List of Old Bedford Modernians



The following is a list of some notable Old Bedford Modernians who are former pupils of Bedford Modern School in Bedford, England. At the school, alumni are known as OBMs. The Old Bedford Modernians' Club was founded in 1892.

Academia

 * Sir William Augustus Tilden FRS (1842–1926), Chemist & Dean, Royal College of Science, London
 * Professor Joseph Reynolds Green FRS FLS (1848–1914), Professor of Botany to the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain
 * Professor William Hillhouse FLS (1850–1910), first Professor of Botany at the University of Birmingham
 * Edward Mann Langley (1851–1933), founded the Mathematical Gazette, created Langley's Adventitious Angles
 * William Robert Bousfield FRS (1854–1943), chemist
 * Professor John Holland Rose FBA (1855–1942), Vere Harmsworth Professor of Imperial and Naval History, University of Cambridge
 * George Charles Crick FGS FRGS FZS (1856–1917), geologist, authority on Cephalopoda, 1st Assistant at the Natural History Museum
 * Arthur John Pressland FRSE (1865–1934), educational theorist, linguist, schoolmaster and writer
 * George James Gibbs FRAS (1866–1947), astronomer, engineer, inventor and public science lecturer
 * Professor Richard John Durley MBE (1868–1948), Professor of Mechanical Engineering at McGill University (1901–12)
 * Edward Augustine Lowe Laxton MBE (1869–1951), expert on fruit production (Laxton's Superb)
 * Professor Henry Payne FRAeS M.Inst.C.E. (1871–1945), Professor of Engineering at the University of Melbourne
 * Jannion Steele Elliott (1871–1942), ornithologist
 * Dr Eric Temple Bell (1883–1960), mathematician who specialised in number theory and formulated the Bell series
 * Sir Charles Oatley OBE FRS FREng (1904–1996), pioneered the development of the scanning electron microscope
 * Dr. G. C. Dunning D.Lit FSA (1905–1978), pioneering medieval archaeologist, authority on Anglo-Saxon and medieval ceramics
 * Professor William Francis Grimes CBE (1905–1988), Professor of Archaeology, University of London (1956–1973)
 * Reverend Francis MacCarthy Willis Bund (1906–1980), Chaplain, Dean and Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford
 * Dr D. C. Riddy CBE (1907–1979), Controller-General of the Education Branch, Control Commission for German – British Element
 * F. G. Emmison MBE FSA FRHistS (1907–1995), archivist, author and historian
 * Professor John Roach (1920–2015), historian
 * Professor Ramsay Shearman DSc FReng FIET FRMetS FIEEE (1924–2019), pioneer in shortwave radio and radar
 * Professor Brian Glüss FRSS (1930–2013), statistician, mathematician, systems engineer, author and expert on survivor guilt
 * Professor John Richard Anthony Pearson FRS FIMMM MIChemE (born 1930), pioneer in fluid mechanics
 * Professor David John Bartholomew FBA (1931–2017), Professor of Statistics at the LSE (1973–96)
 * Professor Philip Bean (born 1936), Professor of Criminology at Loughborough University, former President of the British Soc. of Criminology
 * Professor George Richard Pickett FRS (born 1939), Professor of Low Temperature Physics at Lancaster University
 * Professor Sid Gray PhD FASSA FCCA (born 1942), Professor at the University of Sydney Business School
 * Professor Richard Hugh Britnell FBA (1944–2013), Professor of History at Durham University
 * Sir Peter Knight FRS (born 1947), Professor of quantum optics at Imperial College London
 * Professor Stephen Wildman (born 1951), Professor of the History of Art at Lancaster University
 * Dr. Roger Geoffrey Clarke (1952–2007), ornithologist, world authority on harriers and other birds of prey
 * Professor Barry H.V. Topping MBCS MICE MIStructE MIMechE FIMA (born 1952), authority and author on computational mechanics
 * Professor Stephen Taylor (born 1953), Professor of Finance at Lancaster University
 * Professor Richard Charles Murray Janko (born 1955), Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Michigan
 * Professor Brian Derby FIMMM (born 1956), Professor of Materials science at Manchester University
 * Professor Gavin D'Costa (born 1958), Professor in Catholic Theology at the University of Bristol
 * Professor Tom Inns (born 1965), Director of Glasgow School of Art (2013–2018)
 * Professor Nick Groom FRSA (born 1966), Professor of English Literature at the University of Macau and author
 * Professor Tony Claydon (born 1967), Professor of Early Modern History at Bangor University, Wales
 * Dr Peter David Wothers MBE FRSC (born 1969), chemist and Fellow of St Catharine's College, Cambridge
 * Professor Ben McFarlane (born 1976), Professor of English Law at the University of Oxford

