BROWN, Anthony John OBE 1936-2023

[Richard R]

From the Telegraph of 6 April 2023: BROWN Anthony 'Tony’ Charles OBE, died at his home in Woking on 4th April 2023 at the age of 86.

(Notice placed by his dau Julia Stephenson)

He was s of Frederick Charles BROWN of Bisley, Surrey. He m 1961 (div 1980) as her 1^st h Rosamund Hope 1940-? d of Sir John Derek VESTEY 2^nd Bt 1914-2005 and Phyllis Irene BREWER 1913-2006, and had a son (Mark Nigel Alastair b 1964) and a dau (Julia Caroline b 1962, m&div Neil Edward STEPHENSON).

[colinp]

Obit in the Daily Telegraph 18 April 2023 -  Tony Brown, head of Bisley office equipment whose steel cabinets were hailed as design classics – obituary (telegraph.co.uk)

EXTRACTS:

Tony Brown, head of Bisley office equipment, whose steel cabinets were rated design classics – obituary

Brown insisted on manufacturing in the UK, accepted lower margins in hard times rather than redundancies, and supported local rugby

Tony Brown, who has died aged 86, was the entrepreneur behind the success of Bisley Furniture, the leading UK manufacturer in its sector; he was also a major benefactor of Welsh rugby.

Employing 500 people at Newport, South Wales, Bisley sells office furniture and equipment to more than 50 countries, winning two Queen’s Awards for Exports and boasting customers from Google to the French cosmetics giant L’Oréal. Its MultiDrawer steel cabinet – introduced in 1951 and inspired by the letter trays of the era – became a classic of office design and has sold millions around the world….

Anthony Charles Brown was born in Surrey on April 2 1937, the first of five children of Freddy Brown and his wife Agnes (known as Nancy), née Urwin….

Tony Brown was appointed OBE in 1993. He married first, in 1961, Rosamund, daughter of Sir Derek Vestey, 2nd Bt, and great-grand-daughter of Edmund Vestey who co-founded the family’s meat-supply empire. Divorced in 1980, Tony married secondly his former secretary Marilyn Stevens, who died in 2013. He is survived by his son and daughter from the first marriage.

Tony Brown, born April 2 1937, died April 4 2023

[Richard R]

Obit in the Times of 11 May 2023:

Tony Brown obituary

Entrepreneur who drove the success of Bisley, the furniture manufacturer, and poured millions into supporting Welsh rugby

… Anthony Charles Brown was born in 1937 in Woking, Surrey, the eldest of five children of Freddy Brown and his wife Agnes (known as Nancy), née Urwin. They separated when the children were young, leaving Nancy to raise Tony and the others, on her own. At one stage they had to move into a workhouse. He attended a Catholic seminary, which he hated, welcoming National Service as an army sergeant in Korea and Malaysia, despite confronting spiders “as big as dinner plates”. He loved the military life, even becoming a special constable for several years. He had hoped to go into the army full-time but wanted a commission, which did not materialise. Instead, he trained as an accountant and played rugby for Guildford in Surrey. In 1960 he joined the family firm…

…At a dance Brown met Rosamund Vestey, daughter of Sir Derek Vestey and great-granddaughter of Edmund Vestey. They married in 1961 and had a son, Mark, and a daughter, Julia, a journalist and novelist. Both survive their father. Tony and Rosamund divorced in 1980. In 2009 he married his former secretary, Marilyn Stevens, who died in 2013…

Tony Brown OBE, businessman, was born on April 2, 1937. He died after a short illness on April 4, 2023, aged 86

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tony-brown-obituary-m32b5vdpr