TONY WINGFIELD, who died recently aged 87 at his home in County Meath, was distinguished as a sportsman, a soldier and an administrator of the Irish Turf Club. A son of Major General Maurice Wingfield and a grandson of the 7th Viscount Powerscourt (who, incidentally, introduced sika deer into Ireland), he was born in Dublin on February 20th, 1908.
After Eton and Sandhurst he joined the 10th Hussars in March, 1928. During the prewar years he enjoyed the life of a young officer in a cavalry regiment, playing polo in Egypt and India and at home and riding successfully in point to points and steeplechases. In 1935 he met and married Judy Stanley, a member of a well known Westmeath family, a union which brought him lasting happiness.
With the coming of war, for the next six years until 1945 he was continually on active service. He gained his MC on January 23rd, 1942 at Saunnu in North Africa, after an engagement with Rommet's tanks, his citation reading: "No praise can be too high for this officer's courage, leadership and devotion to duty.
His DSO was an immediate award after the action at El Hamma on March 26th, 1943, for his "conduct, courage and skill" in handling the regiment of which he was then in command. He went on to command the 2nd Armoured Brigade through the Normandy fighting to the end of the war.
He served for two more years after the war and then retired to this wife's property, Coolamber in Westmeath, combining farming with a stint as assistant manager at the Royal Stud. He also took up his racing career as an owner and rider, the best of his horses probably being Persian Wanderer which won the Power Gold Cup at Fairyhouse and other good races for him.
He became secretary to the Meath Hounds, a position he held for 12 years, admired by all for his tact and discretion in dealing with the many problems which beset the modern hunt secretary. Nor were the turf authorities slow to appreciate the help he could render to them. After a short period as a judge, he was elected to the Turf Club and the National Hunt Steeplechasing Committee, becoming a senior steward of the latter body in 1964. His firsthand knowledge of all aspects of the sport - especially, perhaps those confronting jockeys and officials - together with his appreciation of the quirks of human nature, made sure he was elected to serve a second term.
Outgoing and friendly, he was liked by all who came in contact with him. An easy conversationalist and a ready raconteur, he was a voracious reader with a well stocked mind and a fluent pen. The latter was amply demonstrated by his war memoirs, written for private reading only which contain a soldier's view of the great battles in which he fought with trenchant observations, both grim and lighthearted, and deserve a wider circulation.