We reprint below part of the obituary notice which appeared in the last Bulletin plus a supplement which, owing to an oversight, was omitted from that notice. We apologise to Anthony’s family for this error.

Anthony Joseph Wills (F 60-64).

Anthony was born on 28th April 1947 and lived at Angerton House near the Solway Firth, which has been in the family since the 18th century, and he was a proud Cumbrian. At the age of seven, Anthony went to prep school at Lime House and then Rickerby. At the age of thirteen, he followed in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps, and moved to St Bees where he joined Foundation House. He greatly enjoyed his years at St Bees and made some very good friends while at school, including Richard Hughes, Anthony Rickerby, Neil Dumbleton, Richard Langhorne and David Griffiths, among others. He enjoyed lessons, especially history, but his highlights at school were cross-country running, playing hockey on the beach and having the freedom to explore the Lake District by bike with friends including stopping off for a sneaky half pint on the way home. After leaving St Bees he spent time working on the family farm before a year in Edinburgh, where he shared a flat with Richard Langhorne and further honed his hockey skills at the Grange Club. His hockey playing continued when he returned to Cumbria, and he went on to play for Carlisle and for Cumbria County. He also coached and umpired for Newton Rigg College, where he later worked. His passion for hockey was passed on to his three daughters, and he spent many Saturday mornings cheering-on from the side-lines. His hockey skills live on through his grandchildren in New Zealand and in Inverness. Anthony met Joanna on Boxing Day in 1971 and they were married in October 1972. They were very happily married and were delighted to have three daughters, Charlotte, Louise and Claudia. After a career in banking and farming, he changed direction and became a lecturer in horticulture at Newton Rigg College, Penrith. There he enjoyed working with young people and organising student trips to gardens across the UK, and to Finland. Anthony loved planning holidays (he may well have chosen to become a lecturer in order to have the long summer vacations) and chose destinations for the family that could combine a love of boats and water-skiing. He was determined to water-ski right through to his 70th, even after a hip replacement. Anthony’s other great love was horses. He enjoyed riding with the hunt as a young man and going horse racing with his family. He often organised his college students’ trips to gardens around a particular race meeting. He more recently enjoyed taking his grandchildren horse racing in New Zealand and celebrating his 70th birthday at races in Yorkshire with his family. Anthony was proud to be an Old St Beghian and enjoyed many a social event in Cumbria and Edinburgh. In his retirement many hours were given to St Bees as President of the Old St Beghian Society (2011-2014) and he was also on the Board of Governors. Always a man to keep busy, he was Company Chairman of the Silver Grill Property Company and an active member and Chairman of Probus in Keswick. Anthony could be serious at times, but always underlying that was someone who wanted to have fun and didn’t like people taking themselves too seriously. His family will greatly miss the twinkle in his eye when making us laugh. He is sorely missed by his wife Joanna, his three daughters and their families.

 

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