A new booklet from author Martin Robins highlights the successes of pupils who attended a historic Swindon school.
Sanford Boys School in Sanford Street opened in 1881 and closed its doors for the last time in 1966.
What was initially a standard curriculum expanded to subjects such as technical drawing, inspiring generations of students.
The new booklet, Sanford Worthies, is the work of author Martin Robins.
He said: "Matthew Cammish was the last headmaster of Sanford Street Boys School - he served from 1956 until 1966.
"Mr Cammish was a distinguished gentlemen who as President of the Association of Head Teachers worked closely with Mrs Thatcher at the time she was Education Secretary.
"When he passed away in 2018, in his 99th year, he left all his papers to myself.
"Included in these was a detailed report on his Sanford decade in which he noted four famous scholars."
The four are Harold Fleming, Edward William Beard, Frederick Hawksworth and Frederick Herbert Spencer.
Footballer Harold Fleming (1887-1955) made his Swindon Town debut in 1907 at the age of 20, and played his first international two years later.
Such was his skill that when it came to beating an opponent, at least one contemporary football pundit compared him to fellow legend Sir Stanley Matthews.
Edward William Beard was born in 1878 and lived until the age of 104, having never stopped working at the building firm he led and which still thrives and bears his name.
Frederick Hawksworth (1884-1976) joined the Great Western Railway as an apprentice at the age of 14. It was the start of a career which would see him rise to the position of Chief Mechanical Engineer.
He was the last person to be appointed to the position before the railways were nationalised in 1947 and British Railways created.
Frederick Herbert Spencer (1872-1946) was a prize-winning pupil who went on to become a teacher and obtain a doctorate.
A prolific and respected writer on educational subjects, he rose to become Chief Inspector (Education) with what was then London City Council.
Copies of the booklet can be obtained by emailing [email protected]








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