HOME                        Calne Bentley Grammar School
                        Class of 1965 - 1st May 2004 Reunion
                                             News letter

Here’s what was written in the guest book: 

Trev Bennett

Colerne
Left Bentley in 1971, worked in the food industry, sales, marketing. Took 3 years out in 1994 when I lost my wife to cancer. Returned to work in 1997, variety of jobs before settling into a career looking after adults with learning disabilities. Moved on from this two years ago, now working in the Mendips providing support to adults with L.D. who live in their own homes.
Two children from my marriage, Lisa 25, Phil 21.
Now with my partner Debbie & her son Brad 13, for the last 6 years.

Moo Clifford (nee O’Sullivan) 

Lyneham
Marries in 72, babies 73 & 75!! both now very tall and still married to Phil
Working for the Halifax now in Chippenham - Assistant Manager – having done my stint as manager in another branch – never again! And I don’t feel 50!!!
Reunions are great fun, we all look soooo young!!
We really shouldn’t leave it another 10 years (altho’ I might be able to write neatly by then!)
Great to see everyone again!

Mark Hyde

Calstone
Not married
Still looking
Any offers
Love Mark xxx

Michael Bowyer

Salisbury
Living & working in Salisbury with a flower business which takes me all over the UK & beyond

Andy Sparkes

Marlborough
Running an HR Consultancy Business
Married, 2 x kids
Riding horses and regularly falling off

Sue Hegarty (nee Butcher) 

Calne

Linda Edwards (now Lamborne) 

Calne
Left school in 1968. Worked in T.G.Jeary (chemist).
Married in Nov 1970 (still married) Calne
Two daughters aged 29 & 25
Still living in Calne
Working as a secretary / receptionist in Marlborough

John Davis

Chippenham
Living & working in Chippenham – not gone very far (Boring !)
Have a small Accountancy practice in Chippenham
3 children helping to keep me poor !

Allyson Paget (now Lucking) 

West Sussex
Taken out of BGS (Kicking & screaming) winter 1969 by parents moving to West Sussex. Still living there (although I have moved away then back again in between). Married with 2 offspring. I’m working as a speech & language therapist in Chichester. When not working I sleep, drink, travel and generally enjoy life.
See you all in 2014 when we’ll ache even more – some may even arrive on zimmer frames !!
Great evening – Well done Poj & Liz

Liz Hyde (nee Stubbs) 

Bradenstoke
Left school Jan 1971, worked in Lloyds Bank, Wootten Bassett, then various PA jobs.
Worked for Wilts Police for 6 / 7 years as a crime investigator and I love it !!
Now divorced, have 2 sons, 29 & 27 and 2 dogs!
Love the reunions, lots of special friends.
Thanks Poj for all your hard work!
Don’t feel 50!!!

Eva Linnegar

Littlehampton
Long retired – now kept busy with church & craft work.
Have taken up bobbin lace, pastels, pen & ink & watercolour.
Did a BA in Theology at University College Chichester after retiring & now almost completed an MA in Theology.
Have a lively ‘all-sorts’ large dog – Brandy snap who keeps me fit – he never gets tired.
Lovely to see so many ‘faces’ – names were never my strong point!
Good luck to you all.

Nora Cooper

Calne
Retired 20 years ago. Still lead an active life, spending a lot of time cooking and various needlecrafts and gardening – rather tired of housework! Spend a lot of the year visiting my six children & partners, my fifteen grandchildren and two great grandsons. I also get quite a number of holidays with my various families. I have enjoyed this evening very much – it has been lovely to meet everyone after so many years. I hope we will meet again in the not too distant future.

Shirley Rymer

Calne
Retired 1989. Since then have continued bell-ringing (including organising courses for the Salisbury Diocesan Guild of ringers). For several years helped out at school with reading & spelling. (Hope to write a spelling manual!). Have done several long distance paths including coast to coast, Offas Dyke Path, Glyndwrs way, Cumbria way.
Soon after I retired had 4 months travel – 2 in India & Nepal & 2 in Australia & have had further trips to S. India (just 2 weeks).
Otherwise just jogging along in Calne.

Nicholas Pordham

West Sussex
Left BGS after 5^th year due to Father’s RAF posting. Following University worked in the flight simulation industry & travelled extensively performing installations in approx 20 countries. Moved into the defence industry in the early nineties & now work as business development executive in Crawley W. Sussex.
Have been married for ten years to Dagmar who is a world leading judge & breeder of irish wolfhounds & show greyhounds. I continued my sporting career in cricket till approx age 40 when my eyesight deteriorated to an unacceptable level.
Major interests are the dogs, of course, and music and now I live in a 16^th century farmhouse on the outskirts of Rusper village in Sussex

Tessa Taylor (nee Jenkinson) 

Bath
Left Bentley after lower sixth, worked at Rawlings, James & Phillips, Ladbrokes saw close Bath, worked at Finefare Trowbridge, left to have daughter Emma. Now work as domestic bursar at Stonar School, Atworth. If any of you have grandchildren that want to attend a small private school ring me on ………………..........
(Contact webmaster for number)

Karen Bird (now Kemp) 

Basingstoke
Left 1970 – Lloyds Bank till 72
Teacher training 72 – 75 then ended up in Basingstoke.
Tried to escape, stopped digging the tunnel in 1984 and have been quite happy there ever since.

