Sloane Grammar School boy, if you seek your memorial,

 look around you but you'll need to register first.

Register and link up with old school friends again and become part of Sloane Reunited.

If you were a pupil or member of staff at Sloane you qualify to register for the website. Click on Missing Classmates at the top of this page to see if we've been expecting you. If you see your name, click on it and follow instructions. If your name's not there click on BECOME A MEMBER to learn more and then click the ADD NAME button to start the ball rolling or click Contact Us at the top of the page, read what you see then complete the box at the bottom of that page to ask me to add your name to the list.

It's Free, it's Easy, it's Secure

and

You're Never Alone As A Sloane

TO ALL MEMBERS, DON'T FORGET!! -
 

After you Log In from 15th February, 2025, the first page you'll see is the Notice Board page and no longer the Home Page, but when you've finished reading what's been said and maybe contributing something yourself, please return to this Home Page to check the ANNOUNCEMENTS BOARD at the foot of this page for anything important and any recently posted announcements. Also check the CALENDAR OF EVENTS page for details of forthcoming planned events, and the white Bell image at the top of the website for any onsite activity you may have missed. 

If you're having trouble logging in because you've forgotten your Password, click on Forgot Password? inside the Classmate Login box that appears after you click   Sign In   and you'll be Emailed a link to reset it.
 

You'll find other helpful tips under REMINDERS below.
 

  The Sloane

Hello and Welcome to

Mark Foulsham's

Sloane Grammar School website

If I built it I knew you would come

A School that invited loyalty

 
Gone But Not Forgotten

'Men are we, and must grieve when even the shade

Of that which once was great is pass'd away.'

William Wordsworth

On the Extinction of the Venetian Republic

You may think you're done with the past but the past isn't done with you!
 

"The merits of a school are judged as much by the men it produces as by their achievements as boys" - 

(Old Cheynean D.J. Cowie, March 1929)

 

If you're a member, click on an image (     ) at the top for more. 

Here's what you'll find -

   = Messages waiting in the Message Centre - 
              The red bubble shows how many.

   = Website activity - 
              Check for things you may have missed.
 

   = Member functions -
                Edit Profile, Edit Contact Info (to keep your Email Address/es, Home Address, and Phone number/s up to date. Add your Birthday here too if you didn't when you joined), Change Password, Log Out, Message Centre (to read and send messages to other members), Notify Me (for indicating your website Notification and  Profile Subscription choices).

     
         AND FINALLY, IF AT ALL POSSIBLE, -
 

Please let a close relative know of your participation in the Sloane website and show them how to use the Contact Us page to notify me in the sad event of your death. Not only will this allow me to notify other members, it will also put a stop to any website generated emails finding their way to your Inbox. Thank you.

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Come on in! 
Don't be late! 
This is one detention 
You'll be pleased to take.
               

    A WARM WELCOME 

to fellow Cheyneans and passers-by, from the Official Sloane Grammar School 1919-1970 Old Cheyneans and Friends web site.

I, Mark Foulsham, at Sloane 1963-70, created this site in August 2008 to record for posterity all that I can, and for all those who attended Sloane or simply have a Sloane connection, to share and enjoy. Feel free just to browse or, if you feel you qualify to join us, make full use of the site by becoming a Registered Classmate. It's Free! 

To start the registration process -

Click Here to Register 
 

If it doesn't work for you it's because I'm no longer around and new memberships aren't available. While I'm still alive, I'll also be happy to send a personal invitation to anyone else with a Sloane School Chelsea connection who you think might like to join us. Just enter their Email address in the MISSING CLASSMATES box to your right and click Send Invite.  

We may not understand why but memories of our days at Sloane remain with us while others do not. Whether they're good or they're bad, I'd like to give all old boys the opportunity to keep those memories alive.

 Aspirations and Objectives

Sloane never had a motto and although our school badge is based on the lion rampant and boar's head of the Cadogan family crest their motto, Qui Invidet Minor Est or He That Envies Is Inferior, is not really appropriate so I'll adopt the one to be found on the Coat of Arms of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea as it suits us nicely -

Quam Bonum In Unum Habitare

 (What A Good Thing It Is To Dwell Together In Unity) 

It is hoped, in some small way, to be able to have similar objectives to those stated for the first issue of The Cheynean in December 1926  -

"To record faithfully the major activities of the School, to promote and foster a corporate spirit in the School, to excite a greater keenness both in the games and in other phases of its social life, and to serve as a link between present members of the School and the Old Cheyneans".  -

and also to bring together, once again, old friends and classmates, and those of us who have outlived the school and share a common interest in its history and its future.

