Tony Wilson (British Army officer)

Brigadier Sir Mathew John Anthony (Tony) Wilson, 6th Baronet of Eshton Hall (1874), OBE, MC, born 2 October 1935, is a former British Army soldier who commanded the 5th Infantry Brigade during the Falklands War.

Military career
Educated at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Wilson was commissioned into the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (K.O.Y.L.I.) on his 21st birthday on 2 October 1956 and thus represented the fourth consecutive generation of his family to serve with the regiment. During the next few years he took part in military operations in Aden, Borneo, Malaya, Cyprus and Northern Ireland.

In 1970 he was promoted to Major and was awarded the honorary title of Member of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (Military Division) in 1971. Shortly afterwards, in May 1972, he received the "Military Cross for Gallant Services" for service in Ulster (Northern Ireland).

Promotion to Lieutenant Colonel followed in 1975 and after a further engagement in Ulster and a posting to Hong Kong, his honorary title was upgraded in an Officer of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (Military Division).

With his promotion to Colonel he moved to the General Staff of the Ministry of Defence in London, and on 30 June 1980 he was promoted to Brigadier assuming command of the 5th Infantry Brigade which he was to lead during the Falklands War.

Wilson retired from the British Army on 31 January 1983.

Falklands War
Wilson commanded the 5th Infantry Brigade during the campaign to liberate the Falkland Islands after their seizure by the Argentinian Armed Forces, and was responsible for the southern flank of the eastern island in the British Armed Forces' advance towards the Islands' capital, Stanley. Wilson executed a risky maneuver (the so-called "bold move") within the first days after 5th Brigade's landing on the Islands, which allowed his men to capture a substantial area of land for the British task force, which subsequently went on to conclude the war with a swift victory.

Wilson was the only senior British officer who failed to receive any recognition of his service in the conflict in the form of honours at its conclusion.

On 31 December 1982 he stepped down from all his military posts and retired from the British Army on 31 January 1983.

Later career
From 1983 to 1985 Wilson was managing director of the British "Wilderness Foundation United Kingdom", a non-profit organization that provides the opportunity to its seminar participants to experience nature and wilderness.

Personal life
He is married and is the father of a son and a daughter. He and his wife live in the United States.

Literature
There are no publications from himself about his military career. He has published the following books on traveling and sailing:
 * Taking Terrapin Home A Love Affair with a Small Catamaran, 1994, ISBN 978-0-93983-724-3
 * The Bahamas Cruising Guide with the Turks and Caicos Islands, 1997, ISBN 978-0-96592-586-0
 * The Land of War Elephants Travels Beyond the Pale Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, 2003, ISBN 978-0-96592-589-1
 * Seeking Havens Travels Along a Line of Latitude 17 Degrees South in Andean Peru, Bolivia, and the South Pacific, 2006, ISBN 978-1-42597-776-4

His time in the Falklands War was covered only in one military history book:
 * The lonesome Commander, Martin Mahle, M+V-Verlag Münster, Germany, 2012, ISBN 978-3-86991-663-7 (original German title: Der allein gelassene Kommandeur, ISBN 978-3-86991-664-4)