6th July 2016
TRIBUTES have been paid to Sir Anthony Milbank, fifth baronet of Barningham Park, who passed away on Sunday after a battle with cancer.
He leaves his wife Belinda and children Alexine, Edward and Toby.
Sir Anthony was one of the driving forces behind the foundation of the Moorland Association and became its first Chairman when it was set up 30 years ago. He was the longest standing Chairman remaining until May 2001 handing over to Simon Bostock of Dallowgill but continued to serve as a committee member until 2012.
Anthony will be remembered by all at the Moorland Association as a keen conservationist proud of every inch of Barningham estate as a home to a plethora of wildlife from the top of the moor to the river bed. He was a past winner of the Joseph Nickerson Foundation Heather Award for best managed moor in Britain for grouse, wildlife and contribution to the local economy, and a prize winner in the Laurent Perrier Awards for wild game management and a very respected former member of the RSPB Council.
In a statement posted on his blog, set up two years ago to write about his illness, his family said: “He went very quietly in his sleep and we were all here. We are needless to say shattered to lose him.”
Anthony was born in September 1939 and was educated at Eton College before joining the Coldstream Guards. He succeeded to the title of 5th Baronet Milbank on the death of his father in 1984.
Anthony, as well as being a founder of the Moorland Association was also High Sheriff of County Durham, a Deputy Lieutenant of North Yorkshire and a leading figure in the Country Landowners Association.
Robert Benson, current Chairman said “We are all so sad to hear that Anthony is no longer with us. He along with Martin Gillibrand really put the Moorland Association on the map leading to the MA being consulted on all upland matters very soon after its formation in 1986. Anthony’s great strength as a conservationist at heart was that he ensured that the MA concentrated on a much wider vision than just grouse with sustainable management at its core.”
A thanksgiving service to celebrate his life will be held on Monday, July 18 at 2pm at Barningham church and all are welcome afterwards to tea at Barningham Park.
His family added: “Please do not send any flowers but if you would like to contribute anything to the wonderful people who cared for him over the last few weeks at home, here is the link to a Just Giving page: https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/anthonymilbank”
The page is raising funds for hospices in the area and also for Barningham village church, where Anthony was a warden.
Telegraph obituary for Sir Anthony Milbank.
