ALUMNI GROUPS RAISE OVER £2,000 FOR URSULINE COLLEGE
SCHOOL TRIP TO FIRST WORLD WAR GRAVES IN YPRES
Ursuline College Students in Westgate visited the War Graves of former Ramsgate Catholic School boys from St Augustine’s College, who gave their lives for their Country in the First World War.
The trip was sponsored by the school’s respective Alumni Groups, the Westgate Ursuline Alumni Association and the Old Augustinians
Students laid wreaths at the graves of former Ramsgate Catholic School Boys, Frank Dinan, Austin Sibeth, William Wickham, William O’Malley and George Dalton Leake. The wreaths were sponsored by the Old Augustinians.
Every year a special Requiem Mass is held at St Augustine’s church and organised by the Old Augustinians (The Alumni of St Augustine’s College), Ursuline College Students give up their time to remember those former pupils of the Ramsgate school who gave their lives in the two World Wars.
Students read the Roll of Honour and tell the story which they have researched, about the life or lives of former Ramsgate School boys from St Augustine’s who gave their lives, before going on to lay a wreath at the Old Augustinians War Memorial which is inside St Augustine’s church in Ramsgate.
Speaking on behalf of the Old Augustinians, their Chairman, Andrew Sharp said “it is of great credit to Ursuline College students as their generation make the effort to reflect upon the sacrifice of those Thanet Catholic students from the past - and remember them, particularly given the current Wars and conflicts around the World today”.
On behalf of the Westgate Ursuline Alumni Association, Chair, Alice Odeke said “we hope and pray that given today’s less stable world, that the current generation never have to be called up to fight a War like the generations before them.”
In a joint statement, Andrew Sharp and Alice Odeke said “we are delighted to be able to support and sponsor this very worthy history project for students. We thank our members for their generous donations that helped make this trip possible”.
Photographs from the visit may be obtained from the link below. Photos are credited to the Ursuline College.
For further details, please contact the Chairman, Andrew Sharp on 07920 424990 or by email: oldaugustinians@gmail.com. For more information about the Old Augustinians, please visit our website www.oldaugustinians.org.uk
Notes for Editors:
The Ursuline (Catholic Convent) School was inaugurated in 1624 in Boulogne Sur Mer in France. It moved to its new home in Westgate on Sea in 1904. Up until 1995, it was an all-girls school and became a co-educational school taking in the boys from St Augustine’s College after the closure of their school.
The Westgate Ursuline Alumni Association was reformed in 2023. There has been a long history of an alumni group at the school over many decades.
The Old Augustinians was set up shortly after the school was inaugurated in 1865 and the Alumni has continued to this day for all those who had attended St Augustine’s College and Abbey School.
St Augustine’s (Catholic) College, a Catholic School, was set up in Ramsgate by the Benedictine Monks from Subiaco in 1865. The school moved from Ramsgate in 1971 to the former Les Oiseaux Convent School site in Canterbury Road, Westgate on Sea. St Augustine’s closed in 1995. Following a reorganisation of Catholic Secondary Education in Thanet, many students from St Augustine’s joined the new Ursuline College, also situated in Canterbury Road, Westgate on Sea. .
Up to near the end of World War One St Augustine’s was a boys school from ages 11 to 18 with a mix of boarders and dayboys. The school temporarily closed in 1917 due to the fear of coastal bombardment and air raids on Ramsgate and reopened after the War. It moved away to Huntingdonshire during the 2nd World War and returned to Ramsgate in the 1950s
Former pupils at St Augustine’s College include:
From the past: Peter Paul Pugin. The very first pupil to register for St Augustine’s College and the youngest son of leading neo-gothic architect, Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin. He also designed many buildings across the country, including St Ethelbert’s church in Hereson Road, Ramsgate.
Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti, inventor and leading electrical engineer, the founder of the global engineering company, Ferranti. One of his sons, who also attended the school, was killed in action in WW1.
In more recent years: Alastair Stewart OBE. Former ITV and GB News newscaster and journalist attended the school in the 1960s and left in1970.
Rear Admiral John Weale CB, OBE, Scotland’s Senior Naval Officer attended the school in the late 1970s
Jude Akuwudike Actor, Royal Shakespeare, film, and Television
Vincent Chiejina Winner of the School Prize for Mathematics and graduated in Electrical Engineering, who lost his life in the Grenfell Tower Fire in 2017
Ian Cameron Roll Royce designer who was unlawfully killed at his home in Germany in 2024
Dr Neil Weir OBE leading ENT Surgeon recently honoured for his work abroad.
Justin Staples CMG Former Ambassador to Thailand and Finland
Andrew Sharp OBE a former National Organiser for the Labour Party
Former Pupils at the Ursuline Convent School and later, College
Prof Dame Ann Dowling OM, DBE former President of the Royal Academy of Engineering ,Professor of Engineering and Deputy Vice Chancellor of Cambridge University. Ann attended the Ursuline Convent School in the late 1960's.
Col Paddy Williams MC, a current serving British Army Officer and former Commanding Officer of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment who led the King's Coronation procession for the British Army. Paddy attended St Augustine’s College in the early 1990s and was the first ever Head Boy of the Ursuline College 1995/96.
Rula Lenska Actor of both stage and screen.
The Ursuline College today has just under 1,000 students aged between 11 – 18. It is an Academy run by the Kent Catholic Schools Trust. The all-girls school, then called The Ursuline Convent School, moved from France to Westgate in 1904. In 1995, upon the closure of St Augustine’s College and Abbey School, it became a Coeducational school so that the boys and many staff joined the new Ursuline College.
St Augustine’s Abbey church was completed in 1852 and was designed by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin, who was the leading neo gothic architect of his time. Pugin and other members of his family are buried there. It is a Grade One listed church and is now a Shrine dedicated to St Augustine of Canterbury. The church also houses the National Pugin Visitor Centre. The church is situated next door to the Grange, the home which Pugin designed for himself and his family and lived in until his death in 1852. The Grange later became part of St Augustine’s College. Today it is owned – and has been restored by the Landmark Trust. For over 100 years, the church was often used by the school for special services and many former pupils are buried in its graveyard.
Andrew Sharp
Chairman
The Society of Old Augustinians
Officers:
Chairman: Andrew Sharp OBE
Secretary: Michael Hallisey
Treasurer and Membership Secretary: Bob Bridger
Vice Chairmen: Giles Govier and Andrew Heap
Website and Events: Richard Caraccio
Hon President: Dr Chris Horsburgh
Chaplain: Canon Brian Coyle
Archivist: Peter West
Patrons: Fr Abbot Paulinus Greenwood and Mr Kevin Doherty
President: Dr Chris Horsburgh
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