Anthony Thornton Wilkinson

This story and photos are shared by the Trust with kind permission of the Archivist, Felsted School and Mavis Williams, Researcher

Anthony (Tony) Wilkinson was born on the 26 August 1919, the son of William Thornton Wilkinson and of Evelyn Sybil Wilkinson (née Ward) and husband of Marcia Wilkinson, of Camberley, Surrey.

In his obituary published in the school magazine, The Felstedian, it said that Tony Wilkinson came to Felsted as a scholar in September 1933, aged 14 years and left with a scholarship to Pembroke College, Oxford, aged 18, in July 1938. He was in Gepp House whilst at the school and became a School Prefect.

Gepp House, 1937. Anthony sits in the front row, 4th from the right

 

He participated in a number of sports including the Tennis VI, Fives VI (hand-tennis) and played in the second teams at Rugby, Cricket and all his House teams. He also served in the Gepp House Officer Training Corps (OTC) and he appeared on the stage as well.

Gepp House OTC, 1937. Anthony sits in the front row, 2nd from the right

 

The obituary published in the school magaxine, The Felstedian, says this about him: But the catalogue expresses neither his perennial untidiness nor his good-natured energy, repressed idealism and his all-round common-sense; it was these that gave him his influence and made him a leader in the school.

He spent two years at Oxford (as a Classical Scholar at Pembroke College), then joined the Middlesex Regiment at Camberley and was commissioned. Perhaps it was his quiet idealism that made him transfer to the Parachute Corps. He met his death after the initial landings on D-Day. Our sympathy goes out to his wife and family on the loss of a fine man.

He served as the Intelligence Officer for 3rd Parachute Brigade HQ. The HQ was due to land at drop zone 'V' near Varaville on the morning of D-Day but the men were widely scattered. By the 8th June they were in Le Mesnil but Tony Wilkinson was killed during a counter-attack on the German forces.

British Normandy Memorial - Additional Information

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