The Boys' Brigade (BB) is the world's first uniformed youth organisation. The idea for this interdenominational Christian organisation was conceived by William Alexander Smith, to combine drill and fun activities with Christian values. Following its inception in Glasgow in 1883, the BB quickly spread across the United Kingdom and became a worldwide organisation by the early 1890s. As of 2003, there were 500,000 Boys' Brigade members in 60 countries.
The stated object of the Boys' Brigade is "The advancement of Christ's kingdom among Boys and the promotion of habits of Obedience, Reverence, Discipline, Self