From Doug Cross and Liz Vaughan, at UK Councils Against Fluoridation

Tony Lees - an appreciation.

Tony was a remarkable man, a friend and a colleague. He was a hospitable and gentle man. Not long ago we found ourselves stuck, late one evening, on the Welsh Borders with nowhere to go for the night. Tony and Jenny were delighted to see us, and immediately found room for us, fed us and made us comfortable.

But he was far more than this. He was an honourable man, prepared to tread where so many of his fellow professionals feared to follow. As a practising dentist he had seen for himself how fluoride was harming children in the Midlands, and he stood up and publicly told how it really was. No-one coerced him to support us in the fight against water fluoridation - he saw the evidence for himself . He described to all who would listen how he had been obliged to treat children whose teeth had been disfigured in the false name of public health.

Our little ‘team’ travelled widely, providing Councils across the country with lively and informative presentations that left the pro-fluoridation lobby floundering in impotent fury. Tony was our star, the professional insider who would not be bullied into supporting the unsupportable beliefs of his professional fellows who were too timid to speak out and be counted. His word was accepted where that of others might be doubted. He knew what he was taking about and told people how things really are.

He was a man prepared to learn things new, and then take action. When Professor Susheela showed him her research on the drastic damaging effects of fluoride on the intestine, he was shocked. When she told him that his irritable bowel might be caused by using fluoridated toothpaste, he stopped using it and quickly recovered. But then he went one extra step forward - he produced and marketed his own commercial brand of toothpaste - unfluoridated, of course.

Over the years we have done far more than just passed each other by in the night; we have worked together and, now, we have lost a dear friend. We shall miss him deeply.

Doug Cross and Liz Vaughan, at UK Councils Against Fluoridation

Cumbria, UK, 28th April 2015