Our new site for OB News has now been running for two months and thanks for the feedback so far.
I was half expecting someone to ask me if they can post comments on here. I haven’t yet discovered how to achieve this but I am not yet convinced it is a good idea to nudge the site towards the Facebook model. You are very welcome to make comments on anything you see here, and send them to me in a message. I can then make an editorial decision about whether, and how to publish these comments.
A reminder that our original website (www.bhchs.co.uk) will continue to be used for archiving, and to hold the database which has details of when you were at BHCHS and other details. We’d love to keep in contact with all former pupils so if you think I may not have your current email address please contact me. Also, if you know of others who may not be in our network please direct them here.
Graham Frankel
This summary of our BHCHS database has been regularly included in OB News so I have updated it and you can view it by clicking on the button below. The record of numbers deceased in each year group is always going to be inaccurate (and increasingly so). This is because we are not always told when someone dies, and searching recent official death records is very difficult.
Click on the button below to open the latest summary.
Thanks to Fergus Langdell (1984) for sending these photos that had been posted on Facebook in June. It is not entirely clear when they were taken but I assume quite recently. Can anyone confirm if the piano shown in the featured image was the one that lived in our Assembly Hall?
Publishing the remarkable book written by Bob Druce (1940) was a tremendously satisfying project. A couple of weeks ago I had a welcome visit from Keith Littlechild, one of Bob’s pupils from his earliest years as an English teacher at Townmead Secondary Modern school in west London. Keith snapped up the remaining paperback copies so the initial print run of 500 is now sold out.
If you didn’t manage to get a copy the Kindle version is still available on Amazon HERE.
For more information about the book, including reviews and the story of how the book came to be published, click HERE.
John Loveridge, who taught Geography at BHCHS from 1967-89, died on 27th June. I have details of his funeral, which is on Friday 17th July. If you would like to attend please contact me by email.
We shall publish an obituary in due course, so I welcome any tributes and memories of this popular teacher.
The following deaths have been reported since January 2026. A reminder that the year shown in brackets is normally the year in which they started at BHCHS. But if they joined BHCHS later the year shown will be when they would have started if they had joined in the first year.
Derek Saward (1940) died on 30th April 1926. Information from his daughter.
David Walling (1943) died on 4th December 2025. He lived in. Theydon Bois. Informed by his son Jeremy.
Ted Carter (1949) died 19th August 2025. Information from his brother Mike Carter(1953). Ted lived in Upminster.
Bill Partridge (1949) died 1st March 2026. Information from his son Mike. Bill lived in Bognor Regis.
John Saward (1949) died in 2025. He lived in California. Information from his niece.
Richard Pingree (1951) died in December 2023. He lived in Penzance, Cornwall.
Phil Ricketts (1958) died 19th May 2026. He had been suffering from Alzheimers Disease. Information from his cousin Colin Holst (1955).
Ivor Yeshin (1961) died 2nd May 2026. He had been suffering from dementia. Information from Peter Leggett (1965).
Clive Beer (1963) died 4th December 2025. Information from his brother Mike Beer (1966). Clive lived and worked in the Loughton area.
Ken Roles (1968) died 4th March 2026 as a result of thyroid cancer. He lived in Grays, Essex. Information from his wife.
This is a very topical subject to upload while England are dicing with defeat in the World Cup. As I write this it is half time.
The subject of the podcast is obvious from the photo and quite a few readers will know what the connection is with BHCHS.
But for those who were not around during the time when Peter Aston (1956) was a pupil you will need to be told that Peter was a sporting hero of BHCHS. The first in an impressive line of successful hammer throwers, his father was a sporting hero in another sport. Yes, it’s the one where there are 11 players including a goal keeper.
This is my first post since sending out the message this morning announcing our new site. I just wanted to thank people for the excellent feedback so far. Various useful issues have been spotted. Viewing on one model of Samsung has a problem, and although the viewing on my Samsung was fine there is another little problem resulting in a blank screen when you click on something that looks like a beefburger.
All very intriguing but do feel free to make more useful comments. I will answer some on here now I know I’ve got your attention.
After a couple of years trying buffet-style meals we are returning to the traditional meal at the Golf Club where we have enjoyed many successful evenings.
The date for this year’s dinner is Tuesday 6th October and early booking is highly recommended to secure your place. An innovation this time is that we can now offer a choice of dishes, with two main course options (in addition to vegetarian) and two dessert options.
All the information you need is in the booking form. Click on the button to open it. You don’t have to complete the form straight away but it is essential that when you have finished you need to press the SUBMIT button at the end of the form, and also make your payment.
One of our former staff members received a prestigious award in April when he became Epping’s Townsperson of the Year. Roger Lowry taught Geography at BHCHS from 1979-1982.
His award was presented for his outstanding commitment to serving the community through involvement with various local organisations – as a volunteer at the Epping Food Bank and as an active member of St John’s Church in Epping where he helps at events and is also a member of the church choir.
Roger is vice-chairman of The Epping Society which raises awareness of important local planning applications that are likely to be detrimental to the town.
