The Old Bordenian Association

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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A member of the OBA committee has passed me a copy of a recent Daily Mail article featuring an Old Boy of the school from the early 1950s.  Dennis Fowle is trying to contact team mates from his former cricket team.  Are you one of those featured?  Do you know any of their whereabouts?  The article is reproduced below.

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Old Boys move far and wide after leaving Borden.  Many keep in touch, others seem to disappear – did someone forget to let them out of detention?  Now is the chance to give your colleagues from the past a bit of an update.  How often have we asked ourselves “ I wonder what happened to old….”

To get the ball rolling Mike Pack and Peter Lusted have put together a brief summary of most of their colleagues obtained following two reunions since leaving Borden – one at 25 years and the other at 40 years.  Some details are more current than others.  A picture of the 25 year reunion is just above the details of the 1 East boys, with two pictures of the 40 year reunion at the end of the article.

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 While the history of the school is fairly well documented from the 1920′s onwards, there is very little published information about the early years from its foundation to the end of the 1914-18 war. Bryan Short has spent a great deal of time delving into the archives, and is now in the process of writing about this little known period. It is our intention to post each instalment as it becomes available on the website – and here is the first one. The story which unfolds is full of fascinating and surprising details.

Part I : Founding a School in the 1870s

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

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