Actors, directors and entertainers

 * E. E. Blake (1879–1961), pioneering exhibitor of motion pictures and owner of cinemas
 * Harrish Ingraham (1881–?), Hollywood film director, writer and actor in the era of silent movies
 * Gillie Potter (1887–1975), comedian and broadcaster
 * Reginald Berkeley (1890–1935), playwright and screenwriter in Hollywood (Cavalcade, The World Moves On)
 * Robert Luff CBE (1914–2009), theatrical agent and producer (The Black and White Minstrel Show)
 * Derek Scott (1921–2006), double act (with Terry-Thomas and Tony Hancock) and music director (The Muppet Show)
 * David Tringham (1935–2022), film director (Lawrence of Arabia, Highlander, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves)
 * Hugh Armstrong (1944-2016), actor (How to Get Ahead in Advertising, Death Line)
 * David Firth (born 1945), actor (Casualty, Midsomer Murders), screenwriter (Home James!), singer (original cast of Phantom of the Opera)
 * John Sessions (1953–2020), actor (Gangs of New York, The Iron Lady, Filth), comedian and broadcaster (QI)
 * Julian Hector (born 1960), head of the BBC Natural History Unit
 * Saul Nassé (born 1965), producer for the BBC (Tomorrow's World)
 * Russell Barnes (born 1968), television producer (The Enemies of Reason, The Genius of Charles Darwin)
 * David Jubb (born 1970), theatre director and chief executive of the Battersea Arts Centre
 * Russell Howard (born 1980), comedian and presenter (Russell Howard's Good News)
 * Leon Parris (born 1981), writer, composer, musician and actor (Wolfboy)
 * Jeremy Irvine (born 1990), UK and Hollywood actor (War Horse, Now Is Good, Great Expectations, The Railway Man)
 * Sope Dirisu (born 1991), stage, television and film actor
 * Suhani Gandhi (born 1994), model and actress

Adventurers, aviators, exiles and prisoners of war

 * John Percy Farrar DSO FGS (1857–1929), mountaineer, President of the Alpine Club, Member of the Mount Everest Committee
 * Sir Reginald Wolseley, 10th Baronet (1872–1933), dubbed the elevator baronet
 * Captain and Bimbashi Henry Haymes SBStJ MRCS LRCP (1872–1904), surgeon, an original explorer of the Bahr-el-Ghazal
 * George E.M. Kelly (1878–1911), early aviator in the Aeronautical Division, US Signal Corps
 * Captain Aeneas Lionel Acton Mackintosh (1879–1916), Antarctic explorer, commander of the Ross Sea party expedition
 * W.A.B. Goodall (1880–1941), castaway, described as 'the ruler of the world's tiniest kingdom': Pulau Sarimbun, Straits of Johore
 * Duncan Mackintosh, 31st Chattan (1884–1966), 31st Chief of Clan Chattan (1942–66)
 * Wilfrid Thomas Reid FRAeS (1887–1968), aircraft designer and pioneer of the Canadian aircraft industry
 * P.C.B. Newington (1888–1964), author of a cookbook celebrating Malaysian food, conceived while starving as a prisoner of war
 * Frederick Williamson CIE (1891–1935), explorer, founder member of the Himalayan Club
 * Captain Richard 'Dick' Howe MBE MC (1916–1981), Escape Officer at Colditz Castle during World War II (1942–1945)
 * Desmond 'Dizzy' de Villiers AFC (1922–1976), chief test pilot at de Havilland and English Electric

Architecture, art and design

 * Josiah Conder (1852–1920), architect who designed the Rokumeikan and other public buildings in Tokyo
 * Henry John Sylvester Stannard RBA FRSA (1870–1951), watercolour artist
 * Sydney Morgan Eveleigh (1870-1947), architect in Vancouver
 * Major Hugh Patrick Guarin Maule DSO MC FRIBA (1873–1940), architect (Royal Veterinary College in London)
 * George Loraine Stampa (1875–1951), artist, contributor to Punch and other illustrated papers and magazines
 * Walter Stonebridge FRIBA (1879–1962), Diocesan Architect for Ely, St Albans and Bedford
 * Algernon Winter Rose MC (1885–1918), architect
 * Kenneth Alexander (1887–1975), photographer for United Artists, Samuel Goldwyn Productions and 20th Century Studios
 * Robert Tor Russell CIE DSO (1888–1972), Chief Architect to the Government of India
 * Thomas Francis Ford FRIBA (1891–1971), Diocesan Architect for Southwark and a translator of the New Testament
 * Alexander Girard (1907–1993), textile designer and interior architect
 * Victor Farrar RIBA PPFAS FRSA (1930–2007), architect
 * Dennis Sharp (1933–2010), architect, professor, curator, historian, author and editor
 * Peter Forster (1935–2021), wood engraver
 * Steve Gibbons (born 1956), graphic designer
 * Alex Chinneck MRSS (born 1984), installation artist

Air Force

 * Wing Commander George Marshall Griffith (1877–1946), Commandant of the Royal Flying Corps in India
 * Brigadier-General Percy Robert Clifford Groves CB CMG DSO (1878–1959), Air Strategist
 * Air Vice-Marshal Robert Dickinson Oxland CB CBE (1889–1959), Group Commander in Bomber Command (1943–44)
 * Air Commodore Edye Rolleston Manning CBE DSO MC (1889–1957), senior officer in the Royal Air Force
 * Air Commodore Charles Henry Elliott-Smith AFC (1889–1994), senior officer in the Royal Air Force
 * Major H.D. Harvey-Kelly DSO (1891–1917), Squadron Commander, Royal Flying Corps
 * Captain John Ellis Langford Hunter DSC DFC (1897–1971), World War I flying ace
 * Group Captain Robert Cecil Dawkins CBE (1903–1985), Station Commander at RAF Tengah and RAF Hendon
 * Air Commodore I. J. Fitch (1903–1944), deputy director of Intelligence at the Air Ministry
 * Wing Commander Ernest Leslie 'Johnny' Hyde DFC (1914–1942), senior officer in the Royal Air Force
 * Squadron Leader Roland Anthony 'Tony' Lee Knight DFC (1917–1941), World War II flying ace

