TRIBUTES have poured in after the former chair of the Vindolanda Trust has died.

Professor Anthony Birley (Tony) died peacefully in his sleep on Saturday, December 19 at the RVI, in Newcastle, after a short battle with lung cancer.

Tony was born at Chesterholm - now the Vindolanda Museum - on October 8 1937 to parents Eric and Peggy Birley.

And for Tony and his elder brother Robin, Chesterholm and Vindolanda were places of boyhood freedom and adventure, which would go on to leave a deep love and impact for the rest of their lives - Tony’s earliest memories of the place were from 1943 when the family returned to Northumberland after being away for the first years of the Second World War.

At Clifton College, Tony showed talent mainly for languages and from the age of 13, concentrated on Latin, Greek, and Ancient History, leading to Classics at Oxford.

After reading Literae Humaniores at Oxford, Tony was Craven Fellow of the university 1960-1962 and went on to roles at Birmingham, Leeds, North Carolina, Manchester and Düsseldorf.

He was also elected Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, as well as a Corresponding and Full Member of the German Archaeological Institute, a Corresponding Member of the Nordrhein-Westfälische Akademie der Wissenschaften and a Member of the School of Historical Studies, Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton.

Though he had always enjoyed digging, mainly in England but also in Scotland and Wales with two spells in Libya, after his experience of directing a dig himself, at Maryport in 1966, he chose to stick to teaching and writing history on Roman Britain.

Tony became a Founder Trustee of the Vindolanda Trust in 1970 and served until 2016, for the final twenty years as Chair before becoming a senior Patron. His contribution to the reading of the Vindolanda writing tablets and the numerous inscriptions from the site was immense and he never failed to apply the formidable brilliance of his academic mind for its benefit.

In a statement, the trust said: “We mourn this kind man who was so generous with his knowledge and personal time to everyone he met. Professor Anthony Birley was loved by all at Vindolanda, he is irreplaceable and will be forever embedded in the history of the Vindolanda Trust. May he now rest in peace and our heartfelt condolences go to his wife, children, and grandchildren.”

Chair of Trustees Helen Woodford added: “In addition to a long and distinguished academic career, Tony made a major contribution to the Vindolanda Trust over many years."