Boston Grammar School Prize Giving 2015

The 2015 Prize Giving took place at The Centenary Methodist Church, Boston on 17 December.

In his welcome speech the headmaster, John McHenry talked about the federation which happened 7 years ago between Boston Grammar School and Boston High School. He thanked those who worked to make it a short episode in BGS history. In particular he thanked Mr Graham who retired from the school last year. Most of all though he thanked the students and their parents who are currently in year 13 for showing their confidence in the school. When they started in year 7, the whole selective intake from Boston was assigned to the high school: boys and girls. After that year all and with the end of the federation, all of the boys in the year-group were offered the chance to transfer from the Spilsby Road site to Rowley Road. Thirty of those boys chose to make the switch.

At the time of the federation the county's estimates were for falling rolls but the current intake is over 100 at BGS alone and that level is forecast to continue, which justified the existence of two selective schools in Boston.

John also made a presentation to Martin Wright, who has taught mathematics at the school for 37 years and will soon reach his 60th birthday. Martin was invited to respond but declined. When congratulated later he typically questioned why he had received the honour.

Chairman of the School Governors, Philip Bosworth's speech included recognition for Jim Howes who had been borough councillor, Chairman of School Governors and Foundation Governors, and President of the Old Bostonian Association who died this year.

The event was punctuated by carols and musical interludes.

Prizes were distributed by Dr Sunita R Deshmukh, who was a student at BGS, leaving in 2005 as the first female winner of the Parry Gold Medal. In her speech she told how she had to make a decision between medicine and art. Eventually she chose medicine, which she studied at the University of Nottingham. While still an undergraduate she was one of the authors of a text book on the renal system. Eventually she specialised in psychology with a particular interest in Alzheimer's Disease. By getting involved in the use of art therapy with Alzheimers patients and by doing illustrations for medical publications, in the end Sunita has been able to combine her passions of medicine and art.

Head of School, Harvey Potter gave the vote of thanks, presenting Sunita with gifts including a prefect's tie.

The event was finished in the customary manner with the singing of the school song and the national anthem.

Boston and District Quiz League 2015

BGS old boys Nick Charlton, Howard Charlton and Andy Boyer were part of the team which won the Boston and district quiz league 2015.

Andy and Howie were part of the team that won the quiz league entertainment quiz, which Nick set and therefore could not enter.

Tyler Atkin - photo opportunity

Melvyn Goor, Dan Elkington, John McHenry (BGS head),
Peter Sharman (OBA President) and
Tyler Atkin (world kickboxing gold medallist)

Tyler Atkin received sponsorship from the Old Bostonian Association to help him attend the 2015 WFMC world amateur kickboxing championships in Germany where he won gold in his class.

Following the Boston Grammar School Remembrance Service on 11 November, Tyler changed into his kickboxing gear to pose for photographs with members of the Old Bostonian Association Committee.

John Cammack - Obituary

John Francis Cammack (BGS 1944-51)

2 January 1934 - 1 July 2015

John was born in Boston in 1934 and after attending Park Board Primary school and Boston Grammar School he joined the family business in 1951. Apart from time spent doing national service between 1952 and 1954, he spent his whole working life at Cammacks until his retirement in 1998.

John loved most sports, especially racquet sports. He was Boston Tennis Club Men’s First team captain, and was a member of Lincolnshire men’s veteran team. He was also a founder member of the Blackfriars Arts Centre, and spent many an hour helping to convert the refectory of the old Friary into what it is today. John was a proud Grammar School old boy, and served on the Old Boys committee for a number of years.

OBA Annual Dinner 2016

Guest Speaker - Bill Dunham

Note the change of venue. Now at
Boston & County Club.

I am pleased to be able to announce details of the 2016 OBA Annual Dinner. It will be held at the Boston & County Club, and the guest speaker this year will be Brigadier M W (Bill) Dunham CBE BSc.

You can order your dinner tickets on-line using the form at the bottom of this post.

Bill joined the Royal Marines in 1979 straight from BGS and had a long and varied career including command at every level up to Brigadier. His Career culminated in roles as Commandant of Commando Training Centre, as Chief of Staff of the NATO Training Mission in Kabul and finally Deputy Commandant General. He left the Corps on 31 March 2015 and now works as the Director of Strategy and Corporate Services at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

Neil G C Ramsey DFC - RIP

Neil Gordon Cresswell Ramsey DFC (BGS 1931-36)

Neil G C Ramsey DFC of Kirton has died aged 95. He leaves wife Sue, daughters Mrs Ann Hart and Mrs Penelope Matthews, seven grandchildren and five great grandchildren. Neil attended Boston Grammar School and during WW2 served in Bomber Command flying Wellingtons and as a Pathfinder Mosquito pilot. He was also well known in the Boston area as a wild-fowler and marsh guide. In later life he and his wife travelled Europe in their home-built yacht. He will be greatly missed by all family and friends.

For funeral details contact Severs Little Hale 01529 460339. Family flowers only.

Bill Hardy - RIP

Jonathan William "Bill" Hardy

Bill Hardy passed away in Pilgrim Hospital, Boston on 6 November 2015, aged 73. He attended Boston Grammar School in the 1950s. At the time of his death he was a resident of Sutterton. He is survived by his brothers, Ken and Dean who both also attended Boston Grammar School.

Funeral details are available from F E Addlesee & Son, Boston 01205 311303.

Horace George Battram - Obituary

Horace George Battram (BGS 1940-45)

Horace Battram passed away peacefully on the 29 October 2015 aged 86 years. The funeral service will be held at Chesterfield Crematorium on 9 November at 11:10 am (enquiries to Miles Lilleker Tel: 07538 576043)

 Horace was Boston Deputy Mayor for 2000 to 2001. He was elected to the council in 1991 and served until 1995 and was then re-elected at a by-election in July 1998 and served until May 2007. He was a Conservative member. Council leader, Cllr Peter Bedford, said: "He had been a local government officer before becoming a councillor. He was dedicated and his expertise and passion was housing. It was a great loss to the council when he lost his seat."