Army

 * Major-General Francis John Fowler CB DSO (1864–1939) Commander of the Derajat Brigade (1914–16)
 * Major-General Charles Astley Fowler CB CSI DSO (1865–1940), Brigade Commander at the Battle of Loos, 1915
 * Brigadier-General Sir Arthur Long KBE CB CMG DSO (1866–1941), Director of Transport and Supplies, Macedonia and The Black Sea
 * Colonel Reginald Ruston CB (1867–1963), commander of the Mounted infantry of the Devon Regiment (1891–1903)
 * Major R.T. Anwyl-Passingham OBE DL JP (1867–1926), Commander of the 72nd Punjabis, High Sheriff of Merionethshire
 * Lieutenant-General Gerald Robert Poole CB CMG DSO (1868–1937), Commandant of the Royal Marine Artillery
 * Lt.-Col. Charles Forbes Buchan CBE OStJ (1869–1954), Deputy Assistant Director at the War Office during WW1
 * Colonel Ernest Clive Atkins CB TD DL JP (1870–1953), Commander of the 2/5th Leicestershire Regiment, High Sheriff of Leicestershire
 * Lt.-Col. Robert Haymes DSO (1870–1942), first to establish an OP at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle
 * Lt.-Col. C. A. Keatinge Johnson (1870–1937), senior officer in the First Australian Imperial Force
 * Major-General Herbert William Jackson CB CSI DSO (1872–1940), Officer of the British Indian Army
 * Major George Godfrey Massy Wheeler VC (1873–1915), was a recipient of the Victoria Cross
 * Lt.-Col. Arthur Charles Rothery Nutt DSO (1873–1946), inventor of the artillery miniature range
 * Lt.-Col. R. E. Power DSO (1874–1956), Commander of the 1st and 2nd Battalion of the Buffs
 * Major-General Charles Howard Foulkes CB CMG DSO (1875–1969), Britain's chief adviser on gas warfare
 * Brigadier-General Herbert Cecil Potter CB CMG DSO (1875–1964)
 * Lieutenant Charles Carroll Wood (1876–1899), first Canadian born Officer to die in the Second Boer War
 * Colonel Charles Temple Morris CBE (1876–1956), Commander of the 5th Battalion of the 1st Punjab Regiment between 1921 and 1926
 * Lt.-Col. James Knox DSO&bar (1878–1918), Battalion Commander, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 1915–18
 * Brigadier-General Herbert Dobbin CBE DSO (1878–1946), Colonel-Commandant, Iraq Levies, the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
 * Brigadier-General Arthur Turner CB CMG DSO (1878–1952), Cricketer, rugby union player and soldier
 * Colonel Wilfrid Stanley Richmond CMG MICE (1881–1962), deputy director of Roads in the BEF during World War I
 * Lt.-Col. Henry Cecil Prescott CMG CIE (1882–1960), Inspector of Police in Iraq
 * Colonel Guy Sutton Bocquet CIE VD FRSA (1882–1961), ADC to the Viceroy of India
 * Lt.-Col. Archibald Alderman Chase DSO (1884–1917), Commander of the 8th Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment
 * Brigadier Harold Evelyn William Bell Kingsley CIE DSO (1885–1970), Aide-de-Camp to King George VI
 * Lt.-Col. Charles Harvey-Kelly DSO (1885–1982), Military Attache in Kabul (1924-6)
 * Lieutenant-General Reginald Dawson Hopcraft Lough DSO OBE (1886–1958), Aide-de-camp to King George VI
 * Lt.-Col. A.E.F. Fawcus DSO MC TD (1886–1936), Commander, 1/5th North Staffordshire Regiment, 1/5th Sherwood Foresters
 * Lt.-Col. W. F. Jackson OBE MC&Bar TD (1886–1964), Signals Liaison Officer to the US Army HQ in the UK during World War II
 * Major George Croxton Walker OBE MC TD (1888–1936)
 * Major Edward Crozier Creasy (1888–1936), senior liaison Officer during the Upper Silesia Plebiscite (1920–21)
 * Captain Wynn Bagnall MC (1890–1931), Canadian Field Artillery, model for a statue by James Fraser in Winnipeg, Manitoba
 * Lt.-Col. Melville Ten Broeke MC&bar (1891–1963), commander of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Regiment
 * Major-General L.A. Hawes CBE DSO MC DL (1892–1986), Commanded the transport to France of the BEF during World War I
 * Brigadier W.C.V. Galwey OBE MC&bar (1897–1977), Senior Officer who served in World War I and World War II
 * Col. F. H. Willasey Wilsey MC (1898–1971), Senior Liaison Officer to the Afghan delegation during the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
 * Brigadier Ernest Dynes CBE (1903–1968), Aide-de-camp to HM Queen Elizabeth II (1955–57)
 * Brigadier Thomas Henry Scott Galletly DSO&bar MC (1905–1972), Commander of the 1st Brigade, Arab League
 * Major Colin Leo Bliss (1907–1944), pioneer of operational parachuting
 * Major-General Reginald Booth Stockdale CB CMG OBE (1908–1979) Colonel Commandant, REME
 * Lt.-Col. Edward Peter Fletcher Boughey OBE (1911–1986), Special Operations Executive
 * Major-General Keith Burch CB CBE (1931–2013)

