Sunday 26th October 2025
11am to Midday
Tickets £10 per person
Military historian Paul Hunt, an active member of the Royal British Legion, is returning to the Guildhall after his hugely successful talk in October 2024 to showcase some of his unique and rare collection of genuine World War Two artefacts. Paul will give a fascinating and interactive presentation, inviting the audience to examine the items and ask questions.
Discover the resilience and resourcefulness of the British public during a time of uncertainty and hardship. With most young men called up to fight overseas, women stepped up to vital roles, working in factories, on farms, and even assembling aircraft. Meanwhile, cities saw children evacuated for safety, and new laws governed daily life, from blackout restrictions to food rationing.
This fascinating talk will bring these experiences to life through everyday objects from the era, including gas masks, ration books, Home Guard equipment, and much more. Hear the untold stories of those who kept the country running in the face of adversity.
Our World War Two ROC Operations Room will also be open for you to explore on the day between 11am to 3pm. Admission to the Ops Room is free.
To purchase tickets, click HERE
Or call the Apex ticket office to book: 01284 758000
Our congratulations to Geoff Barton, much loved and respected Headteacher at King Edward VI School from 2002 to 2017, on being made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the New Year Honours List 2025 for services to education. Geoff’s outstanding support of the Old Burians’ Association was very much appreciated.
On leaving King Edward’s, Geoff went on to serve as the General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) between 2017 and 2024.
It is with great sadness that we have to report that Ron Steele died suddenly on Wednesday 13th November 2024. Ron attended KEGS from 1942 until 1952, and became President of the Old Burians’ Association in 1972. The funeral was held in Kent on Thursday 12th December 2024. The Order of Service can be viewed here (with thanks to Old Burian Steve Steele, Ron’s cousin). A fuller obituary appeared in the 2025 Old Burian Magazine.
Ron’s friendship, dedication and generosity towards the Association have been so much appreciated over the years, and he will be greatly missed. We send our sincere condolences to his family.
We are looking for enthusiastic new Committee Members from former students of the School of any era, but especially perhaps those who attended at the Grove Road site, to fill the following positions:
MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY. This role currently requires a basic knowledge of Microsoft Excel and Google Drive in order to maintain simple membership records for approximately 470 members, and also Mailchimp for distributing occasional email communications to members.
It is not necessary for you to be living in Bury St Edmunds. Committee meetings take place on Zoom roughly every two months, with a few of us meeting at the school.
If you are interested, please contact us using the form below, and we will be very happy to discuss it with you. Thank you in advance!
I am interested in offering my services on the OBA Committee – please contact me to discuss how I might be able to help.
A message from the Committee:
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT to read this important piece of admin.
We use Mailchimp to send out emails to almost 400 email addresses we hold for our members. We have recently been checking our membership list to try to ensure that all of the email addresses we hold are up to date. We have tried to contact a number of members whose email addresses have reported errors when we have attempted to send emails recently. We are grateful to those members who responded to make sure that we can stay in contact.
HOWEVER, we have not been successful in following up all of these cases as the email address (no longer working) is the only means we had of contacting them, or we have tried sending a letter but still had no response. Unfortunately, therefore, a number of names have had to be suspended from the list.
If you didn’t receive our email Newsletter in June 2025, this could be the reason. If so, and you would like to continue as a member of the OBA, please let us know as soon as possible by sending us a message so that we can put things right. If you haven’t yet joined us, we’d love to welcome you – you can sign up here.
Thank you.
When the School moved from the Vinefields to its present home in Grove Road in 1972 to become King Edward VI Upper School (later just King Edward VI School), it was certainly the beginning of a new era. But its historical ties remained and recent school leavers are just as much “Old Burians” as those who left in earlier years. The Old Burians’ Association (started over 200 years ago) continues in existence and we are keen to see it thrive, but for this we need younger members to continue joining us. We’ll be honest – this is getting increasingly difficult, so we’re trying something new. We’re offering an introductory
*** ONE YEAR’S FREE MEMBERSHIP ***
in return for an article or story that we can publish. Ideally, you’d tell us something about yourself, but it could be a memory from schooldays, something you’ve done since leaving school, your career, a poem or piece of artwork. We’re also keen to receive photographs or memorabilia from your schooldays that we can add to our archive.
As an introductory member, you’ll have access to a copy of the current “Old Burian” magazine as well as our occasional e-mail Newsletters for the next 12 months. We hope you will then want to continue as a member. For a modest subscription of £10 a year, you can be part of a community and stay in touch with what some of your contemporaries (and others) have done since leaving the school, and what they are doing now. And, of course, if you would like to be involved and help us run the Association by giving some time (an hour or two a month) we would be delighted to have you on board.
Interested? Then please click here for more details.
© Old Burians' Association 2025