Friends of Bourne, Lincolnshire

Imad AHMED
Imad was a pupil at Bourne Grammar School from 1996-2001, the longest he had attended any one school. Activities he enjoyed with the local community were Tae Kwon Do and playing the violin for the Lincolnshire Youth Symphony Orchestra, with some cricket and field hockey on the side. He could also often be seen playing cricket with some friends in Lawrence Park, Thurlby. He is currently studying at the University of California at Berkeley but intends to visit the area annually while his parents are still practicing as medical doctors in Bourne and Stamford.

Mark ARMSTRONG
Mark emigrated to the United States in 1980 and now lives at New Orleans where he works in the newspaper business. He is an artist who lived for many years at Osbournby and Rippingale. While attending Lincoln College of Art & Design he was employed during the summers on several farms in the Rippingale area and also painted wildlife scenes.

Jennifer BAKER
Jennifer attended the Robert Manning Secondary School from 1979 until 1984 and now lives at March in Cambridgeshire. She is married to a head chef who also teaches home economics while her own work experience is in retail management. Her nieces Hannah and Tonya Orvis now attend the school. She would love to hear from any old friends who might like to get in touch.

Nick BANNISTER
A former reporter with the Stamford Mercury newspaper, Nick was brought up in Bourne and his parents still live in the town. He is married to Julie and they now live in Derbyshire, having recently moved to a house at Holbrook, near Belper. Nick works as media relations manager at the National College for School Leadership based in Nottingham, and Julie is a chemistry teacher at a school near Derby.

Malcolm and Kate BERGNER
Malc was born at Stamford in 1958 and spent his early years at Grantham and Portsmouth before his parents settled in Rippingale. He completed a mechanical apprenticeship and is now employed locally by a Volvo commercial vehicle repair company as admin manager. Kate (née Parker and sister to Anne Emmett) was born in Somerset in 1964 and moved to Bourne with her parents in 1966. She is now employed as factory manager of a local Bradstone factory. They both attended Bourne Grammar School and several local further education colleges.

Richard BISHELL
Richard was born near Louth, Lincolnshire and he joined the Royal Air Force in 1986, training as a communications and radar technician. His various postings in the United Kingdom took him to RAF Wittering in 1989 and this introduced him to Bourne. He had one overseas tour in Belize, Central America, in 1991, and left the service in 1996, and he now works as a customer services engineer for a radio manufacturing company at Market Deeping but lives in Bourne with his wife Alison and two young children.

John & Angelie BLAKEY
John emigrated to the United States in 1982 at the age of fourteen but spent most of his childhood in Rippingale and attended Bourne Grammar School for three years. He now lives in Los Angeles, California, where he is a physician at the University of California at Los Angeles. He misses the area and its sense of history and visits whenever he can.

John BURGIN
John attended Bourne Grammar School from 1990-95 and is presently working as an English language assistant in a lycée near Amiens in North East France. Apart from playing for the town's rugby and cricket teams, on his return to Bourne his favourite hobbies are "ale-ing" and going up Lester's. In fact, he professes to live by the motto "Ale, never fails" and he also enjoys listening to Lee Guthrie laying down slabs of slamming vinyl in the Red Lion.

Richard COOK
Richard's parents live in Bourne and he has made several visits. He now lives at Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA.

Elizabeth "Libby" COOK-MORRISON
Libby was born at Bourne and when she was five, moved to Thurlby and attended the village school until emigrating to Canada in 1981. Libby's family consists of parents Deryck and Ann Cook and siblings Caroline and Nick Cook. Libby now lives in Georgia, USA, and has a two year old daughter, Daisy. She has fond memories of England and Lincolnshire in particular and visits her family as often as possible and would love to hear from anyone she went to school with or lost friends of the family.

Julian COOKE
Julian and his wife Beverley have lived in Bourne since 1990 and are keen to see improvements in the environment, particularly in the regulation of traffic and greater supervision for re-cycled rubbish centres.

Donald COOPER
Though not a native of Bourne, Donald considers it a home from home. He lived at Ely in Cambridgeshire before the war and as a schoolboy he would cycle to Bourne to visit his grandparents and other relatives, his uncle, aunt, and cousins who are still living in the area, and spend most of his holiday vacations in and around the town, experiencing many adventures with his cousins and friends. Donald says that although he has been living in Canada for fifty years, his memories of Bourne and its environs certainly qualify him as a Friend of Bourne and the pictures on the web site bring back many happy memories.

Tim & Karen COURT
Tim has just left Bourne for a new life in the United States and he married Karen, an American girl, on September 4th and they now live in Saline, Michigan. He moved to Bourne three years ago after service with the Royal Navy and his last job was as maintenance engineer at Swedeponic, the company in Spalding Road that produces fresh herbs, although he is now pursuing a career in the aviation industry. Tim's mother still lives in Ostler Drive and Karen has visited the town and likes what she saw.

