Top writer’s horror as she watches partner drown after he saves son from Caribbean
A LEADING writer watched helplessly as her partner drowned trying to rescue their four-year-old son after he was swept out to sea.
Decca Aitkenhead, an awardwinning journalist and author, was on holiday with Tony Wilkinson and their two young sons when the accident occurred.
The 49-year-old died after becoming caught in a strong current as he tried to help their son Jake, who had been paddling in the sea.
Last night, tributes were paid to Mr Wilkinson, an outreach worker with children’s charity Kids Company. A friend said: ‘He died heroically, as men have done for thousands of years, putting his child’s life before his own – it was the measure of him.’
The family had been staying at Treasure Beach on the south coast of Jamaica, which has six miles of uninterrupted sandy beaches.
They had gone for a walk along Calabash Bay when Jake waded into the water to paddle but was quickly pulled under the water by hidden currents.
Mr Wilkinson, who was described as ‘incredibly fit and strong,’ ran after Jake, but was caught in a powerful undertow and swept away.
It is understood Miss Aitkenhead, 43, a journalist with the Guardian, also rushed into the water and managed to grab Jake before getting into difficulties. The pair were later rescued by local fishermen.
The couple also have a threeyear-old son, Joe.
Camila Batmanghelidjh, who founded Kids Company, which helps around 36,000 vulnerable children across London and Bristol each year, said: ‘Tony was absolutely brilliant, fearless and brilliant.
‘He was passionate about children’s education and facilitating children who would not otherwise have had a chance because they come from disadvantaged backgrounds to have a genuine access to education.’
She said that since joining the charity in 2011, his work had mostly centred around helping teenagers involved in gangs,
‘I am talking about children who have witnessed shooting and stabbings, and who have had threats made to their lives, and who are even psychiatrically ill.
‘They are very high-risk, and Tony was working with them. Of course there was risk to his life, but he was devoted to the children.
‘Once there were two kids who were psychiatrically ill and who had to be hospitalised. Tony was crying for them, saying they were being kept in such appalling conditions. This is how he was.
‘My most fond memory of him was his energy. When he was talking to you, it was like keeping up with a racing car.’
She also revealed she has spoken to Miss Aitkenhead since the accident, which happened at 8.30 am on Thursday. ‘Decca is in deep shock at the moment. That’s as much as I can tell you,’ she added. ‘We are looking at ways to celebrate his life.
‘He was absolutely besotted with his children. He was absolutely devoted to them, that I know.’
Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger paid tribute on Twitter yesterday saying: ‘All thoughts with Decca Aitkenhead after her partner, Tony Wilkinson, drowned on holiday.’
Before his employment at the charity, Mr Wilkinson – who also has a 15-year-old daughter, Hero, from a previous relationship – ran an organic deli in Hackney, East London.
Miss Aitkenhead won Interviewer of the Year at the British Press Awards in 2009 and wrote a book about living in a Jamaican fishing village in 2000.
Last night, the Foreign Office said it was aware of the incident and was providing the family with consular assistance.