Anthony Edwards, a pillar of Cambridge University Gliding Club, has celebrated his 90th birthday
Anthony started gliding with CUGC in 1955, having been introduced to it by brother John. By 1959 he had become an instructor. But his real love was for expeditions, leading “The original CUGC “Crossfell expedition” and countless other bungy expeditions over many years to the Lake District, the Clwyd hills in Wales, and to Dorset (where his College, Gonville and Caius, “conveniently owned a hill”).
He married Catharina, who only came to England on holiday to visit her sister Anna-Marie and husband Sigfried Neumann (both instructors with the Club and well known in British gliding generally). The rest, as they say, is history.
Anthony, in keeping with his professional role as a Cambridge University professor, has always been forward thinking. His expeditions were truly exploratory, and he was instrumental in siting the airfield at Aboyne.
Throughout his career he was as “The Armchair Pilot” a regular contributor to S and G and later quietly gathered and housed precious history of the CUGC including preserving it within the University Library.
Anthony’s first glider was a Swallow built from a kit in Anthony’s father’s garden shed by him and a few friends. “Penguin” is known to have been bungeed from the chicken run of the Clwyd Gate hotel for hill soaring the Clwyd hills.
Anthony’s gliders, most of which were shared with Catharina, included “Penguin”, “Cockle” (the Oly 463), an Astir, an LS4 and later, full circle back to a Swallow “Rhubarb and Custard” (you can guess the colour scheme).
He was CUGC Chairman for many years, later President, and instrumental in bringing many of his family into gliding with daughter Ann been an active member of MGC, and son Thomas still regularly returning from Sweden where he lives, to go on expeditions to the Lake District. Thomas’ family, too, are glider pilots.
Anthony summed it up on his birthday simply with the words – “it has been fun”.
Isn’t that what it is all about?
Congratulations Anthony from all at CUGC and Cambridge Gliding Club! 