Bob CURRELL
Bob was born in Bourne in 1949 and attended the Abbey Road Primary and Bourne Grammar schools before becoming a public health inspector with the former Spalding Urban District Council. After a spell in London from 1972 to 1980, he returned to work for Peterborough City Council as its Advice Services Manager. He left in 2000 and now runs his own company, Key Ferry Cruises, providing river trips and charter cruises on the River Nene in Peterborough..

Margaret DAWSON

. . . has reached retirement age and would love to hear from her old school friends in Bourne. She left many years ago to live in Norfolk but has the fondest memories of the town and its people and although she does not have a computer, I have and will pass on messages from anyone who wishes to contact her. Your emails will go to her daughter April Durrant, Cromer, Norfolk, United Kingdom, and all will be answered.

Nicholas EADY

Nick was born at Spalding in 1967 and then moved to Morton where he attended the village school before studying at Bourne Grammar School, leaving in 1983 to work at the Angel Hotel as an apprentice chef and later at St Peters Hospital. He moved to St.Albans in Hertfordshire and worked at the city hospital as catering manager for five years but then went back-packing through Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the United States, before finally emigrating down under. Nick has two children and for the past ten years he has lived at Kincumber, near Sydney, Australia, where he works as catering manager for a prestigious retirement village group. He still has relatives in the Bourne area and last visited two years ago.

Anne EMMETT
Anne Emmett (née Parker) lived in Bourne from 1966 until she left to go to college, attending both Bourne Primary and Bourne Grammar Schools, and is now Quality Assurance Manager for the Oncology Department at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, having arrived there via pharmaceutical manufacturing in London and Warrington, Cheshire. She and her husband manage to visit fairly regularly and came home in 1991 to get married at the Abbey Church. Her mother, Mary Parker, was known to many as a councillor, school governor and mayor, signing the town's twinning agreement with Doudeville in Normandy, France. Her brother, sister (see Kate Bergner) and their families all still live in the area.

Janet FISCHER
Janet (née McDermott) moved to Mill Drove, Bourne in 1961. She attended Bourne Grammar School when it was still in the old huts and went on to Grantham Technical College. She married Peter Fischer in 1967 in Bourne Abbey and they lived at Peakirk until 1972 but then moved to Huddersfield in Yorkshire for three years and then on to Brazil and in 1981 to Indianapolis, USA where she now resides.

Dr Steve FLEISCHER
Research Associate in the Department of Physics at the University of Hong Kong and director of Flying Tiger Ltd. He lived in Bourne for eighteen years from 1960-1978 and attended both the primary and the grammar schools. Parents and sister still live in the town.

Norma FOLTZ
The information about the Bourne web site was given to Norma by a local woman who is a recent pen pal. Norma has lived in Pocomoke City, Maryland, USA since 1965 but originally came from Newport, Rhode Island. She has relatives living at Orpington, Kent that she has never met but hopes to some day.

MAXINE FOLLOWS
Formerly Maxine Edwards and her home is now at Boston, Lincolnshire. She lived at the county council hostel at Bourne House in West Street for six years from 1966-1971 and has fond memories of the people of Bourne. Maxine also remembers that Mr and Mrs Schmidt ran the children's home and it was a happy place to live. She attended Bourne Secondary School (now the Robert Manning Technology College) and would like to hear from anyone who was in the class run by Mrs Cross, whose husband, Eric Cross, ran a furniture shop in the town..

John FOX
John Fox lives at Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, and has recently discovered 18th and 19th century connections with Bourne in his family history. In particular an ancestor, William Fox, a "taylor" who was born at Edenham in 1764, and his parents William Fox and Susannah Pulling who married there in 1754. Later, some of the family moved to Bourne and William Fox briefly visited Bourne from London in 1817. John now hopes to find out where they came from before Edenham.

Ian GADSBY
Ian lives in Bourne and is a regular visitor to the web site.

Barbara GEORGE
Barbara and Ivan George live at Salem in South Carolina USA while their daughter, Carol, has made Bourne her home town together with her husband Gavin Lishman and their two sons.

Charlotte GERVIS
Charlotte (née Stanton) lived in Witham-on-the-Hill but has recently moved to Lexington, Kentucky, USA, where her husband will be employed for the next two years. She was educated at Stamford High School (1979-86) and then went on to study agriculture at Riseholme Hall in Lincoln and Harper Adams in Shropshire. She was a budding actress in her youth and an active member of the Bourne Players with her mother Jenny. Charlotte and her daughter Jemima are very much enjoying their American experience but miss home and find it comforting to see what is going on in Bourne through this web site.

