News Compendium

Comment received from Frank Hales re "Don Prichard - Obituary". To see full article and comment click here.

It is with great sadness that we report the death of Jonathan Brownridge on 22^nd October 2012 at the age of just 56. Jon was at the School from 1967 until 1974 before going on to study Physics at Imperial College having been inspired to do so by John Macrae, and their shared passion for physics ensured that they remained firm friends. 

Jon was an enthusiastic member of the OBA and attended many of the Dinners up until 2011. He kept in touch with a group of his contemporaries and many of those were among the almost 200 strong congregation at his funeral which was held on 1^st November 2012.  

This article has been reproduced from 2009 in advance of publishing further chapters of the history of the school.

Founding a School in the 1870s

The founding of Barrows Boys School (as it was first called) began, continued and ended in controversy, culminating in the resignation of the entire Governing Body in 1880. 

This year's Annual Reunion Dinner will be held on 23rd March.  See below for full details, but please especially note that we are not able to bring our own wine; you will be able to purchase red, white and rosé at the UKP bar.

To download the flyer, including the reply slip, click here: OBA_Dinner_flyer_2013.pdf

David Palmer

To ensure continued access to articles / posts from the old OBA website, I have added this Website Digest for 2009 in an easily accessible and printable copy of all the articles posted on the website over the past year, similar to the now discontinued annual publication – the Maroon. 

It includes all material suitable for printed format from January 2009 to December 2009.  

To access the digest, click this link:    Website_Digest_2009.pdf

David Palmer

OBA Website

We have again produced an easily accessible and printable copy of all the articles posted on the website over the past year, similar to the now discontinued annual publication – the Maroon.  It includes all material suitable for printed format from January 2010 to December 2010.  

To access the digest, click this link: Website_Digest_2010.pdf

David Palmer

OBA Website

We have again produced an easily accessible and printable copy of all the articles posted on the website over the past year, similar to the now discontinued annual publication – the Maroon.  It includes all material suitable for printed format from January 2011 to December 2011.  

To access the digest, click this link:   Website_Digest_2011.pdf

David Palmer

OBA Website

E.G. "Geoff" Beynon (4 October 1926 - 21 October 2012)

Sadly we have to record the death on 21^st October of Ernest Geoffrey Beynon at the age of 86. He was at the School from 1937 until 1944, and was one of the Sheppey Bordenians who was evacuated to S. Wales in 1940 for two years. He was accompanied there by his younger brother, George, who has supplied the following information about Geoff's career. Graham Barnes, his contemporary at School, has amalgamated this with an appreciation delivered by the Minister at his funeral service.

H F E Nicholls  1917 - 2012

Borden Grammar School 1946 to 1980

The psalm which was recited at Frank Nicholls’ funeral speaks of the years of our life as ‘three score and ten’, going on to speak of those who manage ‘four score’ as having to endure ‘labour and sorrow’. What then can we say of one who managed not three score and ten, nor yet four score, but four score and fifteen?

Now that the Website has continued its evolution by becoming firmly attached to the school website, it seemed a good time to remind Old Boys of how our news used to be distributed by way of the Maroon.

This article by Charles Harris appeared in the 1968 Maroon.  Charles was a printer in Sittingbourne and a keen supporter of the Old Bordenians as his article explains.  Always one to offer advice on how to put the world to rights, Charles also kept the rest of the Committee on their toes with his deadlines for printing the Maroon. Without Charles and the line of excellent editors that produced the Maroon, news and information about Old Boys would just not have been produced.

Now of course we have moved forward, perhaps at our own pace, but we can distribute news instantly around the world on the website.  Costs compared to printing the Maroon are minimal, so that means that a greater proportion of Old Boys' subscriptions can be passed to the school for suitable projects.

Any news media needs articles, information and news, so please support your website by putting fingers to keyboards and pressing the "Send" button.

Peter Lusted