The Old Bordenian Association

Being a Borden Grammar School Governor – the inside story by Alan Snelling

When I was at School in the 1960′s it seemed that you had to be over 60 and have grey hair to be a Governor – well it seems I now qualify on both counts. I have been a Governor for BGS for 10 years now, 3 of them as the Old Bordenian Association Governor. It started because my son was at the School and I applied to become a Parent Governor. There were several others also applying and the process had to go to a vote among Parents and each applicant had to product a paragraph or so about themselves. I noticed from the other parents that I was the only one from the Isle of Sheppey so I prominently mentioned this in my statement and I think I got most of the votes from the Island which catapulted me to stardom as a Governor – a sort of ‘Sheppey’s got talent’?

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Recently, a very remarkable Old Boy got in touch with us.  There is nothing especially remarkable about his career : teaching.  What is completely out-of-the-ordinary is where his career has taken him.  He has taught (English) for 5½ years in Saudi Arabia, for 2 years in Spain, for 2½ years in China, for a year in the Sudan, for 5 years in Mozambique and for a brief period  in Afghanistan .  For the past 13 years he has been living in Vietnam with his wife and two daughters.  It was Aristotle who paced up and down in the Peripatus at the Lyceum while he was teaching and created the generic name for an itinerant teacher.  Well, Aristotle – eat your heart out!

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This continues Barry Gilbert’s story of life in the Police Force.  For the first part, see http://www.oldbordenians.co.uk/down-memory-lane/a-police-odyssey-january-1957-august-1992/.

While I was stationed at Kennington I decided that I needed some form of transport and purchased the cheapest form available – an NSU scooter. It set me free from public transport and I was able to trundle back to Sittingbourne  along the A2 when I had a weekend leave. The M2 had not been constructed then and so it was a long slog through the Medway Towns. In the summer I was playing cricket for Murston and in the winter continued to play hockey for the Old Boys.

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In establishing a Remembrance section of the website, the Association pays tribute to those pupils of Borden Grammar School who made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the many freedoms we enjoy today, not least the freedom from tyranny. All of us will have glanced up at the names listed on the school’s war memorial boards but how much do we know about the men themselves? When, for example, did they attend the school and what were the circumstances of their deaths?

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Barry Gilbert, a member of the OBA Committee, attended the school from 1949 to 1956.  This is the beginning of his story of life in the Police Force.

In January 1957 I journeyed to London and enrolled at the age of 18 on a Senior Cadet course at the Metropolitan Police Training Centre at Hendon.

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A number of members have expressed a desire for an easily accessible and printable copy of all the articles posted on the website, similar to the old annual publication – the Maroon.  This  Website digest  can be printed or downloaded and has been produced on the annual cycle that would have been used for the Maroon.  It includes all material suitable for printed format from November 2008 to November 2009, but obviously excludes the long school photographs and examination papers.

David Palmer, OBA Website Management

The Challenge

To be photographed wearing an Old Boys tie:-

a)   In an alcoholic establishment

b)  In an unusual or bizarre situation (we will exercise censorship controls!)

Have Old Boys drunk in all corners of the world?  Let’s see the evidence.

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