Sadly, I've no memory of having ever sung or even heard a school song but apparently one was written by music Master Mr Seymour Dicker (who retired in 1930) in 1928. Called Carmen Sloanense, it was first sung in July of that year by pupil J E Bush who played the Pirate King in Sloane productions of The Pirates of Penzance. What became of it after that first performance is a mystery but it contained the lines -

"Salve, the School and its scholars so keen,

 Long may they keep its memory green."

 If you're not yet a member but you've got memories of Sloane you'd like to share, use the Contact Us page to send them in and, whilst you're there, register for the site as well. 

Once you've registered, you can  send a message to someone else on the site via the Message Centre or by using their Profile. Click on their name on the Classmate Profiles page then click on the red 'Send 'x' a private message' at the top of their Profile.

After you've registered, why not take a look at all the Classmate Profiles ? Even if you don't know the person involved, the information they've put on their Profile can be interesting, illuminating and fun, and often brings back memories of something you thought you'd forgotten about.

If, at any time after becoming a member, you're unsure about anything click on this Using This Site link for an explanation or contact me direct via the Contact Us page.
              

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 Why Not Take a Look at Where your Classmates are Living?

Find out the Postcode of a Classmate from their Profile (if they've agreed to let everyone know it) then Click on the link below, enter the details where it says 'Address', then Click on 'Go'. Not every country is covered yet and those that are have limited coverage, but it's worth a try.

Here's the link. Have fun - http://www.vpike.com/

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The Sloane News

BREAKING NEWS!

Labour Government Finds Something To Be Proud About

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Good Weather Brings Its Own Problems

Whilst it's always nice to see some sunshine, the number of people flocking to our beaches when it comes has led to the Government urging people to stay at home in case the inflatable boats crossing the Channel can't find the space to land.
 

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An American woman who injected her 8 year-old daughter with Botox before beauty pageants, has lost custody of her child. The child didn't look surprised at all -

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Golf course design falls out of Trump’s pocket during Gaza briefing
 

US President Donald Trump has once again announced he wants the US to take over the Gaza Strip, initially keeping his plans tight-lipped until a design for a new golf course fell out of his pocket. Despite objecting to what he calls 'foreign interference', Trump decided to interfere abroad by displacing thousands of people from their homes and building a golf course. In case this idea doesn't meet with the world approval he expects, his backup plan is to move the Gaza strip to Texas in an attempt to end the Middle Eastern conflict.

Trump making sure he meets his election promises 

To ensure he meets his deadlines Trump has signed an Executive Order redefining ‘one day’ as being ’12 months long’ in order to keep his election pledge on ending the Ukraine war.

He's just signed an executive order officially redefining the length of “one day” as being “twelve months”, in what White House officials are calling a “bold and innovative move to deliver on campaign promises without everyone branding you a failure.”

The former-president-turned-president-again had repeatedly vowed to end the Ukraine war “within one day” of taking office. But with that day now five months ago, and peace in Eastern Europe looking about as likely as Melania cracking a smile, the pressure has been mounting.

“Look, it is one day. It’s a Trump day. We’re doing tremendous things, just in a longer sort of, you know, calendar,” Trump explained, flanked by aides pretending this made sense.

Supporters were quick to hail the executive order as “genius”, with one MAGA hat-wearing voter describing it as “yet more 4D chess the fake news media is too dumb to understand.”

Another fan, who believes the moon landing was faked but that Trump’s tan is real, told us,

“This is why he’s the best. He doesn’t break promises – he evolves them.”

Critics, however, have pointed out that redefining basic units of time is “not how any of this works,” and have expressed concern that the President is now attempting to introduce a new calendar in which every Tuesday lasts six weeks.

Meanwhile, peace talks continue to stall after Trump reportedly suggested settling the conflict with a televised golf match between Zelenskyy and Putin.

When asked if this timeline adjustment might be extended to other pledges, a White House spokesperson confirmed,

“Yes. The wall is now expected to be completed by 2054, or by lunchtime, depending on which version of time we’re using that day, and the President’s constitutionally mandated four-year term will now conclude in 2063.”
 

Not Supporting 'Make America Great Again' Is Now Officially A Crime.
 

