Tony learnt to sail in dinghies on the lake at Naini Tal. He served on small motor launches with the Arakan Coastal Forces among the creeks of the Burmese coast, and was among the first into Singapore, where he was present as the White Ensign was raised again over the harbour. He ran the family cotton mill, Atherton West & Co, in Kanpur, India until 1970, sailing on the nearby jheel. On his return to England, he was a lifelong supporter of the RNLI, and took every opportunity to crew - and to pass on his knowledge. One skipper described him as: "The best crew I ever had!"