Horace had been resident in a care home in Chesterfield. He formerly lived in Sleaford Road, Boston. He leaves his wife, Monica.

Jim Howes - Obituary

Jim Howes in 2014

Jim Howes in 1939

James Robert "Jim" Howes (BGS 1933-40)

Jim Howes passed away peacefully in his sleep on 31 October 2015. There will be a private Family Cremation followed by a celebration of his life towards the end of November at Holy Trinity Church.

Jim was made an Honorary Freeman of the Borough of Boston on March 15, 1999, in appreciation of services to the community. He had been chairman of governors of both Boston Grammar School and its Charitable Foundation, past President of the Old Bostonian Association (1978-83), Chairman of Trustees for Holy Trinity Church, past chairman of 337 Boston Round Table, past president and Paul Harris Fellow of Boston Rotary Club.

Tyler Atkin - champion kickboxer

In July we announced that the Old Bostonian Association would be sponsoring BGS student, Tyler Atkin in support of his participation in the England team at the 2015 WFMC world amateur kickboxing championships held in Germany this month. We are very pleased to hear that Tyler has brought home the gold medal for being placed first in his category at the championships.

As a condition of the sponsorship we asked Tyler to write a report of his experiences. Here is Tyler's report.

My WFMC journey

Day 1: Today I woke up at 12 o’clock in the morning, as we needed to travel 3 hours to Manchester airport. We arrived there at about 3 o’clock in the morning and we had to wait for Wayne (the coach) and the rest of the team. Once Wayne arrived, we all got our team kit, which was white with red stripes. One we had got our kit, we got changed into it. As soon as everyone had finished, we proceeded through the airport and on to the plane. 

The plane journey was meant to be around about 1 hour and forty-five minutes. However we managed to get there twenty minutes ahead of schedule, so we had to wait outside for Frank the bus driver to take us to the hotel. We ended up spending about an hour on the bus, and we arrived there at about 3 o’clock in the evening. When we got to the hotel, we went inside and got our keys. We went into our designated rooms and unpacked. When we had finished, we had to chill until 6 o’clock. I had nothing to do, so I threw on some shorts and a tank top and went into the hotel gym. I spent about an hour in there and then I went back up, so that I could have a shower and change into something nice. 

We went down for dinner and we saw an all you can eat buffet. I couldn’t eat too much though, as I wanted to make it under 40 kg tomorrow. So I ended up having a salad and some meat. I then went back up and started watching Netflix. Shortly, Richard (my step-dad) came upstairs and we all fell asleep. 

Day 2: Today I woke up at about 8 o’clock and I got changed into my team kit. Today was weigh-ins, and I was hoping to get in under 40kg. I went down for breakfast and then Wayne said we had to be downstairs for 9 o’clock. I went upstairs, grabbed some stuff and went down. We had to order 3 taxis, so that we could all go at once. We got there and had to wait outside for about ten minutes. We then went inside and got some forms to fill in. I went upstairs to weigh myself and I was 38.8kg, so I had made weight. I then gave my form in and we went home. There wasn’t much to do, so I went on Facebook until it was dinner time. When it was dinner time, I went upstairs and put loads and loads of salad on my plate. At this point I allowed myself to eat as much as I wanted, as I didn’t have to watch my weight anymore. 

After dinner, I went upstairs and went to bed… 

Day 3: Today was the big day!!! I woke up early, so that I could get some breakfast and get a taxi to the event. When we got there, we found a place to put our bags and sat down. 

Not long after I sat down, I was asked to stand up and walk somewhere. I was given a Switzerland flag and was to walk through a crowd when I heard the person say Switzerland, this was part of the opening ceremony and signified the joining together of the countries. I did as instructed and stood there for a while. Soon after I was told to give the flag back and I went back to our team. I went and got changed and waited for my fight to be called. When it did I went into the ring and fought. I caught my opponent in the tummy with a front kick which made him sick and wasn’t able to continue, so I won. I got changed back into my team kit and waited for the rest of our team to fight. Once everyone had finished, we all went back to the hotel and had some dinner. After that we all went upstairs and got some sleep for the final tomorrow. 

Day 4: I had been waiting for this day my whole life!!! I repeated my usual morning pattern and got a taxi to the venue. We all waited for the ending ceremony to end. Once it did, I went upstairs and got changed into my fight kit. I heard my fight get called and I went in the ring. I was nervous, however slightly confident. I heard the bell ring and went straight into competition mode. Me and this other boy went all two rounds, he was a very tough world class opponent but fortunately I won by decision. I collected my medal and certificate and went to the hotel. When I got back I went to the dining room and stuffed my face with food. We were all very tired, so after dinner we went bowling and went to bed. 

Day 5: Today we went back home and flew from Dusseldorf. One of the fighter’s dad’s picked us up from Manchester and took u all home… 

Here is the link to my fight.

Our finest hour (well, four minutes anyway) - Tyrone Dalby

Gotham City

In 1966 some of my friends and I formed a beat group (later, beat groups came to be referred to as ' 'bands" but not 'til the late Sixties); we were based at Boston Grammar School and even practised in the newly built Sixth Form Common Room. We had a lot of problems throughout our one year career in Boston, but I can honestly say, with my hand on my heart, that there were never any ego clashes (which is unusual in Rock Bands!) It was such a struggle with our meagre amount of equipment, learning to play the songs, remembering what came next, we never found the time to argue with each other! (Aso, transport was a huge problem i.e. we hadn't got any!)

Everyone in the group was in the school's Sixth Form - myself on bass guitar, Dave Wortley on vocals (waiting to go to University, and a very good footballer), Dave "Hank" Hancock on rhythm guitar (who'd transferred from Kitwood Boys' secondary modern; not quite as good as "Hank" in The Shadows!); Nick Flynn on lead guitar (the son of highly respected local bobby - Sergeant Flynn) and Randall "Raz" Boulton on drums (one of the younger members of the group, very good at Art).

