“Tony,” as he was often called, was born in 1936 in the small British town of Spalding, Lincolnshire. World War II colored his early childhood with air raids, gas masks, and the destruction of his home by Nazi bombs. In Britain’s difficult post-war years, Tony attended local schools, including the selective Spalding Grammar School, which taught an academic curriculum focused on Latin, literature, and mathematics—an education that developed the intelligence, curiosity, and dexterity with language he demonstrated throughout his life. Tony also had a passion and talent for football (soccer), eventually playing in semi-professional and professional leagues with the Spalding United Football Club until injuries ended his athletic career.
From 1954 to 1956, he served in the Royal Air Force, and his squadron prepared to deploy to North Africa during the Suez crisis in 1956. President Eisenhower’s intervention ended the crisis before the deployment happened, leaving Tony with a lifelong admiration of Eisenhower for ending that “folly and nonsense.” After leaving the Royal Air Force, Tony became a salesman for Howard Rotavator, a leading British manufacturer of agricultural machinery and implements.