The 86th Glasgow Boys' Brigade is a Scottish Registered Charity No SC032298.

Our Anchor Boys' are aged between Primary 1 and Primary 3 and meet in the Memorial Halls between 6.30pm and 7.30pm most Friday nights. Boys take part in games and crafts.

They learn the many benefits of team working and this blends in well with what they are learning at school and at home. We have a small group of around 6 who meet together and have a great time every week. There is an organised programme based around the Anchor Achievement Scheme. Activities are based around 5 headings, Body, Mind, Spirit, Community and Creativity. Staff are trained at Battalion level.
The Officer in Charge, Pamela Bennett, heads up this section assisted by Alexa Wallace. Seniors also provide valuable assistance.

Junior Section at the 86th

The Junior Section consists of Boys aged between P4 and P6 and they also meet in the Memorial Halls at 6.30pm and 7.30pm most Friday nights.

They enjoy the many challenges that they are faced with in games crafts and of course not forgetting football. The programme is based around the Junior Section Achievement Scheme. Activities include 5 headings, Body, Mind, Spirit, Community and Creativity.

Trained staff headed by Officer in Charge Margaret Howard provides the necessary supervision assisted by parents. Again Seniors provide great assistance to staff helping arrange crafts and games.

 

The Company Section is for Boys' aged between P7 and S3 and they meet in the Memorial Halls between 7.30pm and 9.30pm most Friday Nights and also after Church on Sundays from 10.45am to 12.30pm in the Memorial Halls.

The Company Section activities are varied and provide challenges such as water sports, go karting, football, along with badge work and crafts. On Sundays at Fusion there is great fun to be had playing extreme dodgey ball, basket ball, table tennis etc and there is generally a helping of toast and juice for those who missed breakfast. The Company Section also takes part in District and Battalion Competitions details of which can be found on the Competitions page.

A new programme of activities gives boys the opportunity to work to level three of the Discover Badge Program . Activities are based on Community, Recreation and Skills. This is an exiting time as the programme looks great with a lot of practical items which are designed to assist boys to be able to enjoy life as a young adult with a full background of experience.
The Officer in Charge is Stephen Bennett and he is assisted by parents as required.

The Seniors are aged between S4 and S7 and meet along with the Company Section.

These young men are normally working towards the President's and Queen's Badges and are involved in enjoying the many benefits of membership. The new Discover badge programme provides a means for Duke of Edinburgh Bronze holders a fast route to the Presidents' Badge. The Officer in Charge is Stephen Bennett.

 

Extract Courtesy of the Evening Times- Publication date 04/01/08

We're still Sure & Steadfast

Generations of boys have been proud to be part of its ranks and, as Peter Dominiczak shows, the Boys' Brigade has changed beyond recognition since its humble beginnings in Glasgow in 1883.

IT is the world's oldest youth uniformed organisation and its members are just as likely to be seen snow boarding down a mountain as attending a church parade.

The Boys' Brigade, which was started in Glasgow in 1883, this year celebrates its 125th anniversary and the organisation boasts 4000 members in the city and 20,000 across the UK.

But its membership today is a far cry from its heyday of the 30s, 40s and 50s when 164,000 boys were proud to be part of the BB.

Boys enrolled as an Anchor Boy at the tender age of six, rising to the Junior Section - formerly the famous Life Boys - at age eight, on to the Company at 11 before finally taking a place as a senior at 16.

But modern life, dominated as it is by the internet, television and mobile phones, has seen boys drift away from the organisation.

Now, with the 125th anniversary on the horizon, the BB is planning a recruitment drive - and is keen to spread the message it's changed.

The BB - with its motto "sure and steadfast" - has spread across the globe with brigades operating in places as far flung as Malaysia, Nigeria and South Africa but it needs a serious injection of new blood closer to home.

John Cooper, chairman of the 125 Committee, said: "With the anniversary celebrations, we're trying to revitalise the organisation and re-enthuse people about the Brigade. We want to inject new life into the battalion."

With events ranging from a service at Glasgow Cathedral to a BB Olympics in Coatbridge, it is clear the BB is focused on adapting to a changing world and encouraging children to join it while sticking to the original ethos.

"The future is confident. We'll be sure and we'll be steadfast," said Mr Cooper.

The original spirit of reverence, discipline and self-respect continues today, although in a slightly different format.

Eric Woodburn, Secretary of the Glasgow Battalion, says the BB has adapted to suit the needs of modern youngsters but still retains the essential parts of creator William Smith's original dream.

"The core purposes remain very similar. The way it attends to the needs of young people is largely the same, but the way it's delivered has changed."

That delivery has involved modernising a programme that once mostly involved pristinely outfitted boys performing drills and practicing signaling.

Now extreme sports, rock climbing and internet sessions are the norm for brigades of enthusiastic youngsters.

Mr Woodburn said: "The ethos and aspirations of society have changed since the 1880s.

"Young people have far more opportunities and choices in life now and we've changed to suit that."

The organisation is now accepting children as young as five, the aim is to keep them in the BB and move them up the ranks, leaving them with the life skills and balanced outlook the BB prides itself on instilling.

Tom Boyle, director of the Scottish Boys' Brigade, said: "As children mature earlier, and as parents look for outlets for them, the BB decided to take younger boys in.

"We expect every member to come out of the BB as a rounded member of society."

Uptake is down from the glory days but leading members believe youngsters are still interested in what they have to offer. However, convincing adults to volunteer is an issue.

Mark Rennie, of the 94th Glasgow Company, said: "Numbers are down from what they used to be but kids still want to join. It's just that there aren't enough staff.

"Hopefully we can use this anniversary to remind adults that the brigade is still alive and needs their help."

Originally, the BB was created by William Smith as a Christian organisation. And even though numbers began to fall the BB was still a powerful force in Glasgow and the West of Scotland during the 60s and 70s. Rivalry between companies, often in the same town, was intense but never hostile.

Today, as society has become more secular, the BB has had to adjust while still maintaining its Christian ideals.

"Although the Boys' Brigade has a Christian base, people from all sorts of religions are members now," said Mr Woodburn. "The Brigade very much encourages diversity.

"Many Muslims have been members and many members have no religion. That doesn't matter. Nobody is excluded."

With a year of celebrations planned for the anniversary, there is great hope in the organisation for growth in coming years.