Elizabeth GILL
Elizabeth lives in Melbourne, Australia. Her family had connections with Kirkby Underwood from before 1700 to 1869 and various ancestors held the offices of churchwarden, Dyke Reeve, Overseer of the Poor and parish constable. She also has an entry in our Family History section.

Jan GIOVANNETTI
I work in an Australian accident and emergency department and just got on to this web site. I enjoyed living in Bourne as a teenager and would like to say "Hi" to all those I knew. My maiden name is Gunthorp and we used to live in Northfields. I attended Bourne Grammar School until 1980 and then Stamford College until 1982. Am now living in Robina, Queensland, Australia, and if anyone wants to contact me please do so. I look forward to receiving some mail from old friends.

Ed GRUMMITT
Ed was born at Beeston in Nottinghamshire in 1947 but his late father, also Edward (Ted, but known in his childhood as Nibb) was a native of Bourne. Ed, who was educated at Nottingham High School and now works in a banking IT department, is married with two teenage children and lives at Countesthorpe in Leicestershire. He fondly remembers childhood visits by steam train to his numerous Grummitt relatives in Bourne and the geniality and tranquillity of the place in the 1950s - apart from BRM. A recent pilgrimage to see his Uncle White and Auntie Peggy's grave, plus memories of his Dad's stories, prompted him to add this entry.

Dennis GUERTIN
Dennis lives in Quebec, Canada, and his ancestors originated in the Bourne area. He has an old sepia photograph of Bourne market place, circa 1860, which belonged to his great-grandmother Frances Harriet Hester who married Joseph Tye Flatters and he thinks that his family were connected with the shop business of Rodgers & Hester which operated from premises next to the Town Hall, possibly as photographers. These premises were still there in 1897 under the name of Rodgers but the site is now occupied by the National Westminster Bank.

Kevin HACK
Bourne is remembered with affection by Kevin who actually lived in Market Deeping but spent a lot of time in the town with a lady by the name of Maryanne. He left England for Western Australia 18 yrs ago but would like to hear from anyone who remembers him.

Phil & Marilyn HACKNEY
Phil and Marilyn lived in Stephenson Way, Bourne, from 1985 to 1988 before moving to Lytham St Annes, Lancashire and then on to Newport, Shropshire, and now to Southport, Merseyside. Phil is still in the Prison Service and both he and Marilyn have fond memories of working with old people's homes while based at H M Prison Stocken. They also had many enjoyable evenings at the Royal British Legion club and other local hostelries in the area. All three of their sons, Phillip, Alan and Lee, played football with Bourne Head Rangers F C while father Phillip is a qualified F A coach and still busy passing on soccer skills to others.

Phillip HACKNEY
Computer graphic artist and musician living at Rotherham in South Yorkshire. Used to live in Stephenson Way and attended Robert Manning School 1985-88.

Mark HARRIS
Mark lived at Thurlby and Northorpe for nine years and attended Thurlby Primary School before going on to Bourne Grammar School from 1989 until 1992 when he moved back to the United States where he was born. He finished his high school education at Syracuse, New York, and then went on to university in Florida. On returning to Syracuse he became a store manager for one of the largest athletic retail companies in the country and has since been moved by the firm to a similar job at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where he lives with his girl friend of two years. Said Mark: "I was so pleased to find this web site and if anyone remembers me, I would like them to contact me and exchange messages, especially Hayley Mason."

Lisa HERITAGE
Lisa left the Robert Manning School in 1994 and after a three year degree course in English and journalism at the University of Central Lancashire, she is currently working as a reporter with the Bromsgrove Advertiser in Worcestershire and her ambition is to pursue a successful career in the media. She hopes this entry will help in contacting friends who attended the school between 1990 and 1994.

Dianne HERNANDEZ
. . . was formerly Dianne Sherwin, sister of Tina and Derek. She has lived away from Bourne for 14 years and is now settled at Gardner, Kansas, a small town outside of Kansas City, USA, with her husband Vince and three children Jonathon, aged 11, Nathaniel, 6, and Simone 3. Dianne and Vince met while working on cruise ships and have been happily married for 12 years. She would love to hear from any old school friends or family.

Paul HINSON
Paul is a chartered engineer living with his family at Manly in New South Wales, Australia. He has traced his ancestors back to 1812 when John Hinson, his great great grandfather, married Frances Ward of Bourne. His great grandfather Thomas Hinson, one of seven siblings, was born in the town in 1816 and married Olivia Chapman in 1838. His grandfather Chapman Hinson was born in Bourne in 1854 and married Jane Bains, a daughter of John Bains, a tailor of Bourne, about 1873. All of Chapman-Hinson's eleven siblings were born in Bourne and baptised in the Wesleyan (Methodist?) Chapel. Paul is anxious to fill in the gaps before 1812 and he plans to visit Bourne in the summer of 2000 but in the meantime, would like to hear from anyone with the same surname or who has information about his ancestors.

