It is with huge sadness that we share the news of the passing of Tony Billington, aged 79, recently in his beloved garden, “The Dell”.

 

Tony was from a family steeped in tennis, 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 server 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.

 

Tony was educated at Bradfield College from 1959-63 and then came up to St John’s College.  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 future Wimbledon Chairman Ian 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 running his own advertising agency, Billington Jackson.  He had been a Full Member of the All England Club since 1973.

 

Tony had a great generosity of spirit, always interested in younger generations and seeking to create a better future for them. His fundraising efforts at Bradfield College led to the development of the Indoor Tennis Centre for school and community use, and his indefatigable efforts as Chairman and then Senior President of OULTC have stood the club in good stead since the turn of the century. 

 

Oxford tennis and the Prentice Cup played a hugely important part of Tony’s tennis life and he served as Chairman of the British Prentice Cup Committee between 1989 and 2013, passing on the torch to former Oxford Blue and Prentice Cup winner Mark George (“you can always trust Dark Blue”, Tony said, probably).

 

Tony will be greatly missed by the world of British Tennis and all those who knew and worked alongside him.  Our thoughts go out to Tony’s wife Fayleen, and his children Lucy, George and Charlie. A memorial service for Tony will be held at Bradfield College Chapel on Saturday 1st November from 2.30pm where OULTC and many others will pay their respects and celebrate the life of an Oxford Tennis legend.

 

Jeff Hunter

Chair, OULTC