The unexpected passing away of Anthony Fenech, better known as Tony among friends and colleagues, bereft us of a true friend and a gentleman. Born and bred in Balzan, Tony and myself had been friends since my childhood days. We worked closely together as members of the editorial board of the bi-monthly publication Hal Balzan since its inception in the 1970s. This village publication, so rich in historical information about our native village, was an initiative of the then Balzan Civic Committee, which had its seat at the St Gabriel Band Club. Tony contributed to this publication and was very appreciative of the efforts and good work of his close collaborators.

I admired Tony for his enthusiasm and the way he gave his best in all that he undertook. He was a teacher by profession and dedicated his lifetime to education. Numerous students succeeded in making it in their 11+ exam in maths through his efforts and hard work. But Tony was not simply a mathematics teacher; he was also a mathematician.

His hard work and professionalism, however, can be seen at their best in the way he pursued his life-long passion: philately.

A member of two commissions within the International Federation of Philately and the Malta Study Circle of London and Germany, Tony’s collection of the Malta postal history earned him international renown and a gold medal.

He was an elected member of the Royal Philatelic Society of London and contributed in the prestigious Stanley Gibbons Stamp Monthly and Stamp Magazine.

Tony was proud of his native Balzan and of all that pertains to the village.

I can vividly remember the way he was enthused when I approached him about my idea of having a special postmark on the occasion of the 350th anniversary of the setting up of the Balzan parish last year.

He made the necessary contacts with Maltapost to set up a temporary branch near the old parish church of the Annunciation in Three Churches Street on the morning of 14 August 2005, the anniversary of the parish foundation, for the sale of the commemorative envelope.

I can also remember his satisfaction at having succeeded in seeing the Emvin Cremona painting of the Annunciation in the Ta’ Pinu Sanctuary featured in the 16c stamp of the Christmas set of last year.

With his typical unpretentiousness, Tony accepted my request to contribute a short appreciation of last year’s anniversary from a philatelic perspective to be included in the commemorative booklet which I edited.

I knew he would accept, knowing that this was a Balzan publication.

May you rest in peace, dear Tony, and heartfelt condolences to your dear wife, children and relatives.

Carmel Bezzina

Balzan