Tony Mitchell obituary

My father, Tony Mitchell, who has died aged 89, was a teacher who rose to be head of English at a Somerset comprehensive school, then became a teacher trainer in Bedfordshire.

Born in Bexleyheath, south London, to Violet (nee Garbutt) and Harry Mitchell, both police officers, Tony attended Shooters Hill grammar school then secured a teaching qualification from Goldsmiths College in 1953, before doing his national service in the Egyptian Canal Zone with the Royal Army Education Corps. In 1960 he married Hazel Lewis, an office skills teacher who had been his penfriend while in Egypt, having persuaded her to choose marriage to him over Methodist missionary work.

While teaching full-time at Hurstmere boys’ secondary modern in Sidcup, he studied English at Birkbeck, University of London, and graduated in 1964. A few years at Bexley/Erith technical school followed, then in 1967 Tony moved with his young family to Somerset to become head of English at Chilton Trinity comprehensive school in Bridgwater.

In 1971 the family decamped to Bedford, where Tony trained teachers at Bedford College, also becoming deeply involved in the lecturers’ union NATFHE and with the national Campaign for the Advancement of State Education, which he chaired for a period.

He graduated with a master’s in education from Exeter University in 1972, and did an MA in film and TV in education at the Institute of Education (now part of UCL) in 1984.

Outside work, Tony exploited his 6ft 6in height as a centre-forward for school staff teams and as a fast bowler of no mean ability for Old Shooters Hillians cricket team, and later for the village club at Arlesey in Bedfordshire. He was a Norwich City fan, sharing his passion and his jubilation at the Canaries’ successes with his family.

Tony took early retirement from Bedford College in the mid-80s and became a dedicated and popular Labour member of Bedfordshire county council, serving Kingsbrook ward for 16 years, with a particular interest in sustainability issues.

He and Hazel (herself a mayor of Bedford) threw themselves into campaigning causes: they were republican environmentalists to the end. Hazel’s Quakerism and Tony’s humanism helped to sustain them through the shattering loss of their youngest child, Fay, in a train accident in 1994, a tragedy that inevitably overshadowed the rest of their lives. They found comfort in their strong relationship, the support of their other children and grandchildren, and in their many friendships.

Tony had a fascination for poetry (some of his own was published), literature and history, which he passed on to his descendants. He was also an inveterate letter writer to the Guardian.

He is survived by Hazel, their children Clare and me, and five grandchildren, Ellen, Becan, Beth, Sorcha and Callum.