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Old Borlasians
Impressionists known as the Staithes Group. He became
acknowledged as a leading authority andwas consulted by
Galleries seeking to authenticate paintings. He continued
to run the Gallery from his home in Cookham until a few
years ago.
Hediedsuddenlyofaheartattackinthenight.Heissurvived
by his wife Jean and two sons and six grandchildren.
He used his connections to raise money for Borlase and for
the many other charities he supported. He was a man of
prodigious energy and commitment and the School owes
him a huge debt.
Charles Elly, 1952-60, Chairman of the Governors 1996-2002,
Chairman of the Trustees 2002-date.
Peter Grace 1945-1952
Peter's death reported last year.
Peter’s life and mine were close in the early stages, but
they later diverged, and if I have written something that is
wrong, I apologise.
Peter’s mother was killed in the blitz on London, and he
came to live with his mother’s sister and husband, Mr &
Mrs “Herbie” White who lived at “Cleveden”, Claremont
Gardens, Marlow. They appeared to us youngsters, who
also lived in Claremont Gardens, as a rather elderly couple.
Peter passed the eleven plus exam, and he, Maurice Oram
and I all arrived at Borlase in September 1945. There
were 39 in the First Form that year, and the gym was our
classroom. The top 10 of the year were pushed up to the
Third Form, and Peter was one of those. He was clever, but
burdened with asthma, which he eventually overcame,
like most of the difficulties he encountered in life.
There was a great shortage of teachers in the immediate
post-war years, particularly in the sciences, and whereas
most of us failed our School Certificate physics, Peter
largely taught himself and gained a Credit. On more
than one occasion, I went to him for help with my maths
homework, mathematics being for me a strange land.
Along with Maurice Oram and me, he had piano lessons
with Eira Moores, wife of an Old Borlasian, who lived at
Bovingdon Green. I think we all achieved the dizzy heights
of Grade 3. He went into the Science VI and flourished. It
may have been at this stage, when Mr Peirce was trying to
civilise the morons of the Science VI, that the words“Grace,
you are a mercenary fellow”were uttered: Peter wore these
words as a badge of distinction from that day.
He took up rowing while at Borlase, and was in the highly
successful 1st IV which stayed together for two years, and
won cups at both Reading and Egham Regattas. His school
rowing career was crowned by winning Junior Eights at
Maidenhead Regatta it 1952, when the 1st and 2nd IVs
were combined. I believe he also played a certain amount
of rugby for the school, but my memory is bit shaky here.
He chose to do his university course before doing
National Service in the R.A.F., where I believe he gained a
commission. From this point, my facts become sketchy, but
I know that he went to Canada, where he married Connie,
had four children, and set up his own electronics business.
The business thrived, but sadly his three youngest children
died before reaching their teens. Peter felt a great affection
for Borlase, Marlow and the Thames Valley, and one year
he brought his family to England for a river holiday, hiring
a truly enormous cabin cruiser as a base. We spent a very
enjoyable evening together at David Allaway’s riverside
home, when most of the 1952 crew joined with him.
Peter was the driving force behind the 2002 reunion of the
crew, writing letters, phoning and e-mailing us. The group
photograph shows him looking proud and happy. He also
wrote several articles for the “Borlasian”, and his affection
for many members of staff shone through.
He eventually sold his Canadian business, and came to live
in the British Isles. Somewhere around 1988 he married
Ursula, and went to live in Brechin, Angus. They visited us
at our home in Bedford, and we were warmly invited to
stay with them; sadly, we never got round to it, and last
year I received a letter from Ursula saying that Peter had
died of cancer. He was a determined fighter, and overcame
ill health, loss of his mother and family tragedy. A very
remarkable man.
Roger Nicholls (1945-53)
