Page 27 - RADC Bulletin 2019

Tony Cheetham while serving with the UN Forces
Tony, as many of us found at his funeral, was not only interested in dentistry. He had so many other talents and interests. He was considered by members of his family as “the greatest Showman’. He would amaze his children when young with his ability to magically conjure up coins from behind their ears, pull handkerchiefs from nowhere, and catch invisible balls in paper bags.
He was witty, humorous, loud, bumptious and messy, threw nothing away, was unable to go to a shop to buy a single item; inevitably he would return from a shopping expedition with multiple packs or whatever was on offer. He was bright and colourful and whenever possible wore red socks. He spoke German fluently.
After Tony retired he spent a considerable effort in raising money for charity, in particular Hope House and Help for Heroes. He served for many years on his Parish Council. He organised ‘Flicks in the Sticks’ and was heavily involved with Remembrance Day.
One of the last projects he completed
on the council was pushing through the renovation of the Trefonen bus shelter. The bus shelter had become run down and grim, and so he started a project that involved the local primary school drawing pictures they would like to see painted in the bus shelter to brighten it up. He personally bought the paint, painted the sky and hills, and with some family assistance painted a fantastic country scene. The three small sheep on a hill were also painted by Tony.
Those of us who knew Tony have lost a highly respected colleague and a larger than life friend who we will all miss greatly. Our thoughts are with his wife Doreen, children Nick, Mark and Sarah, and other members of his family.
Tony always wore red socks as we were asked to do at his funeral
Colonel James Hardy
Tony’s refurbished bus shelter at Trefonen
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