Tony was born on 1 December 1920 in Salford, Manchester to Polish born parents David and Rebecca née Pearlman. He had three older siblings, Joseph who married Fay Glass and worked as a furrier, Maurice and Blanche. The family lived at 28 Broom Lane, Salford and Tony’s father David worked as a travelling salesman dealing in fur.

Tony was the wireless operator on Lancaster ND799 which departed RAF Wickenby on the evening of July 6, 1944 on an operation to attack a flying bomb site in the Foret du Croc, France. Over the target, a bomb dropped from another aircraft sliced off the starboard tail fin and rudder. The aircraft’s pilot Flt Lt H I Gray fought to regain control of the aircraft and, miraculously, managed to fly it back to base. It was too badly damaged to land safely and crashed on the approach to the airfield at Faldingworth. Tony was critically injured, taken to hospital but died twelve days later from his injuries on July 18, 1944. 

Flight Lieutenant Gray, Flying Officer H P Taylor, Flight Sergeant E W Strand and Sergeant J N D Scott survived the crash.

Navigator Pilot Officer Jack Gibson, killed
F/E Sergeant P Frith, killed