regular in Mark Jenner’s Lambs XV at Durrants.
Tony loved the west coast of Scotland and made many trips there during the 1970s and early 1980s with Jonathan Kingston.
Sept 1979, Tony, Jonathan Kingston and I took a memorable fishing trip to the Isle of Mull to a little cottage at Lettermore on Loch Frisa. Fishing flies being top of mind for Tony, he was keen to acquire a large supply of deer hair for fly tying while we were in Scotland. So after a long night in a pub in Tobermory, a professional stalker sold this gullible Sassenach an entire deer skin sight unseen for £10. Tony went to collect the skin which the guy proceeded to dig up from where he had buried it at the back of his house. It was truly horrible. Just one huge pile of seething maggots.
For a lad with large fingers, Tony was exceedingly dextrous and his fly tying skills were such that he won a number of awards for fly tying as well as writing the introduction to “The Flyfisher’s Guide” and editing “Tying flies with CDC”.
Well I remember helping Tony skin a badger he had found by the road on a trip to the opera at Glyndebourne. He hoped that real badger bristle shaving brushes could be made from it.
Tony’s world changed in Nov 1981 when he met Sue. Dynamite! A powerful Irish lady, she simply knocked him off his perch! In May 1982 he moved to a permanent job in Witbank, South Africa as a Metallurgist. Sue followed him and they married in January 1983 in a minimalist official ceremony in Randfontein.
However it was not the safest place to live and Tony soon bought a 7mm Benelli B76 Pistol for protection and had me procure 8 magazines for it and send them from the UK. He also wanted me to sell his old Triumph TR4A but sadly unmaintained for several years it was only scrap.
In November 1985, Tony and Sue returned to the UK with Tony becoming sub editor of “The Mining Journal”. At the same time he also became editor of “Flydresser” magazine for the Fly Dresser’s Guild and undertook reviews of fly fishing equipment & books. He also became a member of the Fenland Wildfowlers Association.
In late 1986 Tony, Sue, brother Roger and Jonathan set out on the Longmynd Hike – a challenge of 50 miles and 8 peaks in 24 hours in the Shropshire hills. Tony and Sue managed to complete it. Tough stuff! and also sparked in Jonathan a love of challenges & distance running.
August 1992 saw the birth of their son Luke.
Life was tough for a few years as he and Sue fed a voracious mortgage, but as this pressure eased, so Tony’s collections began in earnest – all things fishing and game related as well as shotguns and rifles, knives and all things Bushcraft – he was a most prolific collector with each item either engraved or emblazoned with “Deacon” in permanent marker pen. His knife collection was immense, filling 6x45L boxes.
In 2002 the family moved to a delightful rustic house set in the bluebell woods of Etchingham.
In 2012 he qualified as a National Rifle Association Range Conducting Officer. He was an active member of the British Rifle & Pistol Club as well as the Fifty Calibre shooters Association while also singing with Sue in the Cranbrook & District Choral Association.
He was renowned for his passionate enthusiasm in supporting Luke’s schoolboy rugby, playing for the 1st XV at Tonbridge School, bellowing his encouragement from the sidelines at the top of his lungs.
Tony returned to his metallurgical career in the form of hi-tech electrical tungsten vacuum furnaces with Arcast, which took him far afield across the globe, though he still found time for trout on the chalk streams of the south and trips to fish the Tweed for Salmon.
Sadly, heart problems dogged him and restricted his physical activities, a fact that made him angry for the theft of his freedom, though his encyclopaedic knowledge of the outdoors remained undimmed. He even gained a tribute from Bob the Bushman who lit a fire for Tony somewhere deep in the woods in his honour.
Tony was a man of strong opinions. He never minced his words. His description of a meal in Beijing was typical: “A ghastly tripe dish which had the consistency and texture of grey, tough Scotch-Brite scouring pads floating in a thin grey/brown gruel”.
Yes Tony was utterly unique. A larger than life character with a strong individualistic personality who did things his way. An OMT through and through. A great husband and a fiercely proud dad, he was a family rock and a truly good man.
He was my greatest mate, my buddy, my friend.
Tight lines, Tony. Travel well ‘till we meet again.
Simon (Bing) Brown (1966-1973)