When Dave Wortley eventually left the group (taking his P.A. system with him) he was replaced by Nigel "Nij" Wilkinson, but, in fact, Nij only ever rehearsed with us: the group broke up before we ever had a chance to do a gig with him, but he plays a central part in the story I am about to relate.
One of the problems we had was with the Boston Mods, who were quite a large, aggressive local teenage cult group. Very few of them were grammar school boys (there were one or two), very few of them were social friends Of ours; the result was that they gradually took on the ambition of always being there to cause havoc at the gigs of "Gotham City" (though, luckily they never actually damaged anything - or anyone!)

The name of our group was always a source of disappointment for me. I had had no say whatever in the choosing of it, I would have preferred something more romantic, heroic or fashionably psychedelic. Yet strangely, though, I did not feel offended nor did I complain: the overriding factor for me was that I was in a beat group: But I always preferred the "fans" to refer to us by our abridged nickname "The Gothams", which to me sounded less corny and more like the name of a band. As I recall "Gotham City" was chosen by three of the band - Nick, Dave and Hank; they said that we should cash in on the then popular TV series about Batman and Robin, and I was just happy to be in a band. They could have called us ' 'The Cosmic Pods" as far as I was concerned; but I did feel a little disappointed: I 've always been very name conscious and my father allowed me to name all of his racing greyhounds at the various tracks; of course at that time Boston had a track.

The lads came up to me at school one fateful afternoon (l can see it now) and proudly gave me a yellow Batman sticker the size of a penny piece (old money) and told me where to stick it (on my second-hand red Hofner bass guitar). This I duly did, without uttering a singe word of protest, obedient to the last detail.

One of the most memorable clashes with the Boston Mods took place in the upstairs ballroom of Boston's White Hart Hotel near the town bridge. (l believe it was part of a suite of rooms known as the Louise Rooms). We were second on the bill yet again! Top of the bill were The Foundation (not to be confused with Clem Clempson's pop-soul band, The Foundations). Their drummer was Johnnie Eagle, member of a family who've been running a fish and chip restaurant in Boston for many years, lead guitarist was well known men's hairdresser, Malc Fletcher; as for the rest of the group, I'd be guessing but Dave Greenhough (brother of Steve) may have been on rhythm guitar. Well it was nearly fifty years ago.

As you go in, they set up in the right side of the hall, we set up at the bottom end, with our paltry set of equipment, and when they came in, the Boston Mods established themselves on the left hand side of the hall, well within barracking distance of "Gotham City!" We reluctantly played one or two soul numbers only because all the other groups kept telling us this was what Boston audiences wanted - "Land of a Thousand Dances", "In the Midnight Hour", "Willy Nilly" and so on. But when we launched into Sam and Dave's "You don't know her like I know" two of us were in one key and two of us were in another, only Raz, the drummer, knew what he was doing. Of course this was grist to the mill for the Boston Mods, who began laughing out loudly and uproariously. They had enough musical ear to know that we'd slipped up. Full of heroic anger, I strode manfully towards them, overcoming my natural angst on the way. When I got there, through all the fog of arrogant smoking that was going on, could see the look in their eyes, above their smirks , the pupils were extremely dilated, (there was a big pep pill scene in Boston at the time and according to what I had heard, the Mods were well into it).

Remembering the time-honoured saying, something about "lives to fight another day", I swiftly did an about turn and returned to the relative asylum of "Gotham City", putting on my guitar strap and electric bass once again, ready for action; after all I could hardly rely on Batman and Robin flying through the White Hart windows on their way to my assistance but there was more chance of finding them in the precincts of their own city. Nick wouldn't be much use to me with his Buddy Holly spectacles (the Mods would have happily crunched them underfoot), although the fact that his dad was a local bobby might be of some use as a deterrent, but the Mods didn't come after me (I'd scared them). We struck up again, and this time we all agreed to play in the same key; an ironic cheer went up from the contingent of Boston Mods of whom several were quite musically literate and played in groups.

Another incident with them took place at Blenkin Memorial Hall, at the back of Boston Stump Church, again, two groups were playing and we were the support act; the main group was The Limits with two lead guitarists John Booth and Steve Greenhough. But before we went on, Dave "Hank" Hancock had told me that, while I was away from our changing room, the Mods had come into the room and told whatever Gothams were there that they would smash up all our equipment if we went on stage tonight (not a five minute job anyway!) Obviously they daren't talk like that if I'd been there after my outrageous acts of heroism at the White Hart hotel dance! Anyway we went on stage before the top of the bill, The Limits, and nothing happened with regard to the Mods' threat. It had just been talk.

The Limits yet again proved to us that we weren't playing any numbers that people could dance to. When we played, customers stood and watched; as soon as The Limits struck up everyone started dancing! It made us look as if we weren't doing our job; but Dave Wortley, our vocalist at the time was the only one in the group who liked that sort of music; I, for example, was into "psychedelic pop" - The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Pink Floyd, some of the American West Coast groups like Jefferson Airplane. Sometimes the group let me sneak a number I liked into our repertoire such as "Over Under Sideways Down" by the Yardbirds; this song had some very meaningful lyrics to which I could easily relate, plus a great psychedelic lead guitar solo halfway through which, I believe, was played by the now legendary Jeff Beck.

One day I was in Linguards record shop in Wide Bargate (the only record shop in Boston at the time that sold musical instruments and amplifiers as well; there was Allens' record shop across the way, but they sold tellies, not musical instruments!); I was flicking through the box of 45 rpm record singles situated near the shop's front door. These were new, but had often been reduced because their flimsy paper covers had been badly torn or, in some cases, they no longer had one! On this occasion I had a real "find" in there - a reduced single by the much respected American West Coast psychedelic group simply called "Love" and led by another now legendary rock icon, Arthur Lee, who died not very long ago. I'd read about them in the pop music weekly "Melody Maker" but never actually heard them; even though I was hard up, I decided to invest, even so; what a buy it was! I got home with it, put it on the turntable for the first time. Immediately I loved it! Couldn't believe how exciting it was to my 18 year old's crazy mixed up mind and spirit! Quite simply it was me all over: psychedelic pop feel, a pounding racy beat, Bob Dylan style surreal, at times poetic, lyrics - I hadn't heard anything so exciting for yonks! I decided right there and then it had to be "snuck" into the Gotham City repertoire. And so, Nick Flynn was the first choice to pass it on to, because Nick had the "ear" to work everything out just by listening to the record i.e. we didn't have to buy the sheet music.

