Sea Fever. I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by; And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking, And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking. I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied; And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying, And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying. I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life, To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife; And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover, And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over. Read by Meg, one of Tony's granddaughters.

From the Welcome at the start of the Service - Tony's Life Story. Anthony John Collingridge known to everyone as Tony was born on 14 June 1936 in Gants Hill, Essex, to Bill and Betty. He had a happy childhood, fascinated by insects, particularly butterflies, which became a lifelong interest. When he was 11, they moved to Bristol and at 13 he won a scholarship to Clifton College. He was very good academically but terrible at cricket, so he took up rowing which he loved. Tony left Clifton College with another scholarship to read Classics at Cambridge, but he chose to put this on hold to do his National Service in the Navy. Tony was awarded ‘Outstanding Cadet’ of his training class and was one of the first National Servicemen to be authorised to keep watch on their own. He served on an aircraft carrier which was the first ship to visit Russia after the war. He then transferred to a minesweeper, which was active keeping the peace in Cyprus and then formed part of the contingent trying to run the blockade in the Suez Crisis. Importantly, the Navy also taught Tony how to sail. After one days training in a whaler, he obviously seemed to know what he was doing as they told him to get on with it by himself and teach the others! He was hooked on sailing for the rest of his life. After the Navy, Tony decided not to go up to Cambridge and started his career in junior management with WD & HO Wills. Life for him changed forever when he spent a two-week holiday teaching sailing at a PGL Holiday Camp in Suffolk. There he met Jenny who, as well as teaching sailing, was in charge of breakfasts, and gave Tony extra helpings every day! They married in 1961 and set up home in Long Ashton. Life was made complete with the arrival of their three children, Sarah, Alison & Simon. Tony was a high flyer at Wills, and by 1968 he was moving his young family up to Helensburgh near Glasgow with his appointment as General Manager of the Scotland & Northern Ireland factories. They lived there happily for 8 years and Tony made international headlines when he accompanied Margaret Thatcher on their factory tour, and they became stuck in a lift together! The family returned to Bristol when Tony was promoted to the Wills board as Personnel Director, later becoming Commercial Director of Wills parent company, Imperial Tobacco. From there, he skilfully negotiated his early retirement at the ripe old age of 48! Tony & Jenny moved to Newton Ferrers near Plymouth to set up their own sailing school, Devon Offshore. They spent 5 years teaching people to sail in ocean-going yachts around the South coast, the Channel Islands and the Scillies. In 1990, with the children grown up, they decided to start the sailing adventure they had always dreamed of. They bought a Moody 36 yacht, called her "Stage Sea", and in the autumn they set off across the Atlantic for an epic voyage which had them living aboard for 21 years - sailing around the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, as well as the inland waterways of Northern Europe and North America, involving 4 transatlantic crossings! Over the years, Sarah, Alison and Simon all got married and between them had nine children. Family holidays were often spent wherever Stage Sea happened to be, and during the winters Tony & Jenny flew home for family visits. They loved seeing their family, and as each of the grandchildren reached the age of about 9, they flew out for a holiday with Granny & Grandad by themselves. As a result, the whole family can recount stories of Tony’s larger than life sense of humour, his infectious laugh, the adventures they had with him, and his love of life on the sea. In 2011, having reluctantly conceded that it was time to live on dry land again, Tony & Jenny sailed back to Bristol. They sold their beloved Stage Sea to the right people and have spent the last 8 years living happily in Westbury Park, renewing old friendships and making new ones. Tony always loved to tell stories about his life and could keep everyone entertained. Even when his ill health made life harder, his love for Jenny and his family kept him going, and his laughter would lighten every occasion. Tony will be very sadly missed by all those who knew and loved him.

Very kind donations from Kristin, Celia & Jenny. Thank you all so much.

Granddad Granddad’s huge smile whenever he saw his grandchildren will be one of my favourite memories of him. That, along with the vats of homemade brandy butter he brought to Christmas and his penchant for a rum and Sprite. His was the first moules marinières I’ve ever tasted and none I’ve had since has ever quite lived up to his – though I’m not sure our kitchen ever quite recovered! Continuing on the fishy theme, I still remember him teaching me how to fish over the side of the boat in Portugal when I was around 10 and me proudly holding up the silvery flat fish I had caught to show him. At which point he said something along the lines of: ‘So are you going to eat it?’ to which I replied a horrified, ‘No!!!’ ‘Well don’t waste it!’ he laughed, skilfully gutting it and grilling it nicely, trying to tempt me into eating it. I was still not convinced but I think he enjoyed it stating there was more for him then! I believe he told me it was a flounder fish – his encyclopaedic knowledge of birds and fish never failed to astound me. I always loved how Grandad always had a new story to tell about some far off part of the globe and the people that he and Granny had met. He was a talented story-teller and I think that came across in his brilliant articles he wrote about their sailing adventures. I remember loving to show off that my grandparents were so cool sailing round the world in their boat – I’m fairly certain I was telling friends they had sailed round the whole world at least 3 times didn’t you know. I’m just sad I didn’t have more time to hear more of his stories in the time that I knew him and I know there were still far more parts to learn about him. I like to think that some of my love of writing is inherited from him. I remember he took the time to type up my entire terrible first novel that I wrote aged 12, edit it and give constructive feedback to me. That was the kind of person he was. I know he would do anything for his family and loved us all dearly especially Granny his wonderful wife. Their relationship is one to aspire to: roaming the world on Stage Sea, experiencing different exotic cultures, facing challenges together and still managing to produce a flourishing family. Even in these last few years with all the new, unexpected trials put in front of them they never gave up on each other and showed so much love and compassion. Thank you for being such a loving grandfather, persistent teacher and general inspiration to us all, Grandad. From Harriet, one of Tony's granddaughters.