Diane Kilbon HORTON

Bourne holds many wonderful memories for Diane who went to America in 1985 and now lives on a farm at Irondale in Missouri were she raises cows with her husband Wesley and they have three teenage children, twin boys and a girl. Diane went to the Abbey Primary and the Robert Manning Secondary Schools and worked for Christian Salvesen and Bourne Laundry. She would love to hear from anyone who knew her in those days to renew old friendships, particularly Jennifer Twell and Keith Stoker.

John HUGHES
Retired businessman who now lives at Forth Worth, Texas. He and his wife Margaret have two sons and four grandchildren. He served with the United States Air Force during the Second World War and was stationed for a time near Leicester and still has fond memories of his time in England. As a regular visitor to the web site, John is most enthusiastic about Bourne and he would be pleased to hear from anyone curious about Texans and their way of life.

Moira & John ISMAY
Moira and John lived for ten years at Kirkby Underwood and their younger son was born there. They emigrated to Australia and now live 3,000 feet up in the Blue Mountains near Lithgow in New South Wales. Poetry is among their interests and their Web site will also tell you more about where they live and their lifestyle.

Betty JAMES
Betty moved to Bourne in 1978 when her husband Jim was appointed manager of the local branch of Lloyds Bank. Since then, she has been busy launching Polly's Teashop in 1981, Bourne Ladies Dinner Club in 1983, Bourne WRVS Luncheon Club around 1986, Milady Dress Agency in 1987 and in October 1989 joined the Bourne Local newspaper. She retired recently from writing her "Town Talk" column but is as busy as ever with husband Jim organising a Gala Celebrity Concert at the Corn Exchange for June 16 2000 when the world famous piano duo Nettle & Markham will be appearing. "It should be the treat of a lifetime for anyone who loves the piano", says Betty. Bourne Organ Club and Bourne Twinning Association also provide two opportunities to help improve Betty's organ playing and her knowledge of French. She loves Bourne and all it has to offer.

Iris JOHNSON
My name is Jackie Williams and I am trying to trace anyone who attended Bourne Grammar School from 1946-48 and might have known my mum, Iris Johnson, who would then have been about fifteen years old. As my grandfather was in the RAF, she travelled around a lot and would not have lived in the area for more than a few years so it is a bit of a long shot. I also wondered if their would be a school register from that time to check if mum’s name is recorded. After so many years and sheer coincidence, her great granddaughter is about to embark on her secondary education, also at Bourne Grammar School, and all the family are delighted for her.

Cindy Marshall KENNEDY
Many generations of Cindy's family, the Marshalls, lived at Kirkby Underwood and some are buried in the churchyard. Her great-great-grandfather Edward Marshall was baptised at Kirkby Underwood church in 1839 and married at Swinstead church in 1866 before emigrating to Canada. Cindy now lives at Devine in Texas, USA.

Tracy LAWRENCE
Tracy lived in Bourne until 1985 and still has strong links with the town where her father, sister and brother are all still resident. Tracy (née Andrews) attended Westfield Primary and Bourne Grammar Schools and has fond memories of the town. She now lives in Bedfordshire with her husband and two small children.

Roy LAXON
Born at Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire, and educated at March Grammar School but Roy married a Bourne girl in 1954 and emigrated to Canada in 1968. They have four children all living in British Columbia. He remarried in 1974, worked in the food industry for over forty years and was senior vice-president when he retired in 1992. Roy spends the winters at his other home in South Carolina but visits England every year to see his sister in Whittlesey and his ex in-laws who live in Manning Road, Bourne. He also has fond memories of his stay on a farm at Twenty in the 1960s.

Sarah LEE-SNAPE
Sarah (formerly Sarah Lee) was a pupil at Bourne Grammar School from 1977 until 1982 where Miss Bell was her first form teacher and Mr Stonelake the last. She also played the Five of Hearts in the school production of Alice in Wonderland. Sarah later moved south and now lives at Southampton with her husband, who is a science teacher, and their 10-year-old son, and would like to hear from old school friends including Andrew Pinder, David Oliver, Hazel Luckins, Yee-lin Barr and Carol Twigg.

Sarah (Fennell) LEETON
Sarah moved from Bourne to London six years ago to go to college and now works for a publishing company in the south east. She found this web site after being sent one of our electronic postcards and as it brought back many happy memories of childhood, she is now a regular visitor. Sarah says that many of her friends have not even ventured further than the Watford Gap and adds: "The web site now gives them a chance to see the tranquillity that I grew up in". Thank you so much for the site. It is nice to see how the place is changing. I now live in Surrey and work as a science teacher.

