How Tony’s career took flight

An athiest as a child growing up in North Shields’ Meadow Well estate, he didn’t take a shine to “boring” religious education lessons at school.

But since those humble beginnings, Tony has not only found God, he’s flown an aeroplane twice, and can speak a bit of Hebrew.

The Methodist minister, who has previously worked in Corbridge and retired to Hexham three years ago, has also been known to play guitar as part of his sermons.

A man with a penchant for self education, Tony’s love of books and music is clearly evident in the front room of the house he shares with wife Margy.

Many of the books are about Christianity, as you’d expect for a man who has dedicated more than four decades to the Methodist movement.

However, had it not been for two life-changing experiences as a teenager, Tony’s career may have taken an altogether different path.

“I was a theoretical athiest,” he admitted. “I found religious education lessons at school boring and monotonous, and I didn’t really want anything to do with the church.

“At that point in my life I was thinking of becoming a French teacher,” said Tony. “I had passed French in my O-levels, but failed English.

“But on one occasion, I found myself at Chirton Chapel in North Shields and I felt as though God was behind me.

“He put his hand on my shoulder and said ‘it’s okay son, we’re going on a journey and I’ll be with you.’ I felt as though I was getting a divine nudge.”

With his new-found fascination taking hold, Tony had become a member of a Methodist youth group, and attended a church convention at Otterburn Hall which proved to be significent.

He said: “I had a Road to Damascus experience at Otterburn that night. It was at quarter to midnight on November 6, 1971, when I was 18.

“I felt that I had met God face-to-face. It was a call to ordination, and he wanted me to become a Methodist minister.”

Tony began to study, and started working as a voluntary preacher. He attended Cliff College in Derbyshire, and in his early 20s, went to Bristol University, where he gained a BA in theology, based at the city’s Wesley College.

After graduating, Tony could have been posted anywhere in the British Isles, but he was handed his first role as a Methodist minister in his native North Tyneside.

“They put me in Wallsend, perhaps because I spoke the language! I loved the people and it was a great place to start. I had five memorable years there.”

In 1985, Tony moved to Amble, where he would remain until 1992, when a switch to Corbridge beckoned.

After six years in Tynedale, the vastly experienced Tony was appointed as a superintendent Methodist minister.

This saw him based in Pickering, North Yorkshire, from 1998 to 2004, before moving again, to Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd, in the Upper Calder Valley.

Over the years, Tony has combined his work in his respective postings with roles elsewhere.

He has served as a chaplain in hospitals, and also at the category C prison Acklington, near Amble, where he helped thieves, burglars and fraudsters to turn their lives around.

Tony once took a reformed prisoner into church to address the congregation about how God had helped him on to the straight and narrow.

“As you can imagine, there are a lot of different characters in a prison,” said Tony. “Sometimes I had to proceed with caution, particularly on one occasion when a man demanded to use the telephone after receiving a ‘Dear John’ letter.

“But I was able to calm him down and help him. Quite a few people have become Christians while in prison.”

A self-confessed aeroplane fanatic, Tony has also served as a chaplain at RAF Fylingdales, in the North York Moors.

He explained: “As a youngster I always wanted to be a pilot, but that was never going to happen.

“My right eye is useless, but I’ve always been fascinated by planes. It was an honour to work there, and the in-joke was that the padre’s recognition skills were better than the men in blue suits.”

Working with aircraft professionals, Tony has twice taken part in aerobatics, during which he briefly took control of the plane.

He explained: “On one occasion I was asked how I would feel about being upside down. I said ‘let’s give it a go.’

“The g-forces are always pushing outwards. I didn’t feel as though I was upside down, even though the sky was down there, and the fields were above me. It was quite an experience.”

Tony has long-established links with Estonia, dating back to the early 1980s when he was asked to help one of the country’s lay preachers train for ordination.

But instead of simply sending correspondence, Tony immersed himself in the culture of the Baltic states.

He has since visited the country numerous times, and has long been on a list of Methodist overseas speakers.

Tony maintained his connections with Tynedale after leaving his role in Corbridge in 1998, and said he always intended to return to the district in retirement.

Now settled in Hexham, he is not exactly retired. Tony remains active on the local Methodist circuit, and continues to carry out chaplaincy work at Hexham Air Training Corps (ATC) Squadron.

A keen singer and musician, his tenor voice can be heard while performing with Tynedale Community Choir, and the Hexham Abbey Festival Choir.

A competent photographer, Tony takes a daily interest in current affairs, and also helps on a voluntary basis with Hexham Food Bank.

He added: “I’ve always enjoyed singing, and I’ve played guitar since I became a Christian, starting with modern Christian music.

“We can always learn new things. I’ve always made the most of my three month sabbatical periods which is awarded to ministers every seven years.

“I like to travel, to read books, or perhaps brush up on my Hebrew. I enjoy languages, although despite my visits to Estonia, I was advised not to learn the language there, because it varies from region to region.”

The father-of-three has been married to Margy for 37 years. The couple are
looking forward to the birth of their first grandchild in April.

He added: “It’s always been fun and it still is. You never get bored in this job.

“I don’t think I could have done anything else with the same degree of vocation and satisfaction.”