Janet Green (now Saye) 

Calne
Left after lower 6^th – Lloyds Bank til 1978.
Married with 3 children – now 24 – 21 & 17
Now work in bookshop in Chippenham. Come & see me if you are nearby.
Regular contact with Karen – above. Recently reformed friendship with Moo & Liz
(Thank goodness for Westlife)

Pip Bishop

Newton Abbot
PE teacher 1961 – 1971. Chief claim to glory, ability to con Peter Sellers, John Williams, Tony Cooper, Bob Stagg and others to do the job for me.
1971 – 78 ran careers education at Netteswell Comprehensive School, Harlow. But Essex supported me 1976 – 7 on a counselling diploma course.
1978 – 1994 Provider of counselling service in 2 comprehensive schools in Newton Abbot, Devon
1994 – self employed provider of counselling & other services to Knowles Hill School, Newton Abbot.
Now avid X country skier.

Chris Podger

Marlborough
Brunel University 72 – 76 then Marconi Avionics in Kent followed by Hewlett Packard – Winnersh, Bristol & Manchester. Moved from engineering to technical sales. Have now worked for six companies in EDA (Electronic Design Automation). This included 18 months living in Japan 97 / 98 – Great experience (interesting food – the best was the live prawns). Now travel regularly around Europe, Japan, US on business.
Married twice, total of 3 children – Daughter 22, son 13, daughter 2 ( ! ). Spare time spent on vintage car rallying & racing

Dave ‘Poj’ Weston

Rochester
After leaving the Bentley went on to Chippenham college to get some ‘O’ levels! Then did OND & HND in Building. Qualified as a Chartered Builder in 2000 and now manage construction projects on site, mainly in Kent.
Married to Val for 26 years, with one 20 year old daughter.
When not working, I enjoy creating & maintaining websites, although 5 years ago I didn’t know one end of a computer from the other.
Had a great time at the reunion, amazing how so many lost memories resurfaced during the evening.

These people also attended but didn’t make an entry in the guest book
(If you would like to add an entry, please e-mail it to me)

Pat Steer

Terry Rose

John Biddle

Martin Summers

Mike Ross

Mike Hayley

Phil Culbert

Jane Liverton

Those who could not attend said the following: 

Geoff Marrow  

Ludlow
I must admire your ingenuity in tracking me down. I’m afraid I shall not be able to attend your reunion on 1^st May. One of our sons is coming home that weekend from Cornwall (so we don’t see him very often) and then we’re off to France for a week.
I left the Bentley to go to Queen’s University, Belfast, to train modern language teachers. I enjoyed the work enormously but we returned to England after four years because we could see no end to the ‘troubles’. I returned to the classroom from 1972 – 80, a school in East Sussex, then in 1980 joined HM Inspectorate of Schools until I retired in1991. This was interesting and financially rewarding, but not so enjoyable or satisfying as teaching.
Please give my best wishes to anyone at the reunion who may be interested.

Maurice Liverton

Minehead
Thank you for your kind invitation to the reunion on May 1. I hope it is a success. I can’t be there but enclose a cheque for £20 towards your expenses. Perhaps if you issue some sort of bulletin afterwards you could send me a copy – I like to know how you all have fared once you escaped from the Bentley. No – I’m not on the internet.
Thanks for the £20, Maurice, the early birds at the reunion drunk to your health.

Heather Wheeler

Cullompton
Thank you for your letter & invitation. I’m afraid I hope to be travelling home from Turkey on May 1^st!
All good wishes, nevertheless, for a successful reunion

Canon Julia Butterworth

Tenterden
I would love to be with you all for your reunion, but for obvious reasons weekends are impossible for me and believe it or not I have not yet retired!
I hope you all have a wonderful time and do remember me to anyone who still remembers me

John Williams & Ann Stickland

Thank you for your kind invitation, but unfortunately Ann and I are already committed to an engagement with friends that weekend and can’t really back out at this stage. Hope the reunion goes well.

Jennifer McKendrick

Nr Barnstaple
Sadly I am already committed on the 1^st of May. It is unlikely that I will be free in time to get to the reunion. Please give my greetings to those there who remember me. It would be very interesting to see you all and to know what you have made of your lives. Have a good time together.

David Kelso

Nottingham
I’ve been hoping that I could make it on the day but I can’t.
It’s been great seeing what people have been up to and also remembering school days again. I never thought I’d say that!

Philip Cooper

Sturminster Newton
I’ve been holding off waiting to see where I am going to be and I doubt that I will be able to attend the get together which is a shame – catch up on few of the wrinklies !!
Hope you have a good time 

Robert Rimmer

We had planned on coming down but someone is poorly at work and Robert can’t get away. Please pass on our regards & hope to see them before we all are on pensions.

Ken Flynn

Calne
e-mail received on 2^nd May with a subject line of Bugger !!!
I guess it's all done and dusted by now, but I've just realised that the reunion was last night and I bloody well forgot.......I knew it was in May but hadn't counted on the fact that it was on the first day!  I hope it went well and if you are contacting any of those who turned up, please tell them I'm sorry I was daft (and senile!) enough not to remember the date.

I have contact details for most of those mentioned above.
If you want to contact any of them, please let me know.  

Dave 'Poj' Weston

Last updated
18th July 2004