Janice LEONARD
A former pupil and later teacher at Bourne Grammar School, Janice (née Peasgood) was born at Thurlby and emigrated to Canada in 1967. She now lives in Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Janice keeps in touch with home through this web site and still has three cousins living in the locality, two in Bourne and another in Northorpe, and a son and daughter living at Saffron Walden in Essex. She would like to hear from former friends and colleagues wherever they live.

Eileen LEONZIO
Eileen and her husband live at Chesapeake City, Maryland, USA. She was born in Leicestershire but has lived in America for almost forty years. Her brother and his wife have recently moved to Rippingale and they plan to visit them later this year. When Eileen and her husband were last in England in 1996, they visited Bourne quite by chance and bought a bulldog puppy that has since become a beloved member of their family.

Howard LINDSAY
Howard and his wife Olga (née Gelsthorpe) emigrated to the United States in 1960 and now live at Hamilton, Massachusetts. Olga was born in Bourne and lived at Cavalry House in South Street until 1955. They were married at Bourne Abbey in 1952.

Doug LINDSAY
Doug was born in Montreal and is the son of Olga and Howard Lindsay (see above). He now lives at Beverly Massachusetts, USA. You may also see his personal profile.

OWEN LUCAS
Owen lived in and around Bourne for most of his life, attending the village school at Witham-on-the Hill, Abbey Road Primary and then Bourne Grammar School until 1989 when he left to spend three years at Stamford College. After a stint at Christian Salvesen, he moved to York and began work at Mecca Bingo but now lives in Huddersfield with his long term girl friend and works as departmental manager for Mecca Bingo in Bradford. His mother still lives at Morton with her husband and he visits the area two or three times a year, usually at the end of April, in the summer and at Christmas.

Steve MACHIN
Steve and his wife Pamela (née Needam) live at Enumclaw in Washington, USA. He was born at Haconby and worked as an apprentice at Tuck's Garage in South Street, Bourne, before army service with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. The couple left for America in 1962 and have since lived in Michigan, Ohio and Texas but have now retired to Washington. Stamford is Pam's home town although they have not been back there or to Bourne for several years but they are planning a visit soon.

Dr David McKENNEY
David attended Bourne Grammar School and then went on to Hallam University and after graduating, studied for his PhD in pharmacy at Manchester University . He then went on to do research at the Harvard Medical School in Boston , USA, and now works as a scientist for an American pharmaceutical company but returns to Edenham at least once a year to visit his family.

Ben McKINNEY
Ben lived in Bourne from the age of seven and only recently moved away. He used to play for the cricket team and also for the Deepings basketball team. He now lives in Orlando, Florida, USA, where he is pursuing a career in professional basketball but his parents still live in the town and he visits occasionally.

Guy & Jeanie MEACHAM
Guy's family lived at Kirkby Underwood for a time but he grew up in Rippingale and attended Bourne Grammar School in the 1970's. He now lives at Portland, Oregon, USA, with his wife and two children but still returns home every few years to visit his parents who live in Stamford.

Richard MEGSON
Moved to Bourne from Deeping St James at the age of one and is greatly impressed by scenes and descriptions from the web site but which he previously took for granted. Richard, who now works as art director for a London advertising agency, says that he has taken his work colleagues on a virtual tour of Bourne and as a result they will soon be visiting en masse to see for themselves.

Ted MIDDLETON

Ted attended school in Bourne, first at the Abbey Road Primary and then Bourne Secondary, later serving his apprenticeship at the Jubilee Garage in North Street and in Abbey Road. He lived in the Austerby then in Ancaster Road and for a short time, at Whittlesey in Cambridgeshire, but emigrated to Canada in 1967 and now lives at Brandon, Manitoba.

Billy MOFFAT
Ex-miner Billy was made redundant in 1984 from Ashington Colliery in Northumberland, the county where he was born and brought up, but has lived in Bourne for the past five years. He is married with two grown up daughters and has done a number of jobs since his mining days but also found time to study for an Open University degree in psychology. Billy is also a self-confessed republican. "I like to think that action, whether direct or indirect, can improve the lot for everybody, especially the disadvantaged", he said. He also loves Bourne and its surroundings and thinks that the web site is great.

Heather NASH
Heather Nash (née Brake) was born and lived at 49 North Street, Bourne, with her three sisters. She moved to London in 1946 where she met her husband Richard and they were married at Bourne Abbey in 1951. They emigrated to Canada two years later and lived in the capital, Ottawa, until retirement in 1989 when they moved to Vancouver Island. "I last visited Bourne about two years ago and still keep in touch with friends there", said Heather. "Your web site is absolutely great and I plan to be a frequent visitor."