Navy

 * Commander Willoughby Huddleston CMG (1866–1953), ADC to Lord Pentland, Governor of Madras (1912–19)
 * Captain Thomas Oloff de Wet CBE (1869–1940), Principal Naval Transport Officer during the evacuation of Constantinople in 1923
 * Rear Admiral Alfred Ransom CBE (1871–1953), senior officer in the Royal Navy
 * Sir Ernest Whiteside Huddleston CIE CBE RIN (1874–1959), Aide-de-camp to the Viceroy of India
 * Captain Francis Walter Despard Twigg OBE (1883-1951), senior officer in the Royal Navy
 * Commander Herbert Newton OBE DL (1900–1973), Royal Navy Commander and Deputy Lieutenant of Bedfordshire
 * Rear-Admiral Jack Kenneth Highton CB CBE (1904–1988), Aide-de-camp to Queen Elizabeth II
 * Captain Frederick Stovin-Bradford CBE DSC&Bar (1919–1974), Royal Navy Commander (Fleet Air Arm)
 * Vice-Admiral Sir Ted Horlick KBE (1925–2021), Director General of British Ships (1979–83), Chief Naval Engineer Officer (1981–83)

Industry and commerce

 * John Howard (1791–1878), industrialist, inventor of agricultural equipment and four times Mayor of Bedford
 * James Howard (1821–1889), industrialist and inventor of agricultural equipment. MP for Bedford
 * Sir Frederick Howard DL JP (1828–1915), industrialist
 * Captain Charles Wells (1842–1914), founder of Charles Wells Ltd, progenitor of the Wells baronets of Felmersham
 * Sir George Farrar, 1st Baronet (1859–1915), mining magnate, politician and soldier
 * Lt. Col. Henry Batten Huddleston OBE VD (1864–1944), Chief Agent and later a Director of the Burma Railways
 * Hon. Walter Nutt OBE (1874–1940), managing director of The Straits Trading Company (1918–21)
 * Sir Noel Mobbs KCVO OBE (1878–1959), founder of Slough Estates and High sheriff of Buckinghamshire
 * E. E. Blake (1879–1961), Chairman of Kodak UK
 * E. E. Cammack AIA FAIA FCAS (1881–1958), prominent actuary in the USA
 * William Pickwoad OBE FRSA (1886–1975), prominent in South America's railway industry. Founding director of the Central Bank of Bolivia
 * W. T. Godber CBE (1904–1981), authority on agriculture and agricultural engineering
 * Sir Henry Cecil Johnson KBE (1906–1988), chairman of the British Railways Board (1968–71)
 * Alastair George MacKenzie CBE MC (1915–1989), prominent figure in South East Asian insurance during the 1960s and 1970s
 * Francis Coulson MBE (1919–1998), chef and hotelier
 * Edward Roy Kent CBE (1920–2009), estate owner and agriculturalist in the Caribbean
 * Lt.-Col. Ray Daniels MC (1923–2003), Chief Executive of the William Press Group
 * Max Wideman (born 1927), expert in project management
 * Sir Anthony Hartwell, 6th Baronet (born 1940), Master mariner and Marine surveyor
 * John Quenby (born 1941), Chief Executive of the RAC Motor Sports Association (1990–2001)
 * Andrew Stuart Winckler (1949–2007), Chief Executive of the Financial Services Authority (1996–98)
 * Adrian Penfold OBE MRTPI FRSA (born 1952), Head of Planning at British Land, adviser to the UK Government
 * Graham Clive Watts OBE MCMI FRSA FRIBA (born 1956), Chief Executive of the Construction Industry Council
 * Richard Bradbury CBE (born 1956), Chief Executive of River Island (2008–11), director of Boden (2012–)
 * Angus Knowles-Cutler (born 1962), senior partner at Deloitte
 * Steve Melton (born 1962), Chief Executive of Exemplar Health Care
 * Nick Blofeld (born 1964), managing director of Epsom Downs Racecourse (2007–09), Chief Executive of Bath Rugby (2009–14)
 * Marcus Weldon (born 1968), 13th President of Bell Labs

Journalism

 * William Fairbridge JP (1863–1943), founder of the Rhodesia Herald and the Bulawayo Chronicle, first mayor of Salisbury
 * Leonard Dudeney (1875–1956), newspaper editor (North China Daily News) and parliamentary correspondent (Daily Express and Daily Sketch)
 * Albert Powtrill Ager (1876–1956), editor, manager and publisher of The Straits Times
 * Gaston Hanet Archambault (1877–1951), correspondent at The New York Times
 * Lindsay Bashford OBE (1881–1921), Literary Editor of the Daily Mail
 * Richard Capell OBE MM (1885–1954), music critic for the Daily Mail (1911–33) and the Daily Telegraph (1933–54)
 * George Matthews (1917–2005), leading communist and editor of the Daily Worker/Morning Star from 1959 to 1974
 * Eric Litchfield (1920–1982), sports editor of The Rand Daily Mail (1956–1970), the Cape Times (1970–82) and author
 * Jon Akass (1933–1990), Fleet Street columnist
 * Sir Nicholas Lloyd (born 1942), newspaper editor, News of the World (1984) and the Daily Express (1986–95)
 * Michael Toner (born 1944), leader writer at the Sunday Express and Daily Mail. Author and novelist
 * Christopher Wilson (born 1947), journalist and Royal biographer
 * Nicholas Shaxson (born 1966), author, journalist and associate fellow of Chatham House (Treasure Islands)
 * Ben Anderson (born 1975), television reporter, journalist and writer (Holidays in the Axis of Evil)

