UKC

With regret I would like to inform TP's friends that he passed away Sunday 2nd Jan.

The funeral is on Friday 14th Jan. 11.30 at Wigan crematorium, all Tonys friends are welcome to attend .

As we all know Tony was larger than life and lived it to the full,we all have great memories of Tony at the peak of his climbing career during the 70's 80's and 90's..

Tony's family have requested that any donations go to the mountain rescue .If anyone requires any further details please contact myself or any of Tonys friends in Bolton.

Nigel

In reply to nbonnett:

Tony will be sadly missed and remembered by all his friends.

My last phone call with him he told me he had been arrested for being an
Eco Warrior!!

The only Eco warrior I know that set up a barbecue and booze up in Wigan Park for all his Tribe

In reply to nbonnett: I am sorry to hear this sad news. Tony always inspired me and was larger than life. I have many fond memories of Tony at the Bolton Wall and climbing in Lancs.

RIP my friend

Mark Leach

In reply to nbonnett:

Such sad news.

Like you said, Tony was larger than life and always full of beans. Pottering about in the quarries with Tony was always a hilarious experience and he will be sadly missed.

We used to call him Tony 'The Prophet' Preston.

I seem to recall he had a visit do the doctors back in the 80s, something to do with his little finger I think. When the doctor told him that he'd be right in a couple of months he asked the doctor if he'd be able to do hard gymnastic rock climbing. When the doctor said yes that would be possible Tony replied "good because I couldn't do that before"!

Just posted a photo of Tony to the gallery.

Phil Kelly

In reply to nbonnett: Horrible news - knew through the grapevine he hadn't been well. Many happy memories of Tony. RIP.
Nigel Holmes

In reply to nbonnett:

A terrible shame, but everone who knew him has loads of great memories and plenty of laughs along the way!

Andrew

In reply to nbonnett:
shit.thats bad news.

In reply to nbonnett:

Tony Preston was a real star!
Not only was he a tremendously talented climber, but back in the 70s and 80s he was undoubtedly Bolton’s finest climbing raconteur.
What a shame it all had to end this way.
I can’t imagine anyone meeting Tony without falling under the spell of his unique humour (except perhaps Nigel Holmes)– it travelled all the way from Bromley Cross to West Virginia, and beyond.
Those close to him know he was drawn like a magnet to eccentric old characters who provided him with endless material for his hilarious anecdotes.
Among his talents, he was sometimes a very convincing mimic and I suspect that many of Bolton’s climbers have been introduced to my Dad (among others, including me probably) through Tony’s harshly accurate, but entertaining, satirical impersonations.

Poor old Tony. Really sad news.

Condolences to all his many, many pals, his two lads, and his sister.

In reply to nbonnett: Great guy, one of Lancashires, RIP

In reply to nbonnett: Bad news . One of the real characters of the Bolton scene lost . Many many good memories of Tony most of which make me laugh !!! R I P .

Mick Johnston

In reply to nbonnett: Sadly, I think we all have expected this day for a long time. Doesn't make it any easier to take even so. As others have said, memories of Tony revolve around great laughs at the crag or in the pub afterwards. In his day, he was a fantastic climber, and not a bad fell runner, despite his intake of fags and beer.

Sympathy to his family and his many friends.

Mike

In reply to nbonnett:
Very sad news.
A great character and he will be sadly missed.
Too few around these days.
Best wishes to family

Geoff Goddard.

In reply to nbonnett:
Oh dear, such sad news.
I haven't seen Tony for some years, but I have fond memories of the great laughs we had together.

Sleep well, lad

Al Phiz

In reply to ron canty:

I remember the photo from your trip, and the story of while he was in the states,he was trying to stop smoking, then one night sat round a campfire with a bunch of american hotshots he proclaimed he was "Dying for a Fag"
to which all the yanks looked at him and made their excuses !!

In reply to nbonnett: Really Sad News.

Tony was always full of fun and laughs a great person to be around, joking, encouraging and enjoying life.

RIP. My sincere condolances to his family and close friends and I am sure there will be many many people like myself who enjoyed his company and have fond memories.

Ian D

In reply to nbonnett:
Well Tony, all of us saw it comin eh. You were a funny bugger. I have this image of you indelibly printed on my brain - You in the Clachaig with a car jump lead clasped to your nose, blood tricklng out, your eyes face full of jack-russel determination, seeing off your opponent clipped to the other end. It's that determination that went a long way in your life!

Sleep well mate.

PPx

In reply to nbonnett: Nobody who heard the tale of the Big Night Out at the Last Drop, ending in a cross-country flounder, a break-in to his own bedroom, and a totally trashed best suit, could ever forget the tears of helpless laughter it provoked.
One hilarious moment we came across Rowland Edwards hanging upside down from an overhang, posing for a picture. Tony at once assumed the persona of a chimpanzee on a TV advert current at the time.
He could vividly evoke people you had never seen or met, such were his powers of mimicry.
He was a huge talent, enormous fun, and simply a great bloke to go climbing with.
Al and Jenny Hubbard

In reply to nbonnett: sad news.tony was an unforgettable character-terrific climber and the funniest companion you could wish to meet.

martin boysen

In reply to ron canty:
If you have any photos, post them and tag them as Tony Preston and this link should then work as a gallery, and boy would he love all of this Many, many, many happy times...

http://www.ukclimbing.com/photos/search.html?climber=tony+preston

In reply to nbonnett:

One of the best. So many memories...most of which I can't remember!!

..but, attacking his rucksack in the heather after being driven crazy by the models being filmed on top of Froggatt Edge............and many loony evenings in the Last Drop (remember Nige Holmes getting locked in the bogs by the management after streaking with the flaming bog roll) and many other Ale Houses.

RIP Tony, you brought fun into all our lives, and you are already sadly missed.

Paul McKenzie

In reply to nbonnett: One of Lancashires true climbing characters,fond
memories of climbing in the quarries with him--followed by a few pints
in the pub after--sadly also saw him in his later years when life had not
been to kind to him--will raise a glass on Friday in his memory.

In reply to Clauso:

Bloody hell - hard lads in Lancs!

Mick

Just a reminder that Tony's funeral is tomorrow, Friday 14th January at 11.30.

It's at:

Wigan Crematorium,
Wigan Cemetery,
Cemetery Road (off Warrington Road),
Lower Ince,
Wigan
WN3 4NN

All Tony's friends are welcome to attend.

Phil

In reply to ron canty:

Priceless, There are so many one liners and tales. thing is they don't
need embelishing either

Geoff

In reply to nbonnett:

I didn't know Tony as a climber but worked with him and occassionally went fell walking with him. He was one of the funniest people that I have ever met and was well worth his native american name of "Ten Tongues" when he was in full flow telling stories.

R.I.P. My friend, Helen, Kev the Rev and the Little Munchkin xxx

In reply to nbonnett: Such a waste of a wonderful person who lit up the room with just one word. Tony will be deeply missed - he will always be in my heart. Tony was unique, funny and had the ability to put people at ease. Such a sad loss

In reply to nbonnett: Long summer evenings in the Bolton quarries,banter, mickey-taking, a plunge in the quarry pools, then down the pub. These were my earliest memories of Tony.Images of him will remain with me for ever: like the New Year at the Old Success in Sennen when he left at about 2.30am, only to reappear minutes later with two tangerines screwed into his eyes, shouting "See you Jimmy." No-one saw the final scene of his Big Night Out at the Last Drop, but it was vividly created from his brilliant rendition of events, which left him at his door, covered in mud, without a key, and the remnants of his best suit hanging from him, still thinking "So far so good" as he shinned up the drainpipe, pulled down the sash window and fell into his bedroom, only to leave most of his trousers caught on the catch. His final comment was priceless:"If only I'd pushed the bottom window up I'd have been alright. I suppose I must have been a bit pissed." As a comic tale of misfortune, it was up there with Gerard Hoffnung's Jamaican Hod Carrier.
The snatched few late September days in Cornwall that Martin Boysen and myself had with Tony and Nigel Bonnet, were amongst the most memorable of my climbing life. Each morning Martin and I listened to them planning how they would entertain the old folks that day, starting with what they would give us for breakfast. Xanadu, West Face, Kafouzalem, Raven Wall, The Vault and America were crammed into three hectic days, punctuated by hilarious nights in the Radgel, with Tony good-naturedly mimicking the locals. He took his climbing and his comedy seriously, but not himself.
A few people you meet in life make the big impression that remains as an indelible positive; for me, Tony was one of them.
Superb climber, brilliant mimic and raconteur. For me you were a truly great man - thanks Tony.
Al Hubbard

In reply to nbonnett:

Please bear with me as I am new to doing this kind of thing.
I am, as you might gather from the name, Tony's sister and felt I must say something about the things I have read on this site about Tony.

It was wonderful to read how so many people remembered the Tony that I knew and grew up with.

Tony came into the world 6 weeks early and his Dad used to say that he was the size of a bag of sugar. He grew up with the determination to live life to the full and was a really protective brother, woe betide anyone who picked on me, but it was ok for him to do it - I let him win occassionally.
He used to have Me and our Mum and Dad in stitches when he returned from his climbs telling us about what he got up to with all his climbing friends.
It was such a happy time for him and I don't think he ever replaced the fun and camaraderie he enjoyed during those days.
It was a big surprise to see so many of you there at the funeral - the chapel was full and some had to remain outside - I am sure that would have meant the world to Tony as it did me.

Whenever I drive past the Quarries at the Wilton on my way home to Belmont I will think of you all.

Love

Carol