Let me explain that: the way we worked in those days was that Nick took a record and, by listening to it repeatedly, he could then tell me what the bass lines were and Hank, the rhythm guitarist, the chord sequences. The singer would then have the record and copy all the lyrics down (if he could hear them:); then, finally, Razz the drummer would just have the record to listen to, in order to get the feel of it. He might copy the drumming, he might not - it was up to him, but lending him the record for a few days familiarised him with it - I think on this occasion, actually, if memory serves me well, he did copy the drumming.

I had managed to sneak "7 and 7 is" into the repertoire and we were going to try it at the next rehearsal, which would be upstairs in The Music Room Of The Indian Queen pub in Dolphin Lane (now called "The Four Kings and the Indian Queen"). This venue had become our regular practice place now; we had left the Sixth Form Common Room where we were restricted to always having to practise straight after school.

The reason for this was we had to class ourselves as a school club/society in order to get use of the room. Thus Boston Grammar School Jazz and Blues Society was born: It was the only club at the school that didn't have any members! But we were men now, we must be, we were rehearsing in a local pub!

And so we arrived at that evening when we first tried out "7 and 7 is" by the American West Coast group, Love. Everyone was present (Dave Wortley had left) and a new vocalist from the school Nij Wilkinson. I was on bass, Nick on lead guitar, Hank on rhythm guitar, Razz on drums, to begin with there were no supporters present: we were expecting two later on, to listen to us; Keith "Lurch" Baker and Roger Beeston, both from the Grammar School. We zinged it straightaway! Never sounding better in the entire history of the group; the original record was rather short, so we had arranged the number to last four minutes. I looked across at the other members of the group as we played; we all just smiled at each other as if to say, "Good, ain't it!" This was the first time there had ever been any genuine empathy between the various members of the group; we had just needed letting off the leash: Raz, in particular, excelled himself on drums, almost getting carried away by the fast train-like style of the beat, I was stalking around the small stage, heroically dipping and craning my neck in real rock style. Nick almost took his glasses off! The new vocals sounded great. This was how life should feel being in a youthful rock band, and it proved to me something that I (and the Boston Mods) had never suspected: that when we had the right material, we were brilliant!

Suddenly the Music Room door was flung open and in walked Roger Beeston and "Lurch" Baker, grinning from ear to ear. "That was incredible," they enthused "we've been standing outside in Dolphin Lane listening to it." Both Keith and Roger were, like us, Sixth Formers, but Roger had a car and had passed his test, so that came in very handy for moving the equipment to a gig when my dad wasn't available. "Absolutely marvellous," they continued, "it sounded great outside." The next one in was the pub landlord: "What happened?" he said, "you're sounding professional!" All of this fulsome praise was brought to us by the song "7 and 7 is". Well they say that seven is a lucky number, don't they!

Since 1966, I've always carried that blissful teenage scene with me; in fact, the song is still one of my all time favourite numbers. Of course the fact that I was the one who discovered it in Linguards' music shop made it all the more gratifying. I had experienced two new feelings, the actual words for which I only came across in later life. First of all, there was "empathy": the group were now communicating musically with each other, we were as one, giving to each other that knowing smile, a sense of truth; secondly there was "fulfilment" - we felt happy, we loved that song, being in a group now felt more than being a case of meeting girls at gigs, being well known faces in local teenage social circles. This was a complete feeling that centred around pure enjoyment of our music at the time we were playing it - nothing else came into it. Youthful enthusiasm abounded - for once, youth wasn't being wasted on the young. If only the Boston Mods had been there to witness our finest hour!
What happened, later on, to the various "members" of Boston Grammar School Jazz and Blues Society:-
Nick Flynn, lead guitarist: Nick moved to Nottingham with his parents and still lives there today, running his own upholstery business. Since leaving Gotham City, he has played with various professional groups at a high level. I have seen Nick recently on two occasions at the annual dinner of the Boston Grammar School Old Boys' Association. He has now replaced his Buddy Holly spectacles With some designer frames! and is still lovingly playing guitar.

"Raz" Boulton: In the Sixties, Raz played a Beverley drumkit which at the time was just about the cheapest drumkit you could buy! and on a par, quality-wise, with Hank's Antoria electric guitar! He was a nice lad and always did a good job for you. I believe he went to Art College after leaving the Grammar School, but I haven't seen him since those heady days.

Myself: After Cotham City, the next group I was in was called "Stake", another name I disliked intensely and had no say in choosing! That group was at Hull University, the name being supplied by the lead guitarist who was into Black Sabbath (a Birmingham group, the same city he came from) and Hammer horror films! Our greatest claim to fame was that we were bottom-of-the-bill to John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and  "Eire Apparent" (who played the Woodstock Festival) at Hull University rag dance in 1970. I later went on to work for Mungo Jerry who had a very well known number one hit with "In The Summertime", and then became a secondary school teacher of English and Drama.

Dave Wortley: Dave always drove a scooter, it was a Vespa or a Lambretta, but he was never a Mod! On pillion would be his loyal girlfriend, Jenny; they were inseparable. Dave was heavily into Soul Music and Tamla Motown, the two types of music that I personally disliked intensely! I was more a fuzzy hair, smoke bombs and long guitar solos man! But I still got on well with him. He was an excellent footballer and played in the same grammar school eleven for which I was goalkeeper. He definitely went on to University but I have never seen him since.

Dave "Hank" Hancock: I Hope Hank's still got his cheapo-cheapo Antoria electric guitar because I've been told they're now fetching a fortune as a Sixties curiosity item! He went up to Hull University in 1968, the year after me. In the meantime, after the break-up of Gotham City, he had found another niche as a rhythm guitarist with newly formed local group, The Synix. Like Dave Wortley, Hank also had a scooter, but had graduated to a car by the time he arrived at Hull University. Strangely, I don't recall him ever being involved with a rock band in his years at University.

