A Free Education for Someone Named Peyton

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Major Charles Wakehurst Peyton, a former pupil of Brighton College in East Sussex, England, who died in 2002 at age 84, unmarried and childless, left a bequest in his will so that a child who shared his surname could enjoy the same education he had enjoyed in the 1930s. Unfortunately, the school, which charges £21,400 (roughly $37,000 in U.S. currency) a year for a boarding place, could not find one boy or girl who wanted to take up the offer.

Major Peyton's will stipulated that only a child with the "unhyphenated name of Peyton on their birth certificate" could claim the prize.

Keep in mind that although Brighton College has the word "college" in it, Americans would refer to it as a private grammar school, high school and prep school. It boards pupils from 3 to 18 years of age. It is a prestigious school in East Sussex, England.

Major Peyton was a genealogist and often played host to the Peyton Society of Virginia, a family history organization in the US. All its members are descendants of John Peyton, an Englishman who arrived in Virginia at the end of the 17th century. The American Peytons are fully eligible for the scholarship at the prestigious Brighton College.

Anyone named Peyton is invited to read more at http://www.brightoncollege.net and at the Telegaph's web site.