Law

 * Alfred Clare (1851–1912), District Registrar of the High Court of Justice
 * William Robert Bousfield KC FRS (1854–1943), expert on patent law
 * Sir William Tudball (1866–1943). Puisne judge of the High Court of Allahabad (1909–1922)
 * Sir Sidney Abrahams KC (1885–1957), Chief Justice of Tanganyika and Ceylon
 * Sir Clement Thornton Hallam (1891–1965), Solicitor to the General Post Office
 * Dr James Mould QC (1893–1958), Queen's Counsel, Bencher of Gray's Inn and a Fellow of University College London
 * Rowland Thomas Lovell Lee (1920–2005), Recorder of the Crown Court (1979–92)
 * Stephen John Wooler CB (born 1948), HM Chief Inspector to the Crown Prosecution Service (1999–2010)
 * Nicholas Stewart KC (born 1947), King's Counsel, Bencher of the Inner Temple and Deputy High Court Judge
 * Hon. Tim Lord KC (born 1966), King's Counsel and Bencher of the Inner Temple

Literature

 * William Hale White (1831–1913), author known by his pseudonym Mark Rutherford
 * Neil Wynn Williams (1864–1940), novelist, writer and contributor of short stories and articles to periodicals and journals
 * George Moreby Acklom (1870–1959), writer, literary editor of E.P. Dutton, father of the Hollywood actor David Manners
 * Sir Henry Howarth Bashford (1880–1961), author of Augustus Carp, Esq. and several other satirical novels
 * Eric Temple Bell, (1883–1960), science fiction author (as John Taine)
 * David Scott Daniell (1906–1965), author, playwright and regimental historian
 * Christopher Fry (1907–2005), poet and playwright. Awarded the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry in 1962
 * Gordon Thomas (1933–2017), investigative journalist and author (Gideon's Spies, The Pope's Jews)
 * John Andrews (born 1936), author and antiques writer
 * David Morse (born 1938), author on Motown, Romanticism and the Victorian era
 * Russell Ash (1946–2010), author (The Top 10 of Everything)
 * S.I. Martin (born 1961), author, historian and journalist specialising in Black British history and literature
 * Stephen May (born 1964), novelist, playwright and TV writer
 * Toby Litt (born 1968), author (Beatniks, Corpsing, Finding Myself, Journey into Space)

Medicine

 * Samuel Hoppus Adams MRCS MD MB (1835–1895), surgeon and physician
 * George Cleghorn (1850–1902), President of the New Zealand Medical Association
 * Walter Jessop FRCS (1852–1917), Ophthalmic Surgeon at St Bartholomew's, President of the UK Ophthalmological Society
 * Major-General Harold Percy Waller Barrow CB CMG OBE DSO (1856–1957), Honorary Surgeon to King George V
 * Major-General George Francis Angelo Harris CSI FRCP (1856–1931), Honorary Surgeon to King George V and the Viceroy of India
 * Rickard William Lloyd MRCS LRCPEd (1859–1933), Consulting Anaesthetist and author
 * Charles Hubert Roberts FRCS FRCP (1865–1929), Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
 * Claud Alley Worth FRCS (1869–1936), ophthalmologist, inventor of the Worth 4 dot test and Worth's Ambyloscope, world authority on squint
 * Frank Atcherley Rose FRCS (1873–1935), surgeon at St Bartholomew's Hospital (1928–31)
 * Thomas Shepherd Novis FRCS (1874–1962), Professor of Surgery at Grant Medical College, Bombay
 * Major-General Harold Rothery Nutt FRCS (1876–1953), Honorary Surgeon to King George V and the Viceroy of India
 * Cyril Arthur Bennett Horsford FRCS (1876–1953), Laryngologist to the Royal College of Music
 * John Wycliffe Linnell FRCP MC (1878–1967), Consulting Physician
 * Sir Henry Howarth Bashford FRCP (1880–1961), Honorary Physician to King George VI
 * Sir Adolphe Abrahams OBE FRCP (1883–1967), Olympic Medical Officer from 1912
 * H. L. D. Kirkham (1887–1949), first Professor of Plastic Surgery at Baylor University, Texas, recipient of the US Legion of Merit
 * Frank Cook FRCS FRCOG (1888–1972), Beit Fellow, obstetric and gynaecological surgeon
 * Basil Laver MS FRCS (1894–1934), surgeon
 * Arkyl Staveley Gough OBE OStJ FRCS (1900–1990), surgeon
 * Professor Anthony Andreasen FRSE FRCSE FICS (1906–1986), surgeon to the Viceroy of India
 * Sir George Edward Godber GCB (1908–2009), Chief Medical Officer for HM Government in England (1960–73)
 * William Edward Lancaster CBE AM (1909–2003), Chief Executive of the Royal Zoological Society of South Australia
 * Professor Joseph Graeme Humble CVO FRCP FRCPath (1913–1980), Professor of Haematology at Westminster Hospital
 * Professor Ernest Cotchin FRCVS FRCPath (1917–1988), Professor of Veterinary Pathology at the Royal Veterinary College (1963-1982)
 * Dr Richard Norman Smith FRCVS (1926–1988), President of the British Veterinary Association between 1975 and 1976.
 * Professor Michael Tynan MD FRCP (born 1934), Professor of Paediatric Cardiology at Guy's Hospital (1982–99)
 * Dr Vaughan Southgate OBE DL FZS FRSM FLS FSB (born 1944), parasitologist
 * Professor John Clibbens FRSocMed (born 1953), Professor of Developmental Psychology at Birmingham City University
 * Dr Harry Brünjes FRSocMed (born 1954), Chairman of Premier Medical Group
 * Professor Mark Woodhead FRCP FERS (born 1954), world authority on lung infection and pneumonia
 * Dr Ian Martin Wylie FRSM (born 1955), Chief Executive of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
 * Michael Trudgill FAsMA FRAeS (born 1966), Chief Medical Officer at the UK Civil Aviation Authority

