I can honestly say I enjoyed the rigours as a boarder at KEGS. My subsequent career in the RAF as a Supply officer took me, amongst other places, to Cyprus and Gibraltar, but a tour as an instructor at the RAF College, Cranwell sparked a particular interest in learning and development. Leaving the RAF in 1997 I then spent 10 years working for a defence contractor at RAF Lyneham, then a busy base for transport aircraft. My duties included running the company’s engineering apprentice scheme, which was especially satisfying. When Lyneham closed I was well qualified to work for a couple of local training companies near my home in Wiltshire.
Teaching is great – we’ll always need teachers. Needless to say my KEGS time brought many memories, but perhaps I could mention three highlights:
– A school Scouts expedition to the Black Mountains, under the sturdy leadership of John Crick, marked the start of a lifelong passion for hill walking;
– Then there was the most active Combined Cadet Force that KEGS ran in those days, and Exercise SPRINGSMOKE, an ‘evasion’ exercise around the Norfolk coast, living on ‘compo’ rations, gave us a taste of the military;
– Finally, my first ever holiday, courtesy of the School Travel Service. A week in Pertisau, alongside Lake Achensee, Austria for £32. It’s been a favourite ever since.
Great memories of KEGS and BSE.
© Old Burians' Association 2024