It is with much sadness we have recently received notification of the death of AF&RS former colleague Tony Bailey, who sadly passed away peacefully on 23 January 2024 following a long battle with Parkinson’s.
Tony was diagnosed in 2011 with Parkinson’s and they think he may have had it for 10 – 15 years prior. He had problems with movement, muscle contractions, sleep, mental health and speech. He had a Deep Brain Stimulator fitted which helped with the tremors but he had exhausted all the programmes available. He had a love of motorbikes, cars, wildlife and cats. Sadly, he had to give up his motorbikes a few months after his medical retirement and then had to stop driving. This was tough for a man that lived and breathed bikes and cars.
His condition was so unpredictable that he never knew whether he could function from one day to the next and together with a degenerative back problem – probably from the time spent under vehicles – he was never out of pain or discomfort. Not being able to do what he wanted when he wanted was so frustrating for him. He knew what was coming as his father lived with Parkinson’s until age 89 and his mother had dementia until she died aged 93. He said he did not want to be cared for and wanted to make the decision to go whilst he was mobile enough and mentally capable to make the decision.
On 23rd January he made his final trip abroad to Switzerland to end his life. He was an advocate of Dignity in Dying and did not want to sit waiting for death for the next 30 years. At the end he was taking 1096 tablets every 4 weeks which did not include 3-4 daily painkillers. He loved working for the Fire Brigade – the challenges of solving problems and the camaraderie of his fellow workers. He did not like the Hovercraft much – always a nightmare to fix!!
Tony and I met 12.5 years ago and crammed in so much during our time together. I came with two 18-year-old but Tony took this in his stride and taught them so much about cars, bikes and DIY. We were a great team, renovating various houses and helping people with their projects too, sharing his knowledge and helping them to achieve what they had planned. I became his labourer and later he would tell me how and I would give it a go. He was my buddy and font of knowledge on so many things. He loved our trips to Turkey, touring Europe – me driving, him navigating and I even introduced him to camping. One of his best memories was the 4 of us going to Elan Valley on our motorbikes. This is where he wants his ashes scattered and I will raise a glass of Abbot Ale in his memory when we do this later in the year.
AF&RS Pensioners Association Secretary & Treasurer. NARF District No. 7 Chairman & Treasurer
Pensioners Association 
Join the discussion