Music

 * Roland Bocquet (1878–1956), composer, Professor of Music Theory at Dresden Conservatory
 * Cyril Gell ARCO LRAM FGSM (1909–1994), musician, conductor of the BBC Singers and former professor at the Guildhall School of Music
 * Derek Scott (1921–2006), composer and music director for film and television (The Muppet Show)
 * Gordon Langford (1930–2017), brass band and orchestral music composer, arranger and performer (Return of the Jedi, Superman II)
 * Paul Paviour OAM FRCO (born 1931), composer, organist and conductor based in Australia
 * Tim Souster (1943–1994), composer
 * Justin Lavender (born 1951), operatic tenor and professor of vocal studies at the Royal College of Music
 * Paul Christison Edwards (born 1955), organist and composer of music for the Anglican Church
 * Nicholas Carthy (born 1957), Conductor of the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana (1993–96), Professor of Music at the University of Colorado
 * Michael Hext (born 1961), inaugural winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year Competition
 * Max Richter (born 1966), composer
 * Don Broco, band
 * Segun Akinola (born 1993), composer and music director for film and television (Doctor Who)

Home

 * James Howard (1821–1889), Liberal MP
 * William Robert Bousfield KC FRS (1854–1943), Conservative MP
 * Arthur Pedley CB (1859–1943), senior civil servant
 * Arthur Sheppard MVO (1862–1944), Private Secretary to the Archbishop of Canterbury (1902–1928)
 * Sir Archibald Dennis Flower (1865–1950). Chairman of the Trustees and Guardians of Shakespeare's birthplace
 * Colonel John Alfred Lawrence Billingham CBE FRICS (1868–1955), Chief Inspector of Works, War Office (1928–33)
 * Edmund Dene Morel (1873–1924), Labour MP
 * Major F. R. Phipps OBE A.M. Inst. C.E. F.S.I. (1875–1927), Senior Engineering Inspector at the Ministry of Transport, 1924 to 1927
 * Sir Ralph Endersby Harwood KCB KCVO CB CBE (1883–1951). Financial Secretary to three Kings (1935–37)
 * Davenport Fabian Cartwright Blunt CB (1888–1965), Under-Secretary at HM Treasury (1946–48)
 * Reginald Berkeley (1890–1935), Liberal MP
 * Sir Laurence George Gale CB OBE (1905–1969). Controller, Royal Ordnance Factories
 * Hugh Chaplin CB (1905–1996), Principal Keeper of Printed Books at the British Museum
 * Jack Morton CMG OBE (1911–1985). Assistant Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Defence (1968–71)
 * Philip Lionel Burton CBE (1914–1996), Head of the Civil Service Pay Research Unit between 1963 and 1971
 * Arthur Jones (1915–1991), Conservative MP. Mayor of Bedford
 * Edgar William Boyles (1921–2001), Under-Secretary at the Inland Revenue (1975–81)
 * Tony Hart CBE (1923–2009), leader of Kent C.C. during the development of the Channel Tunnel, Eurostar and the Dartford Bridge
 * Colonel Brian Ernest Maitland Prophet OBE TD DL (1928–2004), Deputy Lieutenant of Bedfordshire
 * Sir Stanley John Odell (1929–2021), former Chairman of the National Union of Conservative Constituency Associations
 * Sir Keith Speed DL (1934–2018), Conservative MP. Undersecretary of State for Defence (1979–81)
 * Jeffery John Mumford Speed CBE FRSA FInstLM FRGS (born 1936) was Director of Fundraising at Conservative Central Office
 * Rev. Canon Jeffrey James West OBE FRSA (born 1950), Inspector of Historic Buildings, English Heritage (1983–86)
 * Patrick Hall (born 1951), Labour MP
 * Nick Hawkins, (born 1957), former Conservative MP
 * Andrew Charles Gilchrist (born 1960), former General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union
 * Nicolas John "Nick" Gibb (born 1960), Conservative MP
 * Richard Fuller (born 1962), Conservative MP
 * Matt Cavanagh (born 1971), special adviser to New Labour (2003–2010)