Nigel "Nij" Wilkinson: Nij was a very smart-looking, tall lad who was still at Boston Grammar School when I left in March of 1967; I often saw him up town at lunchtime. It's a pity he only ever rehearsed with the group and didn't do any actual gigs, as he was a very promising vocalist and seemed to take to "7 and 7 is" very readily. To the best of my recollection, he had neither a scooter nor a motorbike (l had a motorbike). After I went up to Hull Uni in October '67, I never saw Nij again, but I did meet a very good school friend of his at a recent Old Boys' annual dinner (he remembered the group:)

Keith "Lurch" Baker and Roger Beeston: Keith and Roger were supporters of the band. "Lurch" as we called him, had no transport but Roger was one of the few Sixth Formers who owned a car! and, of course, with our paltry amount of equipment, we didn't need a transit van, a car was perfectly big enough, even for Razz's drumkit: I suppose you could say Roger was our "road manager" but really he was just a mate helping out. Apart from Roger, everybody connected with the group was scooter, motorbike, cycle or walk!

Farne Hunt - RIP

Farne Stanley Hunt (BGS 1957-60)

Farne Hunt died, aged 71, on the morning of Wednesday 30 September 2015 following a long battle with cancer. He lived in Brisbane, Australia.

We hope a proper obituary will follow in due course.

Jonathan Cressey - RIP

Jonathan Cressey in 1976-77

Jonathan Cressey (BGS c1975-c1983)

Jonathan Cressey died on 2 February 2015, at the age of 51. He died at Papworth Hospital while undergoing heart surgery.

This information came to us from Mel Wilkinson who is running the 2015 Great Eastern Half Marathon in memory of Jon. We hope shortly to be able to publise details of how to support Mel's efforts.

Frank Eric Tooley - RIP

Frank Eric Tooley (BGS 1945-50)

Eric Tooley of Crowland, formerly of Boston, passed away suddenly at Peterborough City Hospital on 6 April 2015, aged 80 years. The funeral was at Boston Stump on 20 April 2015.

OBA sponsorship for Tyler Atkin

The Old Bostonian Association is pleased to be able to sponsor Tyler Atkin, a student of Boston Grammar School, who has qualified for a place on the England team at the WFMC world amateur kickboxing championships to be held in Germany in October 2015. The OBA has helped him towards his goal to raise £699 required to send him to the championships.

My name is Tyler James Atkin, I am 12 years old and currently a year 7 Boston Grammar school student. As you probably know kickboxing is my hobby and has been since I was four years old! The gym I attend is pride UK and is located in Broadfield Lane industrial estate. Through my eight years of kickboxing I have achieved many ranks, and right now I am a second degree black belt which I worked very hard for and managed to achieve earlier this year.

Over the years I have participated in many competitions and have collected lots of trophies. This year though is particularly special to me because at the beginning of the year I competed at an event called the WFMC British championships and placed first in a category called K1. Because of this I was invited to be a part of team England and compete in the WFMC world amateur championships in Hagen Germany between the 14th-19th October later this year. As you can imagine to have an opportunity like that after so many years of dedication, hard work and training, was one I was thrilled about and so grateful to have. 

In order to make my trip possible I have been fundraising, and once again would like to thank you for your big donation! Boston Grammar school have also been so kind to donate £50 towards my trip and my form tutor has a shrapnel jar to help towards my target too.

I am lucky to have a kickboxing instructor who is dedicated to helping me and his other students to succeed. So far my training regime has consisted of two kickboxing sessions a week, one circuit training session, one black belt club training plus sparring sessions. I have also been using the treadmill and spin cycle at home. And squad sessions are arranged for team England to train together. I am very fortunate as school has also been very supportive and has offered to let me train during my lunch time if I wish to do so.

In return for the sponsorship the Old Bostonian Association has asked Tyler to keep up posted of his progress, so I hope to be reporting again on him in the not too distant future.

New furniture for flood damaged BGS

Left to right: Headteacher, John McHenry,
Jon Warner of Cammacks of Boston, who sourced the furniture,
and President of the OBA, Peter Sharman.

Following the devastating tidal flood of 5th December 2013 the Old Bostonian Association raised £3500 in donations from its members. This money was then used to provide a new oak display cabinet, a coffee table and two bench seats. These have now been installed in the foyer to the 16th century Grade I listed school library which was flooded up to around 12 inches and suffered considerable damage.

The aim is to make the foyer a place for students to meet and by displaying items relating to the history of the school, raise the profile of the Old Bostonian Association.

Margaret Haworth - RIP

Margaret Haworth, the widow of Lt Col Norman Owen Haworth (BGS Staff 1955-78), died on the morning of 13 July 2015.

In 1978/9 Margaret was the first lady Mayor of the Borough of Boston. Norman, who taught mathematics at Boston Grammar School and was responsible for the CCF (Combined Cadet Force) at the school, was her consort.

Norman died in 1978.

The following account about Margaret Haworth appeared in the Boston Target in February 2015:

The front page story from October 28, 1983 on the Lincolnshire Echo carried the headline: Women's Lib Battle on the Council. And by 21st century standards, the introductory paragraph underneath – Petticoat power is making itself felt in Boston borough council chamber – was even more quaint. 

The story went on to explain how seven councillors – three Conservatives and four Independents – had formed a support group to "make sure they receive a fair hearing on the male-dominated council".

The campaign was led by Cllr Margaret Haworth, Boston's first female mayor, who said at the time the group's focus was environmental and housing issues surrounding council estates. 

She told the Echo's George Wheatman, who left to become the Target's first editor months later, that it was particularly important for new women councillors to get their facts straight in meetings or they would risk being treated as figures of fun. 

She added: 'There is no doubt that it is a man's world – there is no equality. 

"We may not have the same views, but we will not let any of our group be trampled on by the men. 

"You do not have to throw your bra away to be liberated. We are fighting for equality but it will be a long time before it comes. It is so easy for men."

The full Boston Target article can be found here.

Peter Bond - RIP

Peter Bond (BGS 1946-50)

We have heard that BGS old boy and OBA member, Peter Bond passed away recently. We hope to be able to publish a proper obituary in due course.

