Tony Wadsworth, G3NPF, 11 December 2014
Tony Wadsworth, G3NPF (SK)
It is with much sadness that I have to report the passing of Tony (A C) Wadsworth C.Eng MIET, G3NPF. Tony died suddenly at home of heart failure on the evening of Thursday 11th December aged 74. Tony had been suffering severe heart problems for the last 18 months after a major heart attack and cardiac arrest in May 2013. This left him with severe oedema, resulting in breathing problems, leg ulcers and serious mobility issues. All through his illness Tony had a positive attitude, although he still retained his aversion to the medical profession!
Tony was a retired Chartered Engineer and a member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology and was employed by Thales Defence Limited (formerly, MEL-a division of Philips and EKCO Avionics) in Crawley, until he took early retirement at the end of March 2001. He retired as a Senior Engineer / Project Leader, responsible for the design of navigation equipment for the Royal Navy.
He obtained his amateur radio licence in 1959 following eight years as a Short Wave Listener. In the early days, Tony lived in Southend-on-Sea and belonged to the Southend and District Radio Society. All his equipment was homebrew. He was a committee member of SDRS for over 12 years, and after moving to the Horsham area, subsequently served on the HARC committee for 18 years.
Until his heart attack Tony was an active member and supporter of HARC, and was especially active on the both the Saturday evening 2m club net and the Sunday morning BAD net (Billingshurst and District Net). But throughout his illness Tony was always a regular on the BAD net, which he ran as net controller for 40 years.
Tony was in recent years was a keen homebrewer and built wide range of accessories for the shack, including a high power HF liner amplifier that was extremely heavy and required two people to lift it! He would never throw anything away especially if it was repairable or parts could be used in some project or another. He was also an excellent model engineer.
Tony was a larger than life character and held strong opinions, but, he was always happy to offer advice and assistance when called on. Tony will be sorely missed by all who knew him. My condolences go out to Anne and his family.
Tribute by Adrian, G4LRP
Chairman, Horsham Amateur Radio Club
Category: Silent Keys