President Trump has instructed the National Guard to arrest anyone who doesn’t have a MAGA flag in their garden. Anyone failing to demonstrate a 'suitable level of loyalty' to his regime is to be detained.

As protests against ICE deportations continue, President Trump has sent another two-thousand troups to the area to ensure what he calls “suitable levels of patriotism” amongst the residents of Los Angeles.

On June 7, Trump ordered the deployment of 2,000 National Guards from California to Los Angeles in response to growing protests over recent immigration raids. The protests began on June 6 after federal immigration agents from ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) conducted several raids across Los Angeles. Tensions reached a peak in Los Angeles with the protests stretching into a third consecutive day.

These operations are part of Trump's broader crackdown on undocumented immigrants with the law enforcement agency playing a key role in the Trump administration’s plans to crack down on illegal immigration.Trump has vowed to deport record numbers of illegal immigrants during his second term, and the White House has set ICE a goal to arrest at least 3,000 migrants each day.

Because of that pressure, people who were legally living in the US have been caught up in ICE raids. One of the most notable arrests during these operations was that of 238 men, accused of being Venezuelan gang members, who were deported without being given a chance to stand trial. They were sent directly to a high-security prison in El Salvador, a move that has drawn significant criticism. It's not uncommon for ICE to arrest people it believes are residing illegally in the US but the agency has faced increasing criticism for using 'extreme tactics' during the raids.

A White House spokesperson told me,

“This lawlessness will not be allowed to continue. We expect absolute allegiance to Donald Trump, and the people of Los Angeles must recognise that the beatings will continue until they do as they are told.”

When asked whether sending uniformed military into civilian areas was just another step down the route to authoritarianism, the White House denied the accusations.

They told me,

“That’s ridiculous. You have nothing to fear from the National Guard and Marines being on your street at the order of your President. Yes, a few journalists have been hit with rubber bullets, as you’d expect to see if they were covering unrest in a totalitarian state.

They only have themselves to blame. Put your MAGA hat on, and we’ll leave you well alone.”

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James Bond To Be Brought Up To Date

The next James Bond will be chosen to satisfy the 'Woke' brigade. Bond will start off as a man and will transgender to a woman. The new film will be called Cocktopussy.

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In the war with Pakistan, Indian fighter pilots have today dropped 1,000 onion bhajis and 500 pakoras on Pakistan. They said that was just for starters.

In retaliation Pakistan have unleashed their elite airforce -

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FRONT PAGE NEWS
 

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HOME FRONT NEWS

Lovely to be able to connect with you again, men. This has been made possible due to the generosity of a handful of the 1964 Sloane intake. They shall remain nameless at their own request but without their unsolicited donations towards a new computer after both of mine packed up on me, I wouldn't be here writing for you now. I didn't make my plight public as I'm not in the habit of begging, but they found out about the situation and chipped in. I shall be eternally grateful. I'm in no doubt that had I made my situation known to you all more help would have been forthcoming. Finances aside, my family and I were experiencing other issues of a personal nature that were affecting me more than I thought they would and I was finding it difficult to think straight, and knuckle down to work on the site as well handle the family deaths and funerals, illnesses and other problems that were hindering my ability to put finger to keyboard. All seems well now and my daughter's fight with sepsis is now under control. She is on the mend even though her treatment will continue for some time yet.

My thanks again to the friends and acquaintances who rallied round, my wife included, even though she was as affected as I. A real woman is a man's best friend. She will never stand him up and never let him down. She will reassure him when he feels insecure and comfort him after a bad day. She will inspire hime to do things he never thought he could do; to live without fear and forget regret. She will enable him to express his deepest emotions and give in to his most intimate desires. She will make sure he always feels as though he's the most handsome man in the room and will enable him to be the most confident, sexy, seductive and invincible....

No, wait.... SORRY. I'm thinking of whisky. It's whisky that does all that. Never mind....

Better news on the home front arrived when I learned my uncle had left me his stately home in his will. I've no idea where Sod Hall is but I'm thrilled. My grandkids have also been playing a part in my recovery from near despair. I've found time to watch my grandson Olly continue his love affair with football. It continues to be a winning one as his team just played a cup game against a team from the local quarry and won 2-1 on aggregate.

One consolation (depending on your point of view) I've found in recent weeks is the time I've been spending in the Wibbas Down Inn, a Wetherspoons pub in Wimbledon, with some old and some new friends every Wednesday. Only a couple of pints have passed my lips (honest, guv!) but the company and the conversations we've had have been invigorating. It's an hour's walk from my house to the pub and an hour and a half's walk back. The difference is staggering.