Dr Justin NEEDLE
Graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge, the University of Dundee and the London School of Economics, who now lives and works in London. Lived in Bourne from 1983 until 1990 but still visits frequently to see his parents (I am his Dad). He was a pupil at Stamford School (1975-85) and would be pleased to hear from any former friends living in the area.

Mark PADDISON
I attended the Abbey Primary and then Bourne Secondary schools, leaving for Stamford College in 1977. My father was the local police sergeant in Bourne from 1965 to 1980 and my brother Andrew was a thalidomide patient but went everywhere on his three-wheeled bike. After leaving Bourne I went to live and work in Ross-on-Wye and then Peterborough and after a spell in a Swiss vineyard, returned to Lincolnshire, working in a supermarket and in a pub part time until moving to London in 1987 to run one for Weatherspoons. I now live and work in Grantham and am divorced. Mum and Dad are still alive and well into their seventies, while Andrew is working and living in the Welsh boarders. I used to play cricket for good old Witham Whackers from 1979-1982 and have been back to Bourne quite a few times but am surprised by how much it has grown.

Adam PALMER
Long time resident of Bourne, Adam attended Bourne Grammar School from 1988 to 1994 and went on to King's School, Peterborough until 1996 before beginning a degree course on marketing and modern languages at Hull Business School and is currently on work placement at Nice in the South of France. His parents still live in Bourne and Adam admits to having a soft spot for the town where he grew up.

The Rev Dr David PARKER
David is a consultant theologian based in Brisbane, Australia, who writes, researches, lectures and preaches on biblical and historical matters relating to Christian life and the church. He has recently published a pamphlet on the life and ministry of the Rev Thomas Deacon, Queensland's second Baptist minister, who sailed for Australia in 1850 after a six-year spell as assistant minister at Bourne Baptist Chapel with special responsibility for outlying villages, and he would be pleased to receive any information about his activities in the area during the mid-19th century. Thomas appeared to have a niece with him in Bourne named Eliza Thorpe and perhaps a sister who was later known as Eliza Smith. Visit his Web Site.

Mary PEARSON
My parents were among the first tenants of the council houses built in Recreation Road. They went to live there in 1928 when I was two weeks old. I attended the Abbey Primary School and lived in Bourne until I was married in 1948 when I moved to Nottingham. It would be nice to hear from any old school pals who might remember Mary Kelly as I was then..

Jerry PEPPER
Jerry is married with one son and lives at Chatham, Ontario, Canada, but his ancestors Tom and Ann Pepper originated in the Bourne area of South Lincolnshire. Tom was born at Pointon about September 1813 and Ann (née Longland) was born at Braceby about December 1816. They emigrated to Canada in 1876. Jerry has no information about them prior to these dates but he has details of the family since. Jerry plans to visit England to take a look at their birthplaces at some time in the future. "I am quite curious about their earlier families and the villages in which they lived", he said.

Geoff PIDGIN
Geoff recently moved from London to live in Bourne and he and his family already love the area and are frequent visitors to the web site. He now works as an accountant in Peterborough and is also secretary of the organisation UDUK - Understanding Dyslexia United Kingdom.

Trevor POOL
Trevor's parents were among the first tenants of the council houses in Alexandra Terrace where he was born in 1925. He worked as a motor mechanic in Bourne and after serving with the Fleet Air Arm during the Second World War (1939-45), married and moved to West Yorkshire in 1953. He is now retired but he and his wife still run a smallholding near Halifax, enjoy the garden and the wildlife areas they have created. He would particularly like to hear from old pals who may have attended the Abbey School with him or served in the Civil Defence in the early days of the war before he was called up.

Andy PRESTON
Andy was born at Thurlby and went to the village school before moving to Bourne Grammar School where he held the record for the 100 metres. After a spell at the Portsmouth Polytechnic studying electrical and electronic engineering, he went to work in New York and liked America so much that he decided to stay. He married an American girl Kristin in 1998 and they have a daughter Hope and now live in Sacramento, California where he works as a computer programmer.

Ruth REDDING
Ruth lives at Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England, and works for a French telecommunications company as a key account manager. She spent her childhood in Rippingale and attended Bourne Grammar School between 1985 and 1992. The Bourne web site took Ruth back about 10 years to her schooldays and she would like to hear from old friends at Rippingale and the grammar school.

Rob RIPPINGALE
Our first entry from New Zealand. Rob is one of many Rippingales living there and they are anxious to trace any information about the family history and in particular, the Rippingale coat of arms. Please email him if you can help.

