Popular Eastbourne town crier passes away

Mr Chamberlain Brothers died at a care home in Polegate recently.

Born in Harrogate in 1930, Mr Chamberlain brothers’ parents moved to Surrey and he was sent to prep school at St Michaels in Sevenoaks.

From there he attended Woodbridge School in Suffolk where he enjoyed sports and acting as well as satisfying his thirst for knowledge.

At the age of 18, he was among the first of his age of men to be selected for National Service and served in the RAF in Aden.

He worked for Shell in London for five years while always intending to embark on his acting career. His work included radio plays and recordings for the BBC as well as tours with travelling theatre companies.

In 1962 he was Sean Connery’s stand in for the Bond film Dr No and also stood in for Roger Moore, George Sanders, Gregory Peck and Gary Cooper, his childhood hero.

Mr Chamberlain Brothers spent a year in Italy teaching English before returning to the UK and appearing in various films, TV comedies and plays and his family say his interest in horse racing supplemented his income from time to time.

He moved to Eastbourne in 1982 and soon became involved in many aspects of the town’s activities. He read poetry to the blind and played records at Eastbourne DGH.

His interest in local history resulted in him becoming curator of the Heritage Centre and eventually he took on the unofficial appointment as town crier.

The first of his duties was to open the Enterprise Centre for the late Colin McKenzie, owner of The Hungry Monk and who later on discovered the now world famous Banoffee Pie.

Mr Chamberlain Brothers rang in the turn of the century in 2000 and read the Queen’s messages for two centenarians.

His step-daughter Alison Dawson said one of his proudest achievements was to get the clock at Eastbourne Railway Station fixed.

She said, “Tony was a prolific letter writer and also wrote columns for the local press. He was incredibly well read and very firm in his beliefs.

“Tony had been in care since the loss of his long time companion, my mother, in 2016 and wherever possible would read poetry to the other residents until very recently when his health deteriorated. He was always the entertainer.”

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