Paul Nguyen Van Tam - Obituary

Paul Nguyen Van-Tam (BGS Staff 1970-80, later a supply teacher at the school 1990s-2000s)

Paul Nguyen Van-Tam, former teacher of mathematics and physics at Boston Grammar School, died on 21 May 2015.

Paul gained his BSc at the University of Nottingham. His father, Nguyễn Văn Tâm was Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam in 1952/3. His brother, Nguyễn Văn Hinh, who died in 2004, was appointed the Vietnamese National Army Chief of Staff by Emperor Bảo Đại.

He taught at Kitwood Boys' School, Boston, and Carre's Grammar School, Sleaford before arriving at BGS. He took charge of the Naval section of the CCF (the school's Combined Cadet Force) and, on the death of Norman Haworth, took overall charge of the CCF.

In 1979 he left BGS to take up the post of Senior Mathematics Master at the City School, Lincoln, though he later returned to BGS as a supply teacher in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Paul leaves two sons and a daughter. His sons both attended BGS: Jonathan Stafford Nguyen Van-Tam and Dominic Nguyen Van-Tam. Jonathan is Professor of Health Protection at the University of Nottingham and Dominic is Manager Pharmacovigilance Data Reporting & Analysis at GSK.

While Paul was a firm master, tending towards strictness, he seems to have been well respected by many of his students, and is reported to have made mathematics "click" for several who were otherwise uninspired by the subject.

Roy Wilkinson - Obituary

Roy Wilkinson was born in 1929 and attended Boston Grammar School where he gained his School Certificate. He then went to work as a Quantity Surveyor for Hedley Mobbs during the day and studied during evenings and weekends to obtain his professional qualifications before finally becoming a Chartered member of the RICS.

Roy married Mary Murphy in 1954 and they moved to Hull as Roy was then working for Hull Council. A few months after their first of four children was born, Roy was appointed Chief Quantity Surveyor for Middlesbrough Council and he and Mary moved up to Middlesbrough. His final appointment was as chief Quantity Surveyor for Cleveland County Council from which position he retired over 30 years ago.

Roy had many, many hobbies during his life, including Competitive Swimming and Diving for which he trained at Boston Baths! He had a very active retirement. Amongst numerous other things, he attended night-school to brush up on his Boston Grammar School German before travelling extensively in Germany. He sustained an interest in technology, using a smartphone, an iPad and a laptop until just a few weeks before, aged 85, he died peacefully at home in Guisborough with Mary.

Louise Brown - running the London Marathon for children's cancer charity

Louise Brown teaches art at Boston Grammar School. She will be running in the 2015 Virgin Money London Marathon on 26 April. She writes:

...next weekend I am running the Virgin Money London Marathon to raise money for Children with Cancer UK. We have already raised some money in school with a non uniform day, a charity disco and a production of 'I'm at BGS Get Me Out of Here!'... I am trying to raise around £1500, and so far I am over half way there! I have chosen this charity as I lost a nephew to leukaemia a few years back, and have seen the utter devastation that this cruel illness can cause. The good news is that treatments are improving rapidly, but obviously to maintain this progress requires funding, and lots of it. The students and my colleagues have been tremendously supportive, and I do hope that you may consider sponsoring me. Any donation would be very gratefully received. If you feel you could help, money can be paid by cheque, made out to either Children with Cancer UK or myself, or alternatively I have a Virgin Money page for online donations. the address is virginmoneygiving.com/LouiseBrown.

The School Goalkeeper - by Tyrone Dalby

When you're in late adolescence, it seems so important to have an identity, to make you stand out amongst your peer group; well that was how I saw it during the Sixties when I was at Boston Grammar School in my Lincolnshire home town, and from the ages of 17 to 19 I was the school goalkeeper, eventually receiving my "school colours" from the Headmaster, for which one had to go up onto the stage during morning assembly.

It all started when the Gannock's house team couldn't find a pupil to go in goal, my father had been a goalkeeper so I volunteered. Pretty soon I was diving acrobatically across the goal tipping hard shots round the post and my speciality became throwing myself onto incoming forwards' feet and smothering the ball. The reason for the latter was that, in the midst of depressing adolescence and losing one's girlfriend, at that time I had little concern for my health and safety! I then graduated to the school second eleven and when the first team keeper left the school, I became an unrivalled number one.

I particularly enjoyed the atmosphere on the team bus, many of us singing and playing acoustic guitars, we trotted out all the Sixties' chart numbers. Visits to Kesteven Teacher Training College and the RAF College at Cranwell, near Sleaford were a real eye-opener to me.

One encouraging and heartwarming detail I remember about all the Saturday morning home games was the sight of Mr Wilkinson, the elderly grey dignified History teacher, on the touchline; he had no connection with running the school team but he always turned out to show his support, and gave the very same shout of encouragement throughout each game - "Come on, the School," I don't recall him ever saying anything else; but I should have suggested to him a slight variation - "Come on, the School Goalkeeper," Ah, those were the days.

by Tyrone Dalby (BGS 1958-66)

Old Bostonian Association Annual Dinner 2015 - Report

Richard Anderson leads
everyone in some exercises

As predicted the Old Bostonian Association Annual Dinner 2015 was a huge success. Once Richard Anderson, the almost universally popular Modern Languages teacher of 43 years (and one term) who retired in 2014, was booked as the guest speaker, it seemed almost inevitable that we would achieve a record attendance for recent years, and so we did.

I hope you enjoy this long report with many photographs. Maybe you will be able to identify long-lost friends in some of the images - click on an image to see a larger version.

The last few dinners have been held at the Boston and County Club where our recent record of ninety-something stretched comfort; last year's sixty-something was perfect for that venue. We needed somewhere larger, and the solution was in hindsight obvious - we returned to the school hall for the first time in probably a couple of decades (dinners around the turn of the 21st century were held in the school dining hall). This time we were able to bring with us the excellent caterers from the county club and all was set.

