Tony Cessford

24 July 1938 – 15 October 2010

I’ve been asked by Saranne to say something of Tony. I’ll try to do so, but, of course, my knowledge is much less than Sal’s, Fiona’s or Pamela’s. Please forgive the incompleteness of this.

Tony was born in Corbridge, Northumbria, on 24 July 1938, son of Jack & Peggy Cessford and brother of Pamela. He told of one of his earliest memories, being taken out by his father to watch a bombing raid on Newcastle. He was educated in South Shields and studied geology at Kings College, Newcastle.

Tony retained a lifelong pride in his Northumbrian heritage, which manifested itself in his bagpipe playing – he was probably the only exponent of the Nothumbrian pipes in this country!

In June this year, Jennifer & I spent 3 weeks with Tony and Saranne in France. As always, traveling with them was an education in geology – among others, we visited en route the village of Ste Enemie, where Tony had done field work as a student. It was spectacular, and epitomized to me what Tony was when I first met him. The spectacular cliffs of the Gorge reminded me of his interest in mountain climbing, as well as geology. The bleak, lonely countryside reflected his love of exploring remote places.

After university, Tony was offered two jobs – one was in Antarctica, spending 3 years in a small hut with 10 or so other men, the other was exploring for diamonds in Tanganyika. He took the second! Tony spent the next couple of years exploring there and in Botswana. It was (in the early 1960s) a wilder and more remote world, different I think in many ways from now – he hunted lion and elephant in the days when that was still politically correct. I remember seeing his elephant gun – a huge double barreled rifle that took cartridges the size of bananas. He sold the gun to pay for his honeymoon! Among other things, Tony found the first diamond for De Beers in Botswana – it led ultimately to the huge diamond industry which today powers the Botswanan economy. A few years ago I went with Tony and Saranne on a trip through Botswana, which started with a trip to the mines where we had a royal reception because of Tony’s connection with that original discovery.

Tony decided to continue his education and undertook postgraduate study at Wits in 1964. This changed his life in two important ways – he met Saranne, and he moved into oil geology. Oil exploration became his profession and led him around the world.

Through Saranne, Tony became part of our family. They married in December 1964 from my parents home in Northcliff, and from there set off to the Karroo with a caravan to look for oil! Since then, their wanderings have taken them to England (North Sea), Ghana, Texas, Indonesia, back to England and back here. Over this time our lives moved through different paths, bumping into each other from time to time – visiting them in Surrey and helping to paint the hall white; meeting in Toronto as they moved to Texas; meeting again in South Africa, England, Bali, Australia or wherever, whenever we were in the same part of the world.

In England, Tony and Saranne became part of Jennifer’s family too – “the Outlaws” – and Fiona became a granddaughter to the Tracy's, her second home when she studied at Bristol. That connection became very strong and, looking at photos of Tony, one sees many of Tracy's at the Thatched cottage or Anstey, or Cessford's at Tracy homes.

Tony and Saranne were married for 45 years. They were a wonderful couple – always interested and doing. They seemed to be perfect foils for each other. Tony’s dry humour, practicality and organization matching Saranne’s flair and originality. Their life had many joys and some sadness. Their joy in their children and pride in their achievements must have made the tragedy of Duncan’s death almost impossible to bear. I think their support for each other carried Tony and Saranne through that.

Tony loved and was enormously proud of his family – he reveled in Fiona’s successes; and was always so proud of Saranne’s flair and accomplishments.

When Tony retired, they moved to the Thatched Cottage and later to Anstey Farm, becoming interested in all sorts of country pursuits – barges and canals, otter conservation, sheep, poultry, walking sticks, longbow making and archery - the list seems endless. Every visit we made led us to another area of exploration, and Tony was always expert and involved. The same when they moved back here, with geology, wildlife interests, visits to Thaba Thabo, trips to game reserves. Together, he and Saranne got involved in the Geological Society and U3A. Their mutual interest in geology provided one of their deep interests in life, connected to their love of the country and its plants and animals.

Their circle of friends was always large – it would be impossible for me to list them, so I will not try. But, to all those friends, to Pamela, to Fiona and most of all to Sal, I can only say that I will miss him and that my life is very much richer for having Tony as part of it.

Peter Goddard

October 2010