Anthony Phillip Osborn (20 Apr 1943 - 29 Nov 2018)

In loving memory of Anthony Phillip Osborn who sadly passed away on 29th November 2018.

Anthony (or Tony as he was sometimes known) was born in Epsom Surrey to Leonard and Eileen Osborn. Anthony's father was an Opera Singer with the D'Oyly Carte company. Anthony had a younger Brother, Martin who now lives in Tasmania, Australia.

During his childhood Anthony spent many happy times with his cousin Sue and she has fond memories of shared Christmas's where lots of silly card games were played.

Anthony met the love of his life, Caroline Williams in his early 20's. Anthony and Caroline met either at the 20's club (where they made many mutual friends) or at De'Beers where Caroline worked.

Anthony and Caroline were married in St Luke's Church in Whyteleafe in 1967. They lived in Burgess Hill initially before moving into Caroline's parents house at Bryn Gwyn. In time Anthony and Caroline moved to 66 Coulsdon rise, which was a home they loved.

Anthony joined Haymarket as a photographer, and he and Caroline had a lot of adventures with him bringing home motorbikes and the like which had to be photographed. She said at one stage he used to pick her up from work on a different bike almost every time. Anthony moved up to be head of the photographic department at Haymarket, which was quite a bunch of ne'er-do-wells and reprobates, but they set extremely high standards for the quality of their photography, setting Haymarket's magazines apart from their rivals.

In later years Anthony moved into Haymarket's exhibitions arm, in charge of ticketing for major events such as Good Food, Good Homes, Gardener's World and Autosport Live, so he seemed to spend quite a lot of his time at the NEC in Birmingham!

In his spare time Anthony enjoyed spending time with friends and family and he was a good cook (albeit under Caroline's instruction!). Anthony and Caroline spent many happy times with Caroline's family in East Sussex or Cheshire. These occasions usually centered around fantastic meals and long walks.

Anthony and Caroline loved their hi-fi system and music, and in later years they worked together on some reviews of hi-fi equipment for Gramophone magazine, which they loved doing. Their friend Andrew Everard recalled some very loud nights playing the hi-fi at full whack with the latest album after a few drinks. Anthony was delighted when they improved his hi-fi system with some new loudspeakers, and he could finally hear his records of his late father singing with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in amazing quality, as the recordings had just then been released on CD. It brought him to tears, and he was so pleased to have a hi-fi finally able to give that impression of his father being 'in the room'.

Travel was something that Caroline and Tony both enjoyed with trips to the south of France being a frequent destination in their early married years. In their later years they broadened their travels and visited such places as China, the Galapagos islands, America, Australia and more. These trips were often with friends and they particularly enjoyed boating or cruise trips.

Shortly after retirement Anthony was sadly diagnosed with Alzheimer's, which was a terrible blow. Anthony and Caroline stayed positive and arranged some fantastic holidays to make the most of Anthony's time before his condition worsened. Sadly Anthony lost Caroline in 2014 when she suffered a stroke. Anthony never really recovered from this, but with the help of fantastic carers Cathy, Lauren and Sue he was able to stay in his home and enjoy a good a quality of life as possible.

Anthony moved to Amberley Lodge care home at Christmas in 2016 when it was no longer possible for him to remain at home. Cathy and Lauren both continued to see Anthony up until his death which was a great comfort to him.

Anthony will fondly be remembered by all of his friends and family.