Back soon...all being well.

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JOKES OF THE WEEK

The above is reminiscent of the other words and their meanings produced by Douglas Adams and John Lloyd that I put on the A Way With Words page of this site some 16 years ago. Give yourselves a chuckle and take another look at them. 

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A wife asks her husband if he'd like some bacon and eggs for breakfast. He replied,

"Thanks for asking darling but I'm not at all hungry right now. It's this Viagra I'm taking. It's really taking the edge off my appetite."

At lunchtime she asked him if he's like a sandwich or a bowl of soup.

"No thanks", he said. "This Viagra's really spoiled my desire for food."

Come dinnertime, she asks if he's like a juicy steak with mushrooms, tomatoes and chips.

"No!" he said. "It's got to be this Viagra. I just don't feel like eating."

"Well, ok", she said, "but would you mind getting off me 'cause I'm bloody starving!"

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THOUGHTS OF THE WEEK

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The new Pope has a degree in mathematics from Villanova University.

This bloke doesn't just undestand sin. He undestands cos too.
 

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The Home We Called Sloane
 

The Sloane building seen from Hortensia Road in 1908  

The Sloane building was 100 years old in 2008, although it didn't actually start life as a boys' school until after the First World War, during which it served as a hospital. It still stands and many memories are, no doubt, ingrained in its walls along with the odd name and ribald comment. Who knows what the future holds, despite its Grade II listing on May 7th, 2002. Grade II listed buildings can be altered, extended, or even demolished, but only with Local Authority consent, so it may be that the building is considered historically or architecturally interesting enough for it's fabric to remain untouched. Some consideration may have been given to it having been the first purpose-built secondary school in London, and it is certainly one of only 3% of all ages of listed buildings that was built in the 20th century. Schools generally are seen as a good investment by developers because they're easy to convert. They are likely to be structurally sound because the authorities will have inspected them regularly to ensure they comply with Health and Safety requirements. 

To learn more about what has happened to the building we left behind visit the Sloane Today page once you've become a registered member.

Sadly, Sloane Grammar School for Boys only lasted 51 years, from 1919-1970. Sloane old boy John Binfield, in one of his poems, writes -

... the school, with
All its past, was sucked into a huge
Turbulent sea of glass in Pimlico
And sank without trace. "full fathom five..

Sea nymphs hourly ring his knell.
Hark, now I hear them. Ding-dong bell".

The exterior of the building still survives in the form we all remember even if the interior doesn't. It would have been wonderful to have been able to celebrate, in 2019, what would have been its centenary as a boys' school, had it remained in existence as such. Unfortunately, for us, it wasn't to be, and the Covid-19 pandemic that gripped the world in 2020 and beyond didn't allow for a late celebration either. Maybe one day...... 
 

Sloane seen from the rear in 2014

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This Website And The British Library's Web Archive

Please Note: - The school building still remains but not as a school. I've tried to preserve as much of its history and old boys' memories of it as I can, on this website. You might like to know that once I'm no longer around and have shuffled off to that classroom in the sky, this website will remain intact. Once my monthly payments to the Class Creator programmers cease the site will continue but to compensate them for their loss it will display adverts. If you're still around, you'll still be able to Log In to the site and carry on much as you did when I was alive. Naturally, the site will look exactly as it did (apart from the adverts) on the day I died. What will not be possible are any new members, unlikely as that is, as I won't be here to verify they are who they say they are.

In addition, in 2013 , just before the Legal Deposit regulations came into force, I asked to register the website with the British Library's UK Web Archive as one of historical interest and they agreed. So, when none of us are unable to Log In anymore or the Class Creator business ceases to operate, it will still be available for access by our children and grandchildren etc., as well as future historians, at this address -
 

Web Archiving
The British Library
96 Euston Road
London NW1 2DB
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7412 7184
E-mail: web-archivist@bl.uk

Since 2013, publishers need to give a copy of every UK publication they make to the British Library. Five other major UK libraries may also ask to be given a copy. This system is called legal deposit and it's been a part of English law since 1662.

Print publications for legal deposit can be books, journals, sheet music, maps, plans, charts or tables. Now legal deposit also covers material published digitally such as websites, blogs, e-journals and CD-ROMs.

