When Sir Alec Guinness died on Sunday, it brought memories flooding back for pupils who went to school with him in Sussex.

To Alan Burtenshaw, Sir Alec was more than just a famous face and the star of countless stage shows and big screen productions.

More than 70 years ago as classmates at Roborough School in Eastbourne, Alan experienced the first steps of an actor on the road to fame.

Even as a young teenager the future Sir Alec was seen as a master of the stage.

Alan, 81, of Market Street, Hailsham, said: "He was in the upper school when I was in the first or second form, but even then he used to produce all the school plays and end-of-term shows and he directed me in a few performances.

"He was very sincere and unassuming and that is where his greatness lay. He was not a snob as some people might think."

The young Alec was made a prefect at the school where he boarded for seven years during the Twenties and was a popular member of the classroom.

Alan said: "He took part in all the events at school, although I seem to remember he wasn't much of a sportsman. He was a bit gawky to say the least."

In his autobiography, Sir Alec fondly remembers his school days in Eastbourne and his trips with friends into town for tea and cakes.

Throughout his glittering career he never forgot his old school and for a while regularly contributed articles to the school magazine.

The old building has long since been demolished to make way first for a hospital and now for a residential home. Former pupils still meet every year in Eastbourne to reminisce about the old times and to catch up with the latest news.

This year much of the talk is likely to be of the school's most famous product.

Alan said: "Alec always used to come along, even when he was busy making his films.

"I remember on one occasion we were doing a dance where you had to change partners and faced by my wife he just stopped and politely introduced himself as Alec Guinness, even though he was so famous."

While Alec left school to find fame, Alan went to Hailsham to begin a career as an auctioneer.

Sir Alec's death in the King Edward VII Hospital, Midhurst, on Sunday brought a host of tributes from the theatre and film world where he was ranked among the very best of his generation.