ONE great public school tradition still carried out at Marlborough College is giving nicknames for the rich and righteous.

They are not always kind either, as demonstrated by Foggy' which was the students' preferred name for Mark Phillips who went on to later marry Princess Anne.

Over the last three years the students at the £23,000 a year public school have included Princess Eugenie, who is known to her peers as The Aubergine, a play on her name rather than a reference to the colour of royal blood.

Another former student who has been in the headlines recently is Kate Middleton whose name has been linked with Prince Williams in a will they-won't they (get engaged) media quandry.

Over the years Marlborough College has boasted many famous names ranging from politicians and poets to singing stars.

The former Poet Laureate John Betjeman was a student and he gained much of the inspiration for his early prosaic attempts from the town and the downland around.

Another of the school's famous poets was the First World War trench poet Siegfried Sassoon. Other famous Marlborough College Old Boys include:

  • William Morris, credited with being one of the founders of the Arts and Crafts movement attended Marlborough.
  • Sir Nigel Gresley, who, as every train enthusiast will know, designed the speed record breaking locomotive The Mallard.
  • Sir Francis Chichester, who was the first round the world yachtsman.
  • Lord Rab' Butler, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1951 to 1955.
  • Lord Goddard, the Lord Chief Justice of England from 1946 to 58.
  • Alexander Moulton, who went on to design the suspension for the first Mini and his own Moulton small-wheeled bicycle, still produced in nearby Bradford on Avon.
  • The Lady in Red singer Chris de Burgh.
  • Actor James Mason.

The school itself says: "Marlborough College has an extraordinarily rich history and numbers among its students some of the most eminent people of the past and present generations."