Overseas

 * Sir William Morgan KCMG (1828–1883), Premier of South Australia (1878–81)
 * Hon. Arthur Carter (1847–1917), businessman, Australian Consul to Norway, Member of the Queensland Legislative Council
 * Leonard Isitt (1855–1937), M.P. for the New Zealand Liberal Party and member of the New Zealand Legislative Council
 * Charles Frederick Gale (1860–1928), senior Australian civil servant, Chief Protector of Aborigines in Western Australia
 * C. W. P. Douglas de Fenzi (1863–1927), Clerk to the Legislative Council of Natal
 * Henry George Graves ARSM (1864–1929), Controller of Patents and Designs in India between 1904 and 1919
 * Sir Ernest Colville Collins Wilton KCMG (1870–1952), President of the Commission for the Government of the Saar Basin
 * Herbert George Billson CIE (1871–1938), Chief Conservator of Indian Forests, 1922–26
 * Sir William Pell Barton KCIE CSI (1871–1956), Resident in Baroda (1919), Mysore (1920–25) and Hyderabad (1925–30)
 * William McKinnell (1873–1939), politician who served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, Canada (1920–36)
 * Hon. Walter Nutt OBE (1874–1940), a member of the Federal Malay States Legislative council
 * John Richard Donovan Glascott CIE (1877–1938), Chief Engineer of the Burma Railways, Member of the Legislative Council of Burma
 * Sir Robert Daniel Richmond CIE (1878–1948), Chief Conservator, Indian Woods and Forests
 * Archie Rose CIE FRGS (1879–1961), diplomat, explorer and businessman in China
 * John Mervyn Dallas Wrench CIE (1883–1961), Chief Engineer of the Great Indian Peninsular Railway
 * Sir Francis Moncrieff Kerr-Jarrett (1885–1968), Custos Rotulorum of St James's, Jamaica
 * Stanley Wyatt Smith (1887–1958), Consul-General of Manila (1938–42) and Honolulu (1943–44)
 * Major-General Ronald Okeden Alexander CB DSO (1888–1949), Inspector General, Central Canada (1942–46)
 * Charles Hawes CIE MC (1890–1963). Chief Engineer to the Government of Sind
 * Frederick Williamson CIE (1891–1935), Consul-General of Kashgar (1927–30)
 * Reginald Philip Abigail (1892–1969), District Commissioner of Arakan during the fall of Burma in 1942
 * Hon. Robert Skinner MBE (1893–1969), Federal Treasurer of the Leeward Islands
 * Bertram St. Leger Ten Broeke CIE MC (1895–1962), Deputy Inspector-General of the Indian Police in Bihar
 * W. D. Harverson OBE ARSM MIMM (1903–92), Commissioner of Mines in Kenya (1949–58) and Tanganyika (1958–62)
 * Walter Ian James Wallace CMG OBE (1905–1993), Assistant Undersecretary of State at the Colonial Office (1962–66)
 * Sir Arthur Mooring KCMG (1908–1969), British Resident in Zanzibar (1959–1963)
 * Cyril Herbert Williams CMG OBE (1908–1983), Provincial Commissioner of the Nyanza Province of Kenya (1951–56)
 * Roger Tancred Robert Hawkins GLM ICD (1915–1980), Rhodesian politician and member of Ian Smith's cabinet after Rhodesia's UDI
 * Victor Yarnell (1919–2005), American politician, Democratic Mayor of Reading, Pennsylvania (1968–1972)
 * Colonel Ian Cook OBE (1934–1994), Commander of the Vanuatu Mobile Police Force (1980–84)
 * Malcolm Geoffrey Hilson OBE (born 1942), High Commissioner of Vanuatu (1997–2000)
 * Paul Reddicliffe OBE (born 1945), British Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia (1994–1997)
 * Michael Crowther (born 1952), CEO of the Indianapolis Zoo, founder of the Indianapolis Prize
 * Yang Berbahagia Datuk Wira Dr. Mohamed Farid Md Rafik DCSM (1976–2019), Malaysian politician

Religion

 * The Rt. Rev. William Toll (1843–1915), Suffragan bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago (1911–15)
 * Canon Thomas Blyth DD (1844–1913), author and Commissary to the Archbishop of Ottawa and Bishops of Niagara
 * The Rev. H.A. Lester MA (1873–1922), theologian, director of the Bishop of London's Sunday School Council (1911–1922)
 * The Rev. Arthur Raley MC (1889–1964), Chaplain to Royal Air Force Command during World War II
 * The Ven. Thomas Dix ARCO (1908-1985), Archdeacon of Zanzibar
 * The Ven. Robert Brown MA (1914–2001), Archdeacon of Bedford (1974–79)
 * The Rev. Noel Stanton (1926–2009), founder of the Jesus Army
 * Dr Bryan W. Ball (born 1935), theologian, former President of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific
 * Dennis Frederick Orme (born 1938), former leader of Unification Churches in England, theologian and author
 * The Rt. Rev. Tony Robinson (born 1956), Bishop of Wakefield

Art

 * George Loraine Stampa (1875–1951), participant in the art competition at the 1928 Summer Olympics

