Kelechukwu Mbagwu (SH 82-84) has sent in the following and would be delighted to hear from any of his contemporaries.

“Thank you for the latest Bulletin. I was sad to hear about Bill Barker’s heroic death. I knew Bill as rugby captain when I started at St Bees in the lower sixth. He was always quite a character and I am extremely sad to think I can never meet with him again. I also read about Alison (Ally Lamping then), who was actually in my class. Her younger brother Steve was a few years behind me on School House. Simon Barker, whom I knew from a distance, had written about Bill. I remember Simon as a great cross-country runner and excellent soccer player in a rugby-mad school. I will never forget the thrill of learning rugby, which was to start a ‘love affair’ with me. Today, I am proud to say that I am CEO as well as Board Chairman of an estate development company with over two hundred employees and with branches outside Lagos. I owe a lot to values I learned at St Bees which have helped to shape the man I have become. My life was not a success from the start and the qualities of self-confidence and resilience were things which St Bees emphasised. I owe a lot to the game of rugby, which taught me standards I continually apply in life (my employees must be tired of the analogies I draw from the game!). I am married to a lovely lady named Vivian and have been blessed with two sons and a daughter. I own a rugby club in Nigeria with which I have toured Dubai, Capetown, Ghana and other places. I would be very happy to give something back; perhaps to any young OSBS who want to learn about estate development in the tropics? Names of other contemporaries which spring to mind are Simon Calvin, who is, I believe, in teaching; Pete Berry now a pilot; Simon Vickers and Jon Hodgson, both in the army? I met Howard Graham in Dubai when he captained the British army team, and Stuart Reid, another excellent rugby player. I could go on for ever! I would love to hear from any old class mates of mine and can be contacted by email at kele_mbagwu@yahoo.com or tel +23 480 2313 9667.”