Legal deposit has many benefits for publishers and authors. The deposited publications can be read inside the British Library and will be preserved for future generations. Their works become part of the nation’s heritage, providing inspiration for new books and other publications.

Unfortunately, in the case of websites, the British Library say that much of the information contained in them cannot be archived for technical reasons. In addition, as almost all this website's pages are Password Protected, it will be impossible for them to be accessed unless I remove that restriction. At some point I will give the British Library's 'web crawler' access to our Password Protected pages to allow it to take a 'snapshot' of the site on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or 6-monthly basis. At the time of writing this, 2020, their system doesn't have the capability to crawl and archive private content that sits behind a Log In procedure. They will never be allowed access to members' Profiles and the personal information they contain.

The current generation of web crawlers cannot capture:

• Interactive, dynamically generated content
• Content that is only available via a search engine on the website, or some other form submission method
• Some types of JavaScript-driven menus
• YouTube videos, Flash movies and similar streaming audio or video (some audio and video files can be captured, e.g. those embedded via the standard HTML5 <video> or <audio> tags).

Unlike static HTML, which is relatively easy to capture, script code is very hard for traditional web crawlers to analyse, which is why the Library runs web browsers for a limited part of their crawls. Even that cannot capture very interactive web sites, like single-page web applications, or any site feature that needs a remote server to function. In practical terms this means that entering queries into the search box of an archived version of a website will not work. Standard links on the website, however, will work as normal.

Some JavaScript driven menus do not function well once archived. YouTube videos, Flash movies, and similar streaming audio or video are also beyond the capability of web crawlers. However, as members of the International Internet Preservation Consortium, contributors to the UK Web Archive are developing tools which will help capture this content in the future.

Attempts are made to gather all of the objects associated with a website including html, images, PDF documents, audio and video files and other objects such as programming scripts. However, the crawler software cannot automatically gather any material that is protected behind a password, without the owner's collaboration. Web site owners may however choose to divulge confidentially a user ID and password to allow archiving of these areas. So, as I said, I'll collaborate with the British Library to allow them to gather only non-invasive non-personal information behind the password protection if and when their archiving system becomes capable of it .

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Whatever our own personal reasons for it doing so, the school will still haunt most of us even if it disappears altogether. With that tenuous link, here's a poem that I came across in a copy of The Cheynean -

The Ghost of Sloane

 
When London's asleep and the School very quiet,
No sound of footsteps, no sound of a riot,
No sound of even the shuffle of feet,
No sound of the creak of a pupil's seat,
Out of the darkness the ghost of Sloane
Awakes from rest with a sigh and a groan.
Then up he arises to haunt the School
Climbing the stairs in the guise of a ghoul.
He shuffles and clanks down each corridor
Into the classrooms where stand desks galore.
He examines each desk and checks the boys' work,
Allots ghostly marks in the dark and the murk.

If you ever lose books from out of your desk,
And the teacher upbraids you and calls you a pest,
Just tell him my story, however tall,
Of the white shrouded phantom that haunts the School Hall.

                                                    J. Hollingshead (3C)

As for us, the boys who used to attend our Chelsea school, we probably considered ourselves 'Chelsea men' but I doubt that many of us fitted the description in this poem, written when he was in the 5th year by one time Sloane Schoolboy, A R Doubledee. I get the impression he didn't particularly approve of the 'Beatniks' of the late 50s and early 60s that he found himself sharing Chelsea with or, as he called them the 'Weirdies' -                                                                        

 
The Weirdies

The Chelsea man is excessively queer,
He only drinks coffee and doesn't like beer.
He's always "chatting" the girls, and yet
This seems to make him "one of the set".

His unkempt chin and uncut hair
Go with his feet which are usually bare.
If he wears shoes, they've never got soles,
And he's usually found in Bohemian holes.

His outsize sweater is generally black
Contrasting well with his shorty mac.
He wears his clothing merely to show
That he can keep up with the boys of Soho.

To find a girl he doesn't look far,
But into the nearest coffee bar,
Where he's sure to meet a Bohemian "yob".
They're all from Chelsea - what a mob!

The girls with hair right down their backs
Wear irregular clothes that look like sacks.
They walk about wearing father's sweater:
I really don't see why he should let 'er.

Their gaudy clothes of reds and greens
Match up with the style of their men-friends' jeans.
Now that's how it goes with the latest style:
Girls on their faces make-up pile,
The men wear anything they can find -
I shouldn't stare, I should just act blind!

A.R. Doubledee (5b)

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