We are sorry to share the sad news of the passing of Tony Billington (H 59-63) who died suddenly on Thursday 4 September, aged 79.

Tony attended Bradfield alongside his older brother Tim (H 58-62) and they both excelled at tennis alongside their close friend and fellow pupil Chris Gorringe (E 59-64) to all qualify for Junior Wimbledon in 1962 - the first time the school had had 3 boys playing there together.

Tony went on to be a Full Member of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) from 1973. A recent Newsletter to their members noted "Tony was from a family steeped in tennis and the All England Club, with several generations having competed at The Championships. His father, Henry, represented Great Britain in the Davis Cup and his mother, Susan, is believed to be the last player to regularly serve underarm at Wimbledon. Ironically, his grandmother, Ellen Stawell-Brown, had been the first woman to serve overarm at The Championships. Tony’s siblings, Tim and Jane, also played to a high level (all three competed at Junior Wimbledon) and he was the uncle of four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist Tim Henman.

At Oxford University, Tony was the regular doubles partner of Ian Hewitt for two years. He captained Oxford in 1968 and was a Member of the victorious Oxford/Cambridge Prentice Cup teams in 1966 and 1968. The 1968 success in Seabright, New Jersey was a particular highlight, with Tony winning all three of his doubles matches, alongside Hewitt, as well as both of his singles matches.

Later on the same tour, Tony played a memorable, albeit brief, match at Merion against Arthur Ashe, who would go on to win the inaugural US Open just a few weeks later. He also played a match against Charlie Pasarell at Longwood Cricket Club.

Exuberant, attacking and confident, Tony was a particularly formidable doubles player. Always maintaining a positive attitude, and admired for his warmth and sense of fun, he continued to be a leading player for Berkshire for very many years, whilst pursuing a career in advertising.

The Prentice Cup remained a hugely important part of Tony’s tennis life and he served as Chairman of the British Prentice Cup Committee between 1989 and 2013, becoming inextricably linked with the event.

He will be greatly missed by those he worked alongside on the Prentice Cup and by his many friends at the All England Club."

Thank you to Tony for everything he did for Bradfield as a Bradfieldian, parent and Friend of Bradfield. We marked his commitment to Bradfield tennis back in 2023 at the unveiling of a plaque dedicated to Tony and many others who supported the college with both in the Indoor Tennis Centre and the Clay Courts projects - more details here

A memorial service is being planned with Tony's family to be held at Bradfield College Chapel on Saturday 1 November starting at 2:30pm with tea to follow the service in the College.  Everyone is very welcome and the link to join the memorial service is here.