In loving memory of Anthony Malt who sadly passed away on 20th April 2022
Anthony 28/04/1970 - 20/04/2022
Born in Leicester, Anthony spent most of his early life between Leicester and Durham. He was an only child. After difficult early years Anthony found some stability living with his father Bob and step-mum Mo. He gained an older brother Karl, and sister Nicola. Karl was a natural caring big brother to Anthony and a positive influence on Anthony’s social life and self-confidence, helping to draw out the cheeky, mischievous, and humorous side of Anthony’s character that we all knew and loved.
Trying to find some direction in life, in 1986, at 16 years old, Anthony took the brave decision to leave home and join the Royal Navy. He was the youngest in that year’s entry for training at HMS Raleigh. After completing 14 weeks training in Cornwall, he moved to HMS Collingwood in Fareham, settling in the area and eventually making it his home.
The Navy provided Anthony with valuable Engineering Qualifications and took him to places such as the Falkland Islands and Bahamas. It introduced Anthony to fitness and sport, and he threw himself into competitive events such as boxing matches and field gun, in which he was utterly determined to succeed.
Time in the Navy gave Anthony the values, discipline and ethics that shaped him and his future and whilst it was a relatively short chapter of his life, Anthony made good friends, such as Richard, that have stayed with him for life.
After Anthony left the Navy to embark on life in civi-street, his first job took him on a daily commute from Fareham to Heathrow – in a tin-can Fiat Panda – it was snug. Unsurprisingly he felt something closer to home would be preferable and joined a new and modern company, Matchtech Recruitment, becoming a consultant specialising in engineering. Anthony thrived in this environment and built himself a strong reputation - earning much respect in the industry. He was integral to the growth and success of the business and learned many management skills which stood him in good stead for the next chapter of his life.
It was during his time at Matchtech that Anthony met Joella. Introduced in 1997 by her sister Sophia - the connection was immediate. Joella was attracted to his kindness, generosity, and intelligence, but ultimately it was Anthony’s humour that captured her heart.
In 2001 Anthony and Joella got engaged and started the planning of their wedding. They also decided that it was the right time to challenge their careers and took the plunge with a move into retail, taking over the Swanmore Village Store in May 2002, before getting married that September. With the staff still new, they took a week off and honeymooned in Portofino.
The shop was a complete change of direction for Anthony but, with Joella’s family background in retail, he knew he had abundant support and guidance. It was a baptism of fire for Anthony, with long days, opening at 6am every morning and often working through to closing at 9pm. Joella recalls them coming home after the first day and sitting together on the side of the bath with their feet in the water and exclaiming ‘what have we done!!’.
It was a challenging first few years for them both, early mornings, refitting the store, understanding the complexities of running a business, and working together as a couple.
Just as the clouds began to lift – along came a new more challenging, but important and rewarding role – Anthony and Joella became parents.
James blessed them first in 2004, at which point Anthony took over the day to day running of the business allowing Joella to stay at home and raise James, and then in 2007, the beautiful Daisy graced them.
Anthony very much became part of the community in Swanmore. He talked to everyone from the paperboys to the local landed gentry – and invariably he’d tease them and make them laugh. Anthony became a mentor and role model for the young adults that worked for him and his guidance undoubtably had a big influence on each of their futures. Anthony was able to take the time and had the patience to coach and develop their skills and capabilities.
After 12 successful years at Swanmore, Anthony and Joella decided to take the opportunity to break from the shop. Anthony was ultimately drawn back into the world of maritime and engineering.
He expanded his skills in recruitment and training over various roles and established a professional network in these fields. After a while he came upon a job and role in BAE Systems. Being an industry he knew and was passionate about, he was delighted. After a short period of time Anthony’s aptitude shone through, and the role evolved and expanded - recognising his natural nurturing skills and positive influence.
Anthony spoke with passion and pride about the young adults he supported, helping to build their careers in the industry, and he spoke with much fondness and respect for his work colleagues.
Naturally Anthony extended the same support to his own children, able to guide and advise James and Daisy in their own education and most recently James’ first employment and Degree. Anthony’s advice, guidance and encouragement were invaluable to James in the challenging interview process with several large corporations, providing James with confidence in himself and his abilities. Anthony never got to hear of James’ success on being offered not just one, but two Apprenticeships, but he would have been immensely proud and excited for his future.
Anthony and the family
Anthony showed the utmost kindness, passion, and pride for his children.
