News Compendium

Wartime Heroes Remembered

Wartime Heroes book cover

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..

Old Bordenians Football Club - Reunion

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!

1928 BGS School Photo

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

 thumb 1928 photo left thumb 1928 photo centre thumb 1928 photo right

 

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

Old Bordenian Hockey Club - Appeal

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.

Old Bordenian Football Club - Notice of Reunion

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.

Gregor Thomson (BGS 1986-1992) - Obituary

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. 

1954 BGS School Photo

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.

1960 BGS School Photo

Old Bordenian Richard Evans has provided a good deal of material related to the school from the mid-fifties to early sixties. I shall be adding this material to the website over the coming weeks.  As a starter, here is the 1960 school photo.  I will keep the photo as 4 separate images.

Joseph Wright - Obituary

It is with regret that we have recently heard of the death of Joseph Wright, at the age of 26.  Joseph attended Borden Grammar School from 2000 to 2007.  His death was reported in the Sittingbourne News Extra - the full report can be read here: Joseph Wright - Obituary

Old Bordenian Historian Needs Help

Old Bordenian Marc Stewart is appealing for information about men from Sittingbourne who died fighting for their country.  The appeal was featured in Sittingbourne News Extra, one of Sittingbourne's local papers, recently.  You can read the full article here: Marc Stewart - appeal.

2015 Website Digest - eMaroon

We have produced an easily accessible and printable copy of all the articles posted on the website over the past year, similar to the Maroon publication, which was discontinued in 2009.  It includes all material suitable for printed format from January 2015 to December 2015 (with poetic licence, one was early January 2016!!).  To access the digest, click this link: Website Digest 2015