Tony Lovett 1925-2010
Perhaps the most important thing to say about Tony is that he was first and foremost a much loved husband, father, and granddad. He was also a good friend to an awful lot of people. If you agree with the maxim that you can judge a person by what his friends, relatives and colleagues have to say about him, then Tony was that rare individual who qualifies at the top of the class on all counts!
He was born in October 1925, the middle of three children (the eldest being his sister Ida, and the youngest his brother Hughie). His mother was an actress often away from home on tour, and his father an engineer with a machining and fabricating business in Forest Hill, not too far from here. Because of their mother's touring commitments, the three children were cared for much of the time by their grandmother. Their lives must have centred around the ethic of hard work, which was certainly inherited by the two boys whose full-time working careers started immediately following school, and carried on until they were in their 80s.
Tony had inherited his father's engineering capabilities, and in 1939 just after the outbreak of war when he was just 14 years old, he left school. There were two reasons for this: first of all he wanted to do his bit and, secondly, most of his teachers had gone off to deal with the Germans.
Tony went to work in his father's factory where they were making parts for ships and submarines. Luckily nobody had yet come up with the expression "health and safety", because somebody in the factory took a photograph of the apprentice engineer standing on a soap box whilst operating a power drill, and sent it to the Evening News newspaper which printed it on its front page along with a story praising Tony's contribution to the war effort!
Tony worked at the factory until he was old enough to join up (in the latter part of the war), and was enlisted in the Royal Air Force to become an RAF engineer. Immediately following his RAF training he was sent to Japan by ship (which took all of eight extremely uncomfortable weeks) where his engineering skills were put to very good use repairing all manner of broken things, in the immediate post-war period.
When his tour in Japan came to an end, Tony returned home rather more quickly than his journey the other way - just three days in a flying boat which was, however, even more uncomfortable than the outbound passage by sea.
His journeys to Japan and back and his tour of duty while he was there, helped resolve him when he got home, never to eat any more rice or to set foot again in an aeroplane! Both resolutions were fulfilled!
Following his return from the Far East, Tony was stationed at an RAF base near Blackpool, which started his lifelong love affair with that most popular of seaside destinations, where he served until he was demobbed at which point he returned to civilian life in London.
He went to work at the great engineering company Siemens where he continued his apprenticeship as an engineer and machine tool operator.
During the period when he had been stationed near Blackpool, and then after he had returned home, Tony became more
He was born in October 1925, the middle of three children (the eldest being his sister Ida, and the youngest his brother Hughie). His mother was an actress often away from home on tour, and his father an engineer with a machining and fabricating business in Forest Hill, not too far from here. Because of their mother's touring commitments, the three children were cared for much of the time by their grandmother. Their lives must have centred around the ethic of hard work, which was certainly inherited by the two boys whose full-
Tony had inherited his father's engineering capabilities, and in 1939 just after the outbreak of war when he was just 14 years old, he left school. There were two reasons for this: first of all he wanted to do his bit and, secondly, most of his teachers had gone off to deal with the Germans.
Tony went to work in his father's factory where they were making parts for ships and submarines. Luckily nobody had yet come up with the expression "health and safety", because somebody in the factory took a photograph of the apprentice engineer standing on a soap box whilst operating a power drill, and sent it to the Evening News newspaper which printed it on its front page along with a story praising Tony's contribution to the war effort!
Tony worked at the factory until he was old enough to join up (in the latter part of the war), and was enlisted in the Royal Air Force to become an RAF engineer. Immediately following his RAF training he was sent to Japan by ship (which took all of eight extremely uncomfortable weeks) where his engineering skills were put to very good use repairing all manner of broken things, in the immediate post-
When his tour in Japan came to an end, Tony returned home rather more quickly than his journey the other way -
His journeys to Japan and back and his tour of duty while he was there, helped resolve him when he got home, never to eat any more rice or to set foot again in an aeroplane! Both resolutions were fulfilled!
Following his return from the Far East, Tony was stationed at an RAF base near Blackpool, which started his lifelong love affair with that most popular of seaside destinations, where he served until he was demobbed at which point he returned to civilian life in London.
He went to work at the great engineering company Siemens where he continued his apprenticeship as an engineer and machine tool operator.
During the period when he had been stationed near Blackpool, and then after he had returned home, Tony became more