When they were young, Anthony loved to read them books. Books were incredibly important to him. James and Daisy both fondly recall him reading to them, the two favourite books being ‘Room on the Broom’ and ‘The Tiger who came to Tea’. One of Anthony’s many talents was his ability to use different accents and voices. Every character was given its own unique voice and his ‘Welsh dragon’ always brought much laughter.
In fact, Anthony combined his talent for voices with his love to plays pranks on the unsuspecting. His Father-in-law Roy once complained of being harassed on the phone by an Irish traveller wanting to tarmac his drive. It was many weeks later that the caller’s true identity was revealed.
Anthony’s love for a practical joke did not exclude his direct family and sometimes he recruited an accomplice. Poor Daisy was caught out by Anthony and James when they saw an opportunity to fool her into believing that due to inclement weather, she had to take a sleeping bag to school in case they got snowed in. To suppress her suspicions, Anthony and James went one step further and produced an official looking letter from the school, reinforcing the message to parents. This prompted manic text messaging between Daisy and her friends, which ended with her feeling a little embarrassed with her friends, but furious with her Dad and brother!
Anthony knew how to have fun and particularly enjoyed teasing the younger generation. He was a caring Godparent to Thomas and a loving, entertaining ‘Uncle Spant’ to Clement, Charles and Margot (or Charlie and Maggot as he called them). During the difficult lock down periods, Anthony went out of his way to set tasks and challenges for the children, from pottery to mosaics. He cycled to their houses with James and Daisy to deliver tasks and challenges which would ultimately be judged by the Grandparents. Anthony produced and directed a series of award presentations which involved him doing an Anneka Rice impression in cycling lycra, with a cheeky wink and side comment, ‘does my bum look big in this?’.
Anthony also liked to set challenges for James and Daisy. During lock down they started going out for their daily exercise. During May 2020, Anthony and James clocked up 300 miles on their bikes, with Lee-on-the-Solent being a favourite destination. In acknowledgement of his achievements Anthony awarded James a keepsake key ring which he now treasures as a reminder of his time out on the road with Dad.
Alongside the fun, Anthony also wanted to ensure that James and Daisy understood that many of life’s rewards come from hard work. Paper rounds became part of the family weekend with both James and Daisy encouraged to take them up. It was initially James, who at the age of 13 was able to start saving to buy the parts to build his first computer. Daisy eventually took over his round at 14. Being somewhat smaller in stature, Anthony supported her on the paper round, carrying her second bag of newspapers.
One of Anthony’s enjoyments in life was films, his favourite being Top Gun. He had built up an extensive video and DVD collection… before the revolution of streaming services meant he had to start all over again. He achieved an immersive experience by turning the volume up so loud the walls vibrated, but absurdly, he still had an ability to fall asleep to a cacophony of sound, particularly on a Sunday afternoon.
It would be wrong to assume that Anthony only enjoyed action movies. He had a fondness for musicals and often sat down to enjoy a Romcom. Daisy and Anthony had a great love for ‘Pitch Perfect’ movies and each time there was a new release, Anthony would take Daisy to the cinema to watch it - this would include sharing a huge slushy.
Anthony also loved a theme park. This started when he was a youngster with an annual birthday pilgrimage to Alton Towers.
Daisy particularly remembers a weekend when Joella and James were away, and Anthony decided to treat her to a day out at Chessington. Unfortunately, after a wrong turn at the start of the journey they ended up at Thorpe Park. Being 8, Daisy was too small for any of the rides but rather than go home Anthony drove them all the way to Chessington. Daisy remembers them both enjoying fresh donuts and coming home with a now much-loved teddy that Daddy had bought her to make up for the lack of time on rides.
It would be remiss to speak about Anthony and not mention the word Amazon. Anthony was known fondly as the Amazon addict. His ability to spot a perceived bargain was second to none. This resulted in him being on first name terms with the Amazon delivery driver and him having a house, garage, loft and shed full of items that would eventually come in useful. He was propelled to make these purchases by the need to be prepared. And prepared he was. Someone once said that should we ever actually have a Zombie apocalypse, they would be heading straight to Anthony’s house as he had everything you could possibly think of that would be needed to survive.
Anthony the man
Anthony was a man with quirky attributes but immensely solid and honourable principles. We all knew the cheeky, humorous and mischievous side of Anthony and have many anecdotes we are fortunate to be able to share and treasure together.
He was a kind, loving, generous and thoughtful man, who left an impression. His devotion to his family and friends was absolute and he only wished the very best for his loved ones. Anthony was a larger-than-life character who was a gentle man with a huge heart and big hugs.
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