My family has long associations with Radley starting with my great grandfather, H E Burgess who was at Radley in the mid-19th century. My father, C G Burgess and his twin brother J F Burgess went to Radley during the Second World War and my brother, N D V Burgess followed in 1969 with me joining him a year later. Both of our sons, Toby and Kit, also attended Radley.
My father, who had thoroughly enjoyed his time at Radley, was very keen that my brother and I should also have the same opportunity if at all possible. As a farmer with a very small farm in Suffolk, he was only able to send us to Radley thanks to the help he was given by the War Memorial Fund which, by then, had expanded its original remit to provide bursaries to the sons of the fallen in war. Without the help of the War Memorial Fund, it would not have been possible for us to go to Radley.
Both Nigel and I greatly enjoyed our time at Radley which gave us not only a very solid academic education but also the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of sports and other activities. We both made many life-lasting friendships.
I feel that I owe Radley a debt of gratitude not only for making it possible for me to go there but also for what it gave me when I was there.
Not long after I left Radley, I started giving an extremely modest quarterly sum to the War Memorial Fund, believing that even a small amount, given regularly by enough donors, can make a big difference. I would urge other ORs to consider doing the same.
James Burgess (1970, D)
