Mr Antonio Montero Aguilar (1937 - 2025)

Antonio pictured at Pembroke in 1976

It is with great sadness that the College has learnt of the death of Mr Antonio Aguilar, a much-loved member of the Pembroke community who served for 50 years as SCR Butler.

Antonio started work at Pembroke in April 1961, having left his hometown of Puente Genil in Andalucia in 1959 when Spain was under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. Arriving in Oxford hoping to learn English, he secured work as a cook for a private family, using catering experience gained while in charge of the kitchens during two years as a mechanic with the Spanish Air Force.

Just over a year later, Antonio was appointed an Assistant SCR Butler at Pembroke. It was not long before his skill was recognised with a promotion to SCR Butler, a position he would hold until his retirement in 2011. Antonio soon decided that he would settle in Oxford, so his wife, Josefa, joined him from their hometown in Spain, and they married in Oxford. Antonio is quoted in a 1976 article in The Oxford Times declaring that “I enjoy my work, and the life of the college. Oxford is my home now.” After Josefa’s death in 1978, Antonio brought up their young son, John.

Antonio was renowned among Pembroke’s staff and Fellowship for his charm, loyalty, and unparalleled expertise. With the greatest care, and with his characteristically high standards, he single-handedly built up the SCR Cellar, developing a reputation among professionals for the deals he scrupulously yet honestly negotiated with a select few vintners. 

His dedication to his work was plain to see. On planning and delivering the numerous formal dinners and other events he managed almost every night, Antonio simply explained that “it does not worry me when I leave, how long I work; this is my job.” But his meticulous care for the cellar, the SCR spaces, and countless High Table dinners reflected not only his concern for high standards of service and facilities, but for the community of which he was so fond.

Antonio’s ability to name, quite comfortably, every one of the Cellar’s 8000+ bottles, as well as the price he had paid for each, was rivalled only by his familiarity with the College’s people. Giles Henderson, who was Master at the time of Antonio’s retirement, wrote that: “He has looked after the Fellows as a father looks after his children: only the Fellows never grew up.” He held close relationships, too, with other members of staff, and counted as friends even those who had long moved on from Pembroke. 

“There are very few people who can claim to have become both metaphorically and literally part of the fabric of Pembroke."

On Antonio’s retirement, Professor Owen Darbishire expressed that “Antonio was very much the SCR Butler: he cared enormously about the independence and status of the senior common room, and equally about the welfare of the Fellowship, other SCR members and, indeed, all their families. Yet the friendship he offered, together with his sociability, is evident much more widely in the central place that the Pantry has played for many around the College, as the source of both coffee and a welcome.” 

He stayed in touch with the College long after his retirement, regularly popping in to catch up with colleagues and friends.

In 2009 a stone grotesque depicting Antonio was unveiled in the Library Quad, alongside another of long-serving member of the Maintenance Team, Dennis Green. Professor Darbishire aptly reflected that “there are very few people who can claim to have become both metaphorically and literally part of the fabric of Pembroke. Having retired after 50 years as SCR Butler on 31st July 2011 and been immortalised in a gargoyle, Antonio Montero Aguilar can rightfully claim both.”

Antonio is remembered fondly by members of the Senior Common Room past and present, as well as by staff, alumni and visitors to the College, for his loyalty, honesty and trust, and his unwavering dedication to the College. He will be greatly missed at Pembroke.

Antonio (left) stood in front of the grotesque depicting him in the Library Quad (right)