Patrons
John Kirkland OBE
John joined Bowmer + Kirkland on 1 January 1967 when turnover was £1m.
He was appointed a Director in 1970, Managing Director in 1972 and assumed responsibility as Chairman in 1976.
He remained chairman until 1 January 2019, when he was succeeded by his son Jack. John is now, along with his brother Robert, Life President of Bowmer + Kirkland and will be guiding, supporting and offering his wealth of knowledge to the Main Board.
He attended Leeds University and attained a BSc in Civil Engineering in 1960. He was elected as a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 2001.
In 1999 he received an OBE for services to Derbyshire, in particular for his former role as Chairman of Derbyshire Ambulance Service.
He served as Chair of both the Derbyshire Learning and Skills Council (LSC) from 2000-2008 and the LSC East Midlands Regional Council from 2004-2008.
In 2001 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Derby. He is a National Literacy Trust Reading Champion for the National Reading Campaign, and is also a Governor of Landau Forte College, Derby.
John was the longest serving Director of Derby County Football Club (from 1981 to 2002) and was President from 2006 until 2008. He was invited to rejoin the board in 2017.
His interests include travel, golf and reading.
Ambassadors
Craig Ramage
Craig is a former footballer who played in midfield for six clubs.
“Ramage”, as he is popularly known, started his career in his hometown as a trainee with Derby County where he played 42 games scoring four goals, during which time he also spent a short period on loan at Wigan Athletic. In 1994, he moved to Watford.
Ramage was a big hit at Vicarage Road and he finished just one game short of 100 starts. He was also a prolific scorer, and he netted 27 times in his 104 appearances. He had a short loan spell at Peterborough United in 1997 before he moved at the end of the season to Bradford City where his contribution in the 1998-99 squad earned Bradford promotion to the Premier League.
He finished his professional career playing for Notts County for three seasons. Ramage is now a property developer in his home town and also plays regularly for Watford in the Masters. He also commentates on BBC Radio Derby for the Derby County matches and on Three Counties Radio for Watford matches.
Rufus Brevett
Born in Derby, Brevett started his football career at Doncaster Rovers before moving to Queens Park Rangers in February 1991.
He made his QPR debut in March 1991 against Tottenham Hotspur and in all played 153 league games for QPR. After QPR’s relegation from the Premier League Brevett stayed with the club, later moving to Fulham, a team with which he was able to re-enter England’s top league. Later he signed for West Ham United where he played for 2 seasons before he moved on to Plymouth Argyle. On 8 September 2006 he signed for Oxford United and featured regularly in Oxford’s promotion run. In May 2007 Brevett announced his retirement from playing football.
After his playing career, in July 2007 Brevett briefly became sporting director of Swindon Town before entering management in October 2008, joining Combined Counties League Premier Division team Bedfont as assistant manager. In November 2013, he was appointed as the new Arlesey Town manager, replacing Zema Abbey. In February 2015, Brevett agreed to take up a position as a coach with Banbury United, assisting manager Paul Davis. Between May 2016 and December 2018, Brevett returned to football management at Combined Counties League side Hanworth Villa. He currently teaches physical education at North Oxfordshire Academy in Banbury, head of football academy.