'Loving and caring' Royal Navy Commander who taught King Charles III at naval college dies aged 91
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Commander Anthony “Tony” Wilkins OBE, RAN (Retd) was described as a wonderful man with a distinguished naval career
Heartfelt tributes have been paid to a former Royal Navy Commander who died at the age of 91.
Commander Anthony “Tony” Wilkins OBE RAN (Retd), who taught King Charles III during his military career, passed away on October 13 following a short illness. The officer’s prestigious career in Portsmouth led to him being made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), before retiring to Australia alongside his wife Julia.
His daughter Caroline Diment, of Southbourne, said she could not have been prouder of him. She told The News: “He was a wonderful father and we had an amazing childhood full of happy memories.
“My favourite memory was going into the officer’s mess with him in Rosyth, being allowed to sit and have a Sunday lunch with everyone. We had some great times there. The greatest thing of all was that when you met him you felt loved and cared for. Everybody who met him said the same.”
Life during the Second World War and in the military
Tony was born on July 29, 1935, in Weymouth. His dad Albert was a Telegraphist in the Royal Navy submarine service, and his mum Louisa was a former housemaid. The family had to be evacuated from Malta at the start of the Second World War. Tony and his mum had to stay with Louisa’s, Ernest and Florence Davies, in Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire.
The family were in Portsmouth in 1941 despite regular air raids. One of Tony’s childhood memories was taking cover with his mum and neighbours in local bomb shelters, particularly on January 10 when the Guildhall and six churches were hit. He watched hundreds of military vehicles pack the city ahead of the D-Day landings.
Tony grew up in the city and was one of the first boys to attend Portsmouth Grammar School through a scholarship. As a cadet, he attended the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in June 1953, with his future wife in the crowd not far away.
He joined the Royal Navy straight out of school in 1952, training as an officer Royal Naval Engineering College at Manadon in Plymouth. Tony’s military career spanned two navies and 42 years of service. He was deployed across the world, including the Malayan Emergency in 1950s, patrols off East Africa in the 1960s, and the West Indies.
Tony was assigned to HMS Hermes, Duchess, Leopold, and Glamorgan, while also taking shore assignments in Plymouth, Rosyth, Portland and Portsmouth. While teaching younger personnel at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth in 1970s, one of his pupils was His Majesty King Charles III, who was then a young naval officer.
Tony considered his best professional highlight to be during the Falklands War in 1982. He was a desk officer at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in Whitehall, where he briefed the evolving situation to then prime minister Margaret Thatcher. He was made an OBE in 1989.
Caroline described her dad as a loving man who always went above and beyond for those in the military and civilian life. Trying to hold back the tears, she said: “We’ve lost a wonderful man who taught us how to love and how to live.
“Lots of family and friends will miss him. His naval career was distinguished. We’re all incredibly proud of what he achieved, no one more so than my mum who was a proud and dedicated naval wife.”
Retirement and family life
Tony met his wife Julia in a coffee bar in Portsmouth on April 12, 1956, when he was 20. His fellow naval officers provided the loving couple a guard of honour when they got married on August 9, 1958, in Wrecclesham, Surrey.
Going on to spend 68 years together, they had three children named Nicola, Caroline and Andrew, as well as four grandchildren; Ben, Victoria, Felix and Owen. Tony’s final posting was in Canberra in 1985 while on secondment with the Royal Australian Navy, working on the fleet maintenance programme.
He retired from the Royal Navy aged 53, and transferred to their Australian counterparts to continue life at sea. Tony and Julia moved there and became Australian citizens. They became invigorated by their new surroundings and embraced their lifestyle in the Gold Coast.
Caroline fondly looks back on days out with her dad, especially camping holidays where they had to wear giant military cagoules and sleep in naval tents. She also remembers herself and her brother being taken out on a military patrol boat, travelling so fast that they got seasick.
The keen rugby and basketball player threw himself into painting and drawing when he retired. He served as President of the Friends of the Gold Coast Arts Centre, now called the Home of the Arts. Tony then helped establish the Friends of the Arts Foundation Gift Fund, supporting talented young artists develop their skills.
The generous artist also worked tirelessly helping the Leukaemia Foundation after Julia was diagnosed with the condition. Their fundraising efforts were so significant that a research grant was named after them.
“He made people feel important, he respected and valued them,” Caroline said. “He wanted people to do well and invested in them, whether it was cadets who were moving through their careers, or prospective artists. So many people have travelled the world to develop their musical and theatrical careers because of his support.”
Caroline plans to float some white roses by the ferry port and dockyard to honour her father’s memory. “I can’t emphasise enough how loved he was and how hard he worked for other people,” she added.
“He’s left some of himself in all of us, and we’re all very proud to hold onto that.”