Tony Noel (TL 1954) has died at age 89

A.J.R (Tony) Noel was among the last group of district officers to serve in Northern Rhodesia – now Zambia. Soon after independence in 1964, Tony – who has died aged 89 - resigned of his own accord to start a new life and career in England. He always remembered Africa fondly although it was not without its hazards.

One of his duties was touring his district. As he put it drily in his memoir published in the miscellany Barotseland and Scenes from Zambian Life (Ituri: 2021): ‘The word touring has implications of a gentle progression [but] the chief’s area you were designated to tour was more of a social construct than a defined geographical area.’

In Rhodesia he met and married Pam. They had two children, Christopher and Amanda. Following Rhodesia, Tony and Pam returned to England, settling in the Woking area. Tony worked for many years for Sainsbury’s. He became area personnel manager for a large slice of England – West London to Cornwall.

At Highgate, he was a boarder in The Lodge (1949-55), during the reign of the ultra-competitive housemaster, H.J. Gibbon. Tony recalled these years as a co-author with fellow Lodgers David Nesbit (TL 1956) and Cedric Pulford (SG 1956) of Coming Second Doesn’t Count (Ituri: 2012). Although not especially sporty he flourished in The Lodge as well as in the school, where with his easy-going but efficient manner he became a senior prefect.

Those same qualities secured him a commission in the Oxon and Bucks Light Infantry for his National Service. Then came the Rhodesian adventure ...

Pam died in 2016. Tony lived on independently, supported by Christopher and Amanda.