Jenny ROURKE
Jenny moved to Toft in 1990 with her then husband Stewart and two sons Elliot, aged 4, and Mitchell, aged 2. but separated in 1994 and rented a house on the Grimsthorpe estate where she got to know a lot of nice people in the village, Gill and Andrew Holmes, Carolyn and Mick who ran the post office, Doris Bee and all her family at the Beehive and Sian and Andrew at Edenham Church where her daughter Courtney was christened in 1993. She left Grimsthorpe in 1995 and moved back to Coventry but is planning to visit soon so if anyone out there remembers Jenny Batchelor, please get in touch. She would love to see you all again.

Simon ROWE
"I am a second year student at Nottingham Trent University studying European business and French. Next year I shall be studying at Toulouse in France. I have lived in Bourne all my life and played rugby with John Burgin who is also on the Friends of Bourne list. My dad Andrew Rowe helped to create Bourne Rugby Club."

William SHARPE
Will (Bill) attended Bourne Grammar School from 1991-96 and played football for Bourne Town. He graduated from Manchester University in 2003 with a BSc degree in business and sport and is taking another course next year. In the meantime, he would like to hear from anyone who knows him.

Ben SKETCHER
Ben's great grandfather was Arthur Gooding Scotney who was born at Cuckoo Bush Cottage, just off North Road, a property now demolished. He would like to hear from anyone who has information about this cottage which once featured in a local postcard under the title of "A Bit of Old Bourne".

Darren SKUJA
Darren was born at Stamford in 1962 and attended the primary school from 1966 until 1972 when he moved to Canada, leaving many friends and memories in Bourne. The teachers he remembers include Gorton, Fenny, Lambert, Palmer, and Cook. Despite being only 10 years old when he moved, a very vivid memory of Bourne remains. He returned Bourne in 1982 and again in 1994 and will hopefully visit again soon. Darren currently lives at Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada, is very happily married and militarily employed. He is hoping to contact Shawn Stubley, cousin Mick Kettle, and cousin Christopher Parker.

Jean SKUJA
Jean Kettle, now Jean Skuja, would dearly love to link up with the old town. Born in 1932, one of seven siblings, Jean married Juris Skuja in 1958, had four sons, Darren, Paul, Andris and Juris. Her home was at 16 Harrington Street for many years before moving to Canada in 1972 and she now lives at Pickering, Ontario, but misses Bourne always.

Susan and David SOAR
Susan and David met in Bourne, lived there between 1973 and 1992, and two of their four children still work in the town. They where active members of the Bourne Lions and founder members of both Bourne Footlights and the Twinning Association and still have many valued friends in the area. All of their children were educated in Bourne, Jane Watson, now married and living in Derby, Lisa Watson, now married and living in Dyke. Karl Soar now living in Bedfordshire and Emma Soar now living in Spanby. In July 1992, Sue and Dave left their family home on North Road, Bourne, to start a new venture of owning and running a guest house at Ambleside in the heart of the Lake District. Anyone wishing to re-establish contact with the old pantomime Dame [Dave] and principal boy [Sue] are invited to contact them by email.

John SQUIRES
John moved from Northampton to Bourne with his family as a baby in 1940 and lived at Cavalry House in South Street for thirteen years, later moving to George Street. He attended the Abbey Road and Bourne Secondary schools before serving an apprenticeship at Tuck Brothers Garage in South Street and he then worked for Raymond Mays for 22 years. He has also lived at Greatford for a spell and at Uffington and since retirement in 1999, he has lived at Gonerby Hill near Grantham. John has fond memories of Bourne and visits regularly.

Michael STENNETT
Michael was brought up in Bourne where his mother was a well known local pianist and his father a stalwart of the Abbey Church. His grandfather was the town's oldest man when he died in 1990 at the age of 102. Michael was educated at the Abbey Road Primary and Bourne Grammar Schools and is currently employed as an accountant with a Danish-owned haulage company based near Peterborough. He is married and lives at Gedney Hill, near Spalding.

Patrick SULLIVAN
Patrick and his wife Ruth live in Bourne and are comparative newcomers to the Internet community but they have become regular visitors to the Bourne web site and their comments have been most encouraging.

Sarah TIERNEY
Sarah (née Lancaster) attended Bourne Abbey Primary and then Bourne Grammar School but moved away from the town in 1984 and now lives at Sutton St James, near Holbeach in South Lincolnshire. Her husband is Tony and they have three children. She would like to hear from anyone who remembers her or her younger sister Hannah and she is also keen to learn the whereabouts of Tracy Day, an old friend she has lost touch with since her days in Bourne.

Kevin TILSTONE
A recent arrival in Bourne. Kevin moved to the town a year ago after being relocated from London and he already finds it full of friendly people.

Chris TOMKINS
A former pupil of Bourne Grammar School from 1988-1995, Chris is now working for IBM at Hursley Park in Winchester, Hampshire, on an educational project for schools. He would like to hear from anyone who remembers him from his schooldays if only to find out what they are doing now. His parents still live in Kingsley Avenue, Bourne, overlooking Westfield County Primary School.