Old Boys v BGS Football Match 2015

The annual football match between the Old Boys and Boston Grammar School took place on Thursday 26 March 2015. The Old Boys' final line up, after the replacement due to "man flu" of Martin Potter by Matthew Joyes, was:

1. George Dix
2. Ricky Drury
3. Luis Mundt
4. Steve Woodcock (Captain)
5. Tom Baxter
6. Scott Elleray
7. Nathan Hubbert
8. Matt Joyes
9. Elliot Pogson
10. Giles Elson
11. Paul Lenton
12. Alex Pycock
13. Paul Fossitt
14. Joe Vaughan

The final score was 3:2 to the Old Boys with goals by Luis Mundt, Tim Bell and Alex Pycock. The win was despite an own goal by George Dix.

Thanks to all who played or spectated. Photographs thanks to Peter Sharman and David Wortley.

Regional Shooting Development Programme - Marcus Horry

BGS student, Marcus Horry posted today on Facebook that he was "Really happy to be invited to the regional shooting development programme!"

It is part of the British Shooting and UK Sport initiative, Target Tokyo. The initiative was launched, in partnership with the CPSA, to identify, recruit and develop talented shooters from all disciplines of shooting.

Following three phases of assessment, British Shooting coaches and the UK Sport Talent Team have collated data and made observations to understand where best to place each athlete on the Talent Pathway. Accordingly, athletes will be invited to take part in one of the following levels of the Pathway:

• Remaining in home environment to develop basic competencies
• British Shooting Regional Development Programme
• GB Talent Programme

The regional development programme, for which Marcus has been chosen, aims to provide a learning opportunity to equip those chosen for it with the skills necessary to progress along the Pathway and continue their journey to become World-class performers. The programme of learning will also include sports science, tactical training and lifestyle awareness.

The programme will consist of 15 days' training at Beverley Clay Target Centre for DTR athletes and Nuthampstead Shooting Ground for OSK and OTR athletes. Each athlete will be given individual coaching and the opportunity to shoot up to 5 rounds on each training day. In addition, athletes will be introduced to sports science to help technical and psychological development. Athletes are asked for a personal contribution of £450.00 for the programme, which represents excellent value at £30.00 per session.

British Shooting is committed to developing and supporting talented athletes. You will have an individual development programme and every aspect of your shooting will be monitored and assessed over the next 6 months. At this point on the Pathway the key objective is to find shooters who are passionate, committed and engaged in their own development; British Shooting wants athletes who are hungry for development. The programme will be reviewed in October and athletes who have demonstrated significant progression and engagement will be considered for the GB Development or Academy Programmes.

Marcus has secured sponsorship from the old Bostonian Association and others which goes some way to supporting his training, equipment and travel. Some money also comes from his part-time job. Welcome though this opportunity to join the Regional Development Programme is, it represents a further expenditure of £450 and he needs to save up before he can confirm his attendance. He urgently needs further financial support, so if you or your business is able to help, please contact Marcus or show your support straight away on his gofundme page.

Practise makes perfect - Marcus Horry

Marcus attends stage two of the Target Tokyo scheme

It's a busy time of year for Marcus, who is balancing his training regime with his regular studies

It has been a busy month as I have been travelling about collecting registered scores for England selection which is looming! I also attended stage two of Target Tokyo. Target Tokyo is a scheme set up and funded by British Shooting, scouting talent for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

I got invited to Target Tokyo when I was at the National Inter-Cadet Clay Target Competition in 2014 at Cambridge Gun Club. The second stage was a great experience - shooting Double Trap all day at Nuthampstead Shooting Ground with guidance from British Double Trap coach, John Bellamy. The day consisted of group coaching, one-to-one coaching and questionnaires — and, of course, the whole time I was being assessed.

My regular Down the Line practice at Nottingham and District Gun Club has certainly been helping my scores and confidence improve. I try and shoot at least once a week, if not twice.

A major part of my training is a technique called dry mounting. To do this I mount the gun into my shoulder in front of the mirror in my garage. I follow marks that are set out on the garage roof so that my muscles memorise the movements and it becomes effortless on the range. It also makes my mounting more consistent, which results in better confidence and set-up.

Having my last few months of school coming up I have got to balance my schoolwork with my shooting. Young people will understand how hard balancing your schoolwork with your social life and work is, never mind adding shooting to the mix. To help get around this I take revision and homework on the journey to the shooting grounds, unless of course I'm driving!

The next few weeks are going to be very tense as I will find out if I have been successful in reaching the third stage of Target Tokyo. Also, the England selection shoot for the DTL team is looming and I'm obviously hoping my four scores will earn me a place at the selection shoot to be held at Nottingham and District Gun Club. Much later on in the year I would also be looking to represent Lincolnshire in as many disciplines as I can for the Junior Team.

A busy few weeks of shooting ahead, which is great!

The Old Bostonian Association is sponsoring Marcus Horry throughout 2015 in support of his shooting. This article by Marcus was first published in Clay Shooter magazine (April 2015 issue).

Magazine exposure for Marcus Horry

Marcus Horry, the BGS clay shooter who is being sponsored by the Old Bostonian Association has secured some ongoing publicity. Thanks to BGS old boy Dom Holtam (BGS 1989-96) who is Group Editor for Archant's shooting titles and gave Marcus the opportunity of featuring in the group's magazine, Clay Shooter, throughout 2015. Every month Marcus will write a diary which will be published in the magazine, which is available free at gun shops nationwide.

The first of Marcus's diaries appeared in the March issue. Dom has kindly allowed us to reproduce this and future diaries on this blog.

An introduction to Marcus Horry

Young DTL hopeful Marcus Horry shares his clay shooting story so far and his hopes for the future

My name is Marcus Horry and I'm a sixth form pupil at Boston Grammar School, currently studying for my A levels. I am also a Flight Sergeant in the 141 Boston Air Cadets, which I joined in 2011.

In June 2013, I was asked to shoot with Boston Air Cadets in the National Cadet Clay Target Shooting Championship, where the best cadets from all over the United Kingdom competed. To prepare me for my first competitive shoot, my coach at cadets gave me four weekends' training prior to the competition.

