News Compendium

We are sorry to hear that Brian Tyler passed away peacefully on 24 April, 2016, aged 86.  The funeral service took place on Tuesday 10 May at 1pm, at the Garden of England Crematorium, Bobbing.  

Peter Lusted, OBA vice-President, commented "I cannot claim to be one of Brian's contemporaries, but first met him when I started playing for the Old Boys Football team, aged 17 in 1968.  Brian was the "old man" playing wide on the left side.  It soon became clear that this "old man" was a player of some quality and could certainly teach the young Old Boys a thing or two.  I subsequently learnt that he had played for Portsmouth. Brian was one of life's and football's gentlemen and it was always good to see him at Old Boys' Dinners and have a chat.  A sad loss indeed."

Recently a new book has been published which will be of interest to Old Bordenians.  Written by Sally Jenkins, daughter of Old Bordenian Bob Jenkins and dedicated to his memory, it is called Wartime Heroes of Borden Grammar School Remembered.  It comprises around 250 pages, including just over 40 pages of School history from 1878 onwards.  The bulk of the Book, however, is devoted to a collection of biographical details of over 60 of the 90 or so Old Boys killed on active service in WW1 and WW2 - a poignant reminder of the debt of gratitude we owe to so many young men who gave their lives.

It is part funded by Swale Borough Council and published by the Sittingbourne Heritage Museum, 67 East Street, Sittingbourne ME10 4BQ. where copies are available.  Copies are also obtainable by post (cost £10.95 inc P & P) ; enquiries to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Old Bordenian Football club 11-a-side team ceased playing in 1992 and, although a 5-a-side section formed shortly afterwards, there was nothing to bring them all together again. Therefore it was decided to create an event which would hopefully do just that. Nothing strenuous was considered, so it was just a meeting in a pub without the need to play football!

Old Bordenian Peter Highton has kindly provided a copy of the long 1928 school photo.  This is reproduced in 3 sections. 

The thumbnail pictures above can be expanded by going to the OBA Website's flickr pages at https://flic.kr/s/aHskzmd1FL.

The 2017 Annual Reunion Dinner will be held on Saturday 25 March 2017.  Please note this date in your diary!  Further details will be announced in due course.

Old Bordenian Hockey Club have launched an appeal for funds to replace the current pitch.  Alan Wilson, Old Bordenian and Chairman of the Hockey Club, has sent this letter - OBHC replacement pitch - to club members, outlining the need for this replacement. The School and the Club together are making a substantial contribution to the funding of the project. If any OBA members are willing to make a donation, it would undoubtedly be gratefully received.  The letter contains details of how to make such a donation.

It’s a cold Winter’s Sunday morning at 11am and for just a brief moment you recall those wonderful moments of Sunday League football with the Old Bordenian FC. You may even have tried to outlast your boots and played with the veterans team or, in one last attempt to control the waistline, played with the 5 a side team.

Fifty six Old Bordenians attended this year’s annual dinner at UK Paper Clubhouse in Avenue of Remembrance, Sittingbourne, including retired headmaster Bryan Short and the vice-chair of school governors, Phil Bromwich.

We sadly have to pass on the news of the death of Gregor Thomson. He was a student at the school from 1986 to 1992 and was a senior prefect and head of Swale House.  He passed away after a battle with cancer on 7 February 2016.

He was born in June 1974 to Scottish parents though he was brought up in the Republic of Ireland.  He was a model student, with the school recording that he 'is a real gentleman'.  He took A Levels in Chemistry, Physics, Maths and Further Maths achieving 2 As and 2 Bs. 

Another school photo provided by Richard Evans. This one is dated September 1954. As usual, I've added this in 4 parts. Click each part to expand to full size.