Athletics

 * Thomas Edgar Hammond (1878–1945), track and field athlete who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics
 * Sir Sidney Abrahams KC (1885–1957), competed in the Long jump at the 1912 Summer Olympics
 * Dr H.W. Evans MC (1890–1927), athlete, rugby player and physician
 * Ken Richardson (1918–1998), athlete, silver medallist in the 1938 British Empire Games
 * Julie Rogers (born 1998), participant in the 2012 Summer Paralympics and the 2016 Summer Paralympics

Chess

 * Charles Blake (1880–1961), U.S. Open Chess Champion in 1911
 * Harold James Plaskett (born 1960), British Chess Champion in 1990

Cricket

 * Arthur Jones (1872–1914), Captained the England cricket team. Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1900
 * Lionel Brown (1872–1938), cricketer
 * Arthur Jervois Turner (1878–1952), cricketer and rugby union player
 * Sir Robert Daniel Richmond (1878–1948), played cricket for Jamaica
 * Walter Martin Fitzherbert Turner (1881–1948), cricketer
 * Arthur Cantrell (1883–1954), cricketer
 * Norman Oliver CavA (1886–1948), played cricket for Bedfordshire and Brazil
 * Frederick Charles William Newman (1896–1966), cricketer
 * Basil Rogers (1896–1975), cricketer
 * Ernest Dynes CBE (1903–1968), cricketer
 * Maurice Pugh OBE (1903–1986), cricketer
 * Arthur Grenfell Coomb (1929–2022), cricketer
 * Bob Gale (1933–2018), cricketer
 * Geoff Millman (1934–2005), England cricketer
 * Graham Jarrett (1937–2004), cricketer
 * Peter David Watts (born 1938), cricketer
 * Peter Kippax (1940–2017), cricketer
 * Andrew Curtis (born 1943), cricketer
 * Alan Fordham (born 1964), cricketer
 * Neil Stanley (born 1968), cricketer
 * Andrew Trott (born 1968), cricketer
 * Paul Owen (born 1969) played cricket for Canada
 * Matthew White (born 1969), cricketer
 * Kelvin Locke (born 1980), cricketer
 * Oliver Clayson (born 1980), cricketer
 * Jamie Wade (born 1981), cricketer
 * Monty Panesar (born 1982), England cricketer. Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2007
 * Richard King (born 1984), cricketer
 * Robin Kemp (born 1984), cricketer
 * Matthew Taylor (born 1999), cricketer

Football

 * James Oswald Anderson (1872–1932), footballer for Lomas Athletic Club and Argentina, cricketer for Hertfordshire
 * Andrew Ralston (1880–1950), footballer (Spurs and Watford). FA administrator
 * Eric Litchfield (1920–1982), footballer (Newcastle United F.C., Leeds United F.C.)
 * Gordon Brice (1924–2003), cricketer and footballer (Luton Town, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Reading, Fulham)
 * Pemi Aderoju (born 2005), footballer for Peterborough United F.C.

Hockey

 * Charles Howard Foulkes CB CMG DSO (1875–1969), field hockey player who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics

Rallying

 * Ian Mantle (1920–2010), engineer and rally driver

Rowing

 * Sir Archibald Dennis Flower (1865–1950), rowed for Cambridge in the 1886 Boat Race
 * William Mansfield Poole (1871–1946), rowed for Oxford in the 1891 Boat Race
 * Sir George Edward Godber GCB (1908–2009), rowed for Oxford in the 1928 and 1929 Boat Races
 * Tony Leadley (born 1928), rowed for the United Kingdom and for Cambridge in the 1953 Boat Race
 * Peter Knapp (born 1949), rower who competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics
 * John Yallop (born 1949), rower who won a silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal
 * Neil Keron (born 1953), rower who competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics
 * Tim Foster MBE (born 1970), rower who won a Gold Medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney
 * David Gillard (born 1971), rowed for Great Britain and also for Cambridge in the 1991, 1992 and 1993 Boat Races
 * Rod Chisholm (born 1974), rower who competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Olympics

Rugby

 * Horace William Finlinson (1871–1956), England Rugby International
 * Wardlaw Brown Thomson (1871–1921), England Rugby International
 * Lt.-Col. Edgar Mobbs DSO (1882–1917), England Rugby International, Captained England and Northampton
 * Arthur Gilbert Bull (1890–1963), England Rugby International
 * Dick Stafford (1893–1912), England Rugby International
 * Harold Lindsay Vernon Day (1898–1972), England Rugby International who also played first class cricket for Hampshire
 * G.T. 'Beef' Dancer (1911–1991), rugby player who participated in the 1938 British Lions tour to South Africa
 * Dickie Jeeps CBE (1930–2016), England Rugby International, Captained England and the British Lions
 * Lionel Edward Weston (born 1947), England Rugby International
 * Mark Denney (born 1975), rugby union player as centre for Bristol, Castres and Wasps
 * Henry Staff (born 1991), rugby union player who played for RFU Championship side, Bedford Blues

Rugby fives

 * Matt Cavanagh (born 1971), Rugby fives British champion in 2004 and 2006

Swimming

 * Hamilton ("Tony") Pierre Matt Milton (born 1938), swimmer at the 1960 Summer Olympics