The three-day competition in Cambridge ended with my beating all 175 cadets with the highest combined score of 54. This was quite unexpected as much of the opposition had years of experience shooting clay pigeons whereas I had none. Obviously this was an awesome feeling! It was easy to see I had a natural skill for the sport. It was on this day that I fell in love with shooting.

After the competition, I continued to shoot with the air cadets. During these shoots, my cadet coach and I discussed the possibility of taking my training to the next level. My coach knows John Bellamy, who is part of the England coaching team; she introduced me to him in February 2014. I had a trial lesson with him at P
ark Lodge Shooting School in Goole. He rated my shooting positively and thinks I show considerable potential. He helped to pick out the right gun which, with the help of my family, I have recently been able to buy.

I am still in full-time education and I have also recently applied for the Royal Air Force, so obviously there is little time left for earning money. But the money I do earn working at my local fish and chip shop funds my shooting. People who are not within the shooting crowd don't understand why I spend every penny I have available on clay shooting. My answer to those people is that shooting is my passion and it's also an addiction; I strive to get better every time I go.

I applied to be part of a new scheme to scout coachable talent for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. My application was successful, I attended the first stage and I am happy to say that I have been invited back for the second!

My aim now this year is to carry on collecting my scores for England selection and make the England DTL Junior Team. One thing is certain - there are some very exciting times ahead!

OBA Quiz Night 2015

Urban Bunny (old boys)

The Old Bostonian Association Quiz Night, 2015 took place on 25 February at the Boston and

County Club. The quiz-master was Richard Anderson and the scores were as follows.

Buzzer and light finale

Place	Team	Score
1	3 Cammack generations plus Dan	44
2	Urban bunny (BGS old boys)	32

3 Cammack generations plus Dan

Main quiz results

Place	Team	Score %
1	Urban bunny (old boys)	89
2	3 Cammack generations plus Dan	83
3	Return of porky beef (old boys)	79
4	Only ones that would come (BGS team)	65
5	Quizrag (recent old boys)	62
6	Haven't a clue (old girls)	61
7	Green sprouts (old boys)	52
8	Spring chickens (old girls)	42
9	Klever klogs (best name!)	39

Thanks go to Richard Anderson for providing the scores, to Howard Charlton for the photos and to everyone who took part for... er... taking part!

Boston Grammar School Prize Book - c1861

Photo: Allan Krill

I have recently been updating the entry in the OBA wiki to list as far as possible, all the speakers at BGS Speech Days and Prize Givings. Coincidentally, today I received an email from Allan Krill, Professor of Geology at NTNU Trondheim, Norway.

Allan is collecting copies of The Playbook of Metals by John Henry Pepper who is most generally known as having invented Pepper's Ghost, the theatrical illusion where a brightly lit subject off stage appears as a "ghost" on stage using a sheet of glass to create a partial reflection.

Allan has bought an 1861 first edition of the book on the internet which was presented as a school prize to a pupil of BGS. Unfortunately the bookplate is missing as is the back cover and the spine. However, the book was leather bound and the front cover bears an image of the Boston Grammar School "big school" building (currently the school library). The "big school" was built in 1567.

Jeff Ashberry - RIP

Jeff Ashberry in 1949

Jeff Ashberry

Jeff Ashberry died on the morning of 22 January 2015. Jeff worked as an engineering draftsman at Norprint in Boston. He leaves his wife, Pat, and sons Simon, Tim and Jez.

The funeral will be at Boston Crematorium on Friday 13 February 2015, at 2:30pm.

We hope to be able to post a proper obituary in due course.

BGS GK Club Reunion "Sesh"

Richard "Anders" Anderson with
the late Andrew Martin in about 1981

There was a Boston Grammar School General Knowledge Club Reunion "Sesh" on Friday 23 January. It was attended by Richard Anderson who retired from the school at the end of the 2013-14 school year.

In further GK Club news, Richard Anderson announced that the club archives would be held in the school staff room by Mr and Mrs Rennie. The archive includes past questions which may be useful if members wish to hold quizzes in the future.

Richard hopes there will be at least one staff team and one student team at the Old Bostonian Association Quiz Night on 25 February.

Bill Howes - Obituary

Bill Howes (BGS 1945-51)

William Pannell Howes – the Pannell was his mother’s maiden surname – died on 29th May 2013 at the age of 78.

I first met Bill when I was in the first or second form at Boston Grammar School. He was a couple of years ahead of me and a group of us were playing near the Hussey Tower on what became the school’s playing fields. Bill joined us (it wasn’t an auspicious meeting), we had an argument, probably about cricket and who was out and he approached me in what I would describe as a menacing fashion. I grabbed his fingers and bent them back hard. He yelled out with pain and I legged it home to Pilgrim Road and avoided him for several weeks.

Later we made it up and I became part of his gang, who all lived in that area of the town, near the back of the Boston United ground, a team we supported together for years.

CBE for Bill Dunham

Bill Dunham (BGS 1972-79) is included in the 125 UK service personnel to have been granted state honours by Her Majesty The Queen in the 2015 New Year Honours List. He received a promotion in the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire from OBE to CBE.

This award coincides with his retirement from the Royal Marines at the rank of Brigadier to take up the post of director strategy and corporate services at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. He takes up this new post on 20 January.

BGS Prize Giving - report

Adam Shergold

The Boston Grammar School Prize Giving 2014 took place on 18 December at the Centenary Methodist Church, Boston. The guest of honour was Adam Shergold, an Online Sports Journalist at the Daily Mail.

Music for singing and for musical interludes was provided by the Boston Grammar School Jazz Band and other musicians from the school.

John McHenry, the headteacher of the school gave the welcome and Phillip Bosworth the Chairman's Address.

The prizes notably included two new ones marking the retirement of well loved members of staff. The NW Wainwright Award for outstanding sporting achievement went jointly to Zurna Olali and Stuart Wharff. The Anderson Prize for German went to Louis Holland.

Head of School, John Lisle, gave the vote of thanks to Adam Shergold as the guest of honour.

The event was closed with the usual singing of the school song and the national anthem.