TRIBUTES have been paid to a well-respected former Richmond GP, who died on April 14 aged 72.

Dr Tony Ginns worked as a GP in the town's Quakers Lane Surgery until his retirement in 2008.

Born in Kanpur, India, Tony Ginns was the only child of George Reginald and Ethel Lillian Ginns.

Whilst his father remained in India with his work, Tony moved to England with his mother at the age of five to attend school.

However, he spent his summer holidays back in India chasing monkeys in his father’s garden.

His mother died when he was 10-years-old, leading to him being sent to Ratcliffe College as a boarder, being brought up by his aunt, but still travelling to India every summer to stay with his father.

Tony demonstrated a great thirst for knowledge, which never left him throughout his life.

He sat his A-levels a year early and at the age of 17 won a scholarship to Oxford University, where he studied animal physiology at Lincoln College.

He then went on to train as a doctor at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, followed by the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading.

With his gentle and caring bedside manner, he was well suited to general practice.

He took training for this in Reading, before joining Dr Frank Heron and Dr Robin Ward as a GP Partner in Richmond in 1976.

Prior to the practice’s move to Quakers Lane Surgery, he practised from an extension to Dr Heron’s home around the corner on Wellington Place.

With a special interest in psychiatry, in addition to his work in general practice, he treated mental health patients at the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton.

His caring nature made him particularly suited to helping treat patients with a wide range of mental health problems.

Within general practice he was loved by his patients and staff alike, always taking an interest in those he met.

He was noted to have a sharp, incisive mind which was able to cut through complex problems with clarity.

In his spare time, Tony had a keen interest in playing recorder with his wife, Jennifer, particularly playing early music written for the instrument.

He was devoted to his family and very much enjoyed travelling, especially to the Arctic Circle and other less travelled parts of the world. He never possessed a television, preferring to read and listen to music. The family home in Richmond, which lay on the coast to coast walk, was unusual in having a sauna in the garden, which sometimes led to some unexpected sights for the walkers passing by.

He worked at Quakers Lane Surgery for the rest of his career, with the latter years of his career seeing him as senior partner of the practice, until his retirement in 2008.

After retiring, he and Jennifer moved to Cumbria where they enjoyed exploring their new area and renovating their house and garden together.

He leaves behind his wife Jennifer, his children Malcolm and Laura, and his grandchildren Aubury, Tristan, Lukas, Edward and Isobel.

Donations to the Loweswater Suite at the West Cumberland Hospital where Tony was well cared for in his final days.

Visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/laura-draycott?utm_term=Y3v3mvvG7.