Name Tony Wilson | ||
 | ||
Brigadier Sir Mathew John Anthony "Tony" Wilson, 6th Baronet of Eshton Hall, (born 2 October 1935) is a former British Army officer who commanded the 5th Infantry Brigade during the Falklands War.
Contents
Early life
Mathew John Anthony Wilson was born 2 October 1935 and was the son of Anthony Thomas Wilson (1908–1979), and Margaret Holden. His paternal grandparents were Lt. Col. Sir Mathew Richard Henry Wilson, 4th Baronet of Eshton Hall and the Hon. Barbara Lister, daughter of Thomas Lister, 4th Baron Ribblesdale (1854–1925).
Educated at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Wilson was commissioned into the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) on his 21st birthday on 2 October 1956, and thus represented the fourth consecutive generation of his family to serve with the regiment. Over the next few years he took part in military operations in Aden, Borneo, Malaya, Cyprus and Northern Ireland.
Career
In 1967 he was promoted to major and was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1971. Shortly afterwards, in May 1972, he received the Military Cross "for Gallant Services" in Ulster (Northern Ireland). Promotion to lieutenant colonel followed in 1973 and after a further engagement in Ulster and a posting to Hong Kong, he was advanced to Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
Falklands War
With his promotion to colonel he moved to the General Staff of the Ministry of Defence in London, and on 31 December 1980 he was promoted to brigadier assuming command of the 5th Infantry Brigade which he was to lead during the Falklands War.
Wilson commanded the 5th Infantry Brigade during the campaign to liberate the Falkland Islands after their seizure by the Argentinian Armed Forces, and was responsible for the southern flank of the eastern island for the British armed forces, who advanced towards the Islands' capital, Stanley. First, Wilson was able to secure a large part of the eastern island, with the so-called "bold move", but during the further advance, an Argentine air attack on two British landing ships occurred at Port Pleasant (sometimes also called Fitzroy or Bluff Cove) at noon of 8 June 1982. 46 British soldiers and three Asian crew members were killed, and 115 men suffered severe burn injuries. It was the largest single loss of men on the British side in this war. At the time of the attack, several TV crews were on site and footage of the attack was shown on TV news bulletins later that same day. Wilson was subsequently the only senior British officer who failed to receive any recognition of his service in the conflict in the form of honours at its conclusion., although whether as a consequence of this is not known.
On 31 December 1982 he stepped down from all his military posts and retired from the British Army on 31 January 1983.
Later career
From 1983 to 1985 Wilson was managing director of the British "Wilderness Foundation United Kingdom", a non-profit organization that provides the opportunity to its seminar participants to experience nature and wilderness.
Personal life
He is married to Janet Mary Mowll and is the father of a son and a daughter.
He and his wife live in the United States.
Literature
There are no publications from himself about his military career. He has published the following books on traveling and sailing:
His time in the Falklands War was covered only in one military history book: