Tony Barber (© Brenda Barber)
Anthony John Barber was a Londoner, born in Purley on 10 September 1929. His childhood was disrupted by the death of his father and years in an orphanage, until his mother remarried in 1943 and some stability returned. Tony then attended Beckenham and Penge County Grammar School before going on to spend the next two years doing National Service, working as a storeman at different Army camps in southern England.
Finding a path
Tony was undecided on his future, so worked in offices in Wiltshire and London. Then in 1951, he enrolled to study geology in the evenings at Chelsea Polytechnic, employed there by day in the laboratory. After achieving an upper second degree in geology at the University of London, Tony’s mind was made up that he wanted an academic career in geology. He accepted an offer from Dr John Sutton at Imperial College London to study for a PhD on the Precambrian rocks in the Knoydart area of the Scottish Highlands.
In 1959, Tony became a full-time Assistant Lecturer at Chelsea College, and a few years later moved to Royal Holloway, University of London, to be a lecturer. This was to be a major career move.
Tony played a key role there as Director of the Southeast Asia Research Group, funded in part by oil companies, and supporting researchers across SE Asia. Over the following years, Tony travelled widely across the region (including a period with the United Nations in Bangkok), allowing him to build a network of geological contacts and publications on plate tectonics in Japan, Sumatra, Myanmar and East Timor. He was a Visiting Research Fellow for the Geological Survey of Japan in 1981 and1986, and the Australian National University in 1987.
Tony attended conferences and edited journals into his 90s
Recognition and service
Tony retired in 1994, but his work on SE Asia was far from over. He attended conferences in the region and edited the Journal of SE Asian Geology and Journal of Asian Geology into his 90s, keeping him up-to date on new ideas. Tony also co-edited Society memoirs on Sumatra, Thailand and Myanmar.
Since 1952, Tony was a member of the Geologists’ Association, becoming editor of their Proceedings from 1971 to 1978, and was awarded the Association’s Foulerton Award in 2014. He was also a Fellow of the Society and served on Council from 1979 to 1982. In 2019, Tony was awarded the Society’s Prestwich Medal.
Life beyond geology
Tony married Brenda Bayley in December 1958 and they had three children, Stephen, Jayne and Nick. He was a quietly spoken, cultivated man with a liking for literature and classical music. Tony died in London on 22 August 2026, aged 96.
By Michael Crow and Michael Ridd
