Obituary: Sir Anthony Milbank Bt, August 16, 1939 to July 3, 2016

SIR ANTHONY MILBANK of Barningham, North Yorkshire, who has died aged 76, was a life-long conservationist and respected supporter of rural affairs.

Passionate about the environment, he won prestigious prizes for the way he transformed his estate, and he gained prominence for acting as a bridge between the RSPB and the game lobby – seemingly irreconcilable sides, but he became the only grouse moor owner to sit on the RSPB Council.

He also boasted of a curious encounter with a Hollywood star, and of cheating death on both the piste and safari.

He was born on August 16, 1939, and spent his early life in Ottawa as his father, Sir Mark, was Comptroller to the Governor General of Canada between 1946 and 1952. He then settled “rather comfortably” into a grace and favour apartment in St James’ Palace in London as Sir Mark was appointed Master of the Household in 1953 to the newly-crowned Queen.

Sir Anthony was educated at Eton and Neuchatel University before spending two years in National Service. As a young 2nd Lieutenant in the Coldstream Guards he invited the Hollywood and Broadway star Jayne Mansfield to lunch at St James’ Park under the false impression that she would meet the Queen. Her husband, actor and former Mr Universe, Hungarian-American Mikey Hargitay, was far from amused.

In 1970, Sir Anthony, the 5th Baronet, married Belinda Gore, and they had three children, Alexina, Edward and Toby. Edward has succeeded in the baronetcy.

Known for living life to the full, Sir Anthony had an infectious sense of humour and an enthusiasm that drove all before him.

However, he said: “I know I am an extremely fortunate person. I was born into a very privileged position and I am steward of a large chunk of very beautiful countryside.

“I am aware of my good fortune and of my responsibility.”

He took over the running of Barningham Park and its estate, home to the Milbank family since 1690, when he was 39, and transformed it into a beacon of environmental stewardship. He created wetlands and ponds, planted miles of double hedges, felled conifer plantations and watched them regenerate naturally, and encouraged wild flower meadows, all of which helped wildlife to thrive.

He created a moorland fringe suitable for black grouse, and he hosted teams of guns from all over the world. Beating 60 other entrants, he won the Joseph Nickerson Heather Award in 1988 for the best managed moor in Britain for grouse, wildlife and contribution to the local economy, and he was also a prize winner in the Laurent Perrier Awards for management of wild game.

In 1986, together with Earl Peel, of the Grinton estate in Swaledale, and solicitor Martin Gillibrand, he founded the organisation that became the Moorland Association, representing the interests of the majority of owners of moorland in England and Wales. This was at the time when the “right to roam” was coming in, and Sir Anthony was particularly concerned that it would upset the balance between between humans and wildlife. Although ultimately the battle over the right to roam was lost, the Moorland Association has scientifically proven that many of the country’s rare and endangered ground-nesting birds thrive on land carefully managed for shooting, with densities of golden plover, curlew, redshank and lapwing existing in numbers up to five times greater on managed grouse moors, compared to those not keepered.

In 1992, Sir Anthony was invited to the board of the Nature Conservancy Council and later he became the first large landowner to sit on the Council of the RSPB. He relished the charity’s work in preserving the habitats of sea birds, and also tried to broker peace between the RSPB and the moor owners over the killing of birds of prey.

“I desperately want the warring parties to come together to find some compromise solution – perhaps based on some sort of quota system,” he said. “There is no doubt in my mind that too many birds of prey, like all other predators, can seriously damage the management of a grouse moor. If this means that the owner has no further interest, the moorland becomes neglected and quite soon the ground nesting birds such as the grouse and waders desert.”

He was invited back onto the RSPB Council for a second five year term.

He was also a leading figure in the Country Landowners Association and a president of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. He was High Sheriff of County Durham and a Deputy Lieutenant of North Yorkshire. He chaired the governors of Aysgarth School, and was a governor of Barnard Castle School.

After retiring from running the estate, Sir Anthony embarked on a career as a writer with many articles published in a variety of magazines, most notably his recollections in The Field.

He was also known for his near death experiences. He spent several weeks each winter climbing Alpine peaks and ski touring, and one occasion, fell on a mountain pass and broke three vertebrae in his neck.

On another occasion, while venturing alone from a camp in Kenya and armed only with a pair of binoculars, he was charged by a buffalo bull and tossed into an acacia bush. Remarkably, the buffalo did not return to kill him, and scrambling back to camp bleeding, he passed off his limp with an excuse, for fear that the buffalo would be hunted down and killed.

In September 2014, he started his first blog to keep his family and friends – who knew him as “Ant” – updated on his battle with cancer. As he told of the toasting of his tumours, the blog was both painful and funny. The last post was by his children on July 4, the day after he had died.

Among the comments left on the blog, Marcia Brocklebank said: “Ant’s courage and strength of character shone out every day of his life but none more so than in these last difficult times.”

And Rupert Cotterell added: “Ant remains a giant among men. How lucky we were to have shared his friendship.”