Rachael TOMKINS
A former pupil of the Robert Manning Technology College when it was known merely as a school, Rachael is currently studying biochemistry at Imperial College, London. She lived originally at Langtoft but in 1987 moved to Bourne where her parents still live in Kingsley Avenue. She is due to graduate in June 2001 and then plans to travel the world for a spell but in the meantime, would love to hear from anyone from the old school. By the way, Rachael is the sister of Chris Tomkins - see above.

Dr Nigel TURNBULL
Nigel is Wildlife Records Officer for the Bourne area of the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust. When the local botanist Doreen Hunt died in 1998 at the age of 86, she left her diaries and notes to Nigel and he has used them for a book called The Flowers of Bourne, copies of which can be seen in Bourne library. It lists over 800 species of flora and fauna recorded in the Bourne area during fourteen years of observation and research and is illustrated throughout with his photographs and drawings.

Kevin TYRRELL
Kevin lived at Thurlby from 1972 until 1986 when his parents moved to Scotland. His mother Evelyn used to run the Thurlby Guides and Brownies and his father George was secretary of Bourne Lions Club for some years. Kevin attended Thurlby County Primary School from 1975-1981 and then Bourne Grammar School until 1986 when, at the age of 16, he joined the army and subsequently served with the Royal Signals in Yorkshire, Germany, the Gulf and Northern Ireland. He left the Army in 1998 and now works at Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire where he lives with his girl friend Michelle. Kevin's eldest brother Stephen lives in Bourne with his wife Janet, and two children, Emma and Sarah.

Siobhan UPTON
I finished at Bourne Grammar School in 1979 and my family lived in the end house of West Villas. I still have friends that live in Bourne and Edenham. We now live in Johannesburg, South Africa and try to come back every two years or so and in the meantime it is great to browse around this web site to find out what is going on. My partner plays cricket with the Witham Wackers when we do come over, despite him being a dyed in the wool South African and very passionate about his cricket allegiance. Messages from old friends always welcome.

Rob VAN DRIEL
Rob, aka Vanny, lived at Bourne until 1991 when he emigrated with his family to Adelaide, Australia. He attended the Westfield County Primary and Bourne Grammar School between 1985 and 1990 and went on to complete his education with a Bachelor of Visual Arts degree from the University of South Australia. Until recently, he was working as marketing manager at one of South Australia’s most popular leisure and tourist attractions, Snow Dome Snow & Ice Adelaide. Rob has now launched his own marketing and promotions consultancy advising companies involved in leisure and tourism.

Tony WALTON
Tony has recently left Bourne and moved to Singapore with his wife Lisa and their children James, Elisabeth and Rachel. He is currently trying to save the £20,000 needed to join his local cricket club, a sad change from the great value offered by playing on the Abbey Lawn. Tony is now a fitness instructor, enjoys needlework, and has no interest in beer whatsoever. He would like to hear from anyone who can keep him updated on the progress of Bourne Cricket Club.

Richard WARD
Richard was born at Thurlby, in one of the thatched cottages shown on the web site, and before moving to Bourne in 1949, lived at Baston and North Fen. He attended the Abbey Road Primary School (headmistress Miss Dent) and Bourne Grammar School (headmaster Mr. Foster) and later joined the regular army, serving with the 12th Royal Lancers from 1954-65 in Britain, Germany, Cyprus, Aden and Northern Ireland. From 1965 to 1988 he worked in the textile industry based in Leicester and now runs a Human Resources Development Consultancy in the town but maintains his links because his mother, sister and uncle live in Bourne while a brother farms at Baston Fen and he also visits regularly.

Robert WILKINSON
Bob lives at Newton, Massachusetts, USA, and has only visited Bourne once but he has strong family links with Dyke where his grandmother, Esther Ann Tory, was born. He has recently been investigating his ancestry and has found relatives from Dyke, Morton and Thurlby, where they worked as farm labourers.

Susan WOODGATES
Susan (née Jackson) and her husband Peter were Bourne residents who emigrated to Australia in 1990 and now live with their children at Townsville, North Queensland. Peter previously worked at Warners, the printers, and Sue at the Trustee Savings Bank in North Street. "Bourne will always be home to us", says Sue.

Alan WRIGHT
Alan moved to Bourne in 1988 and made friends with a couple named Danny and Alison Porter. Shortly afterwards they moved to Weston-on-Trent where they owned a canal boat called Blackadder II. They then sold their property and moved to live on the boat. The last time I saw them (around 1996), they were moored in the Limehouse basin in London. If anyone knows of their present whereabouts would they please contact me.