I heard today that author and historian, and founding Western Front Association member, Tony Spagnoly died in hospital yesterday. Tony was well known as a regular WFA speaker, and many more will know him through his books and work as a battlefield guide. A veteran of the Royal Navy, who served at the tail end of WW2 (including a posting on HMS Belfast), Tony's knowledge of the Great War was something hard to describe; even encyclopaedic does not do justice to it. He began visiting the battlefields in the 1960s with his life-long friend, John Dray. Together they took many hundreds of veterans back to the battlefields, and as a contemporary of John Giles, Lyn MacDonald, and Rose Coombes, Tony was one of those who worked tirelessly to raise the profile and awareness of the Great War. He was with John Giles in Ypres when the decision to form the WFA was made, and was an original member of the Association. His books only ever expressed a fraction of what he knew, but they brought a new generation to the subject of the Great War, and they will be his lasting memorial. On a personal note, Tony was a good and supporting friend, who very much encouraged and helped to develop my own knowledge of the war. I had the pleasure of spending many happy hours on the battlefields with him, and my lasting regret is that he was too ill to take part in a current documentary about his great hero - Mick Mannock. Tony was a profoundly religious and spiritual man; it gave him a special link to the men of the Great War, and I hope now he walks among them as he wished he would. Adieu, Spaggers.
Paul, Condolences for losing a friend. A very special write up from you that is a fitting tribute to your good friend. Tom
Like Owen I met Tony a few times and heard him speak on his beloved Plugstreet and to Paul thanks (if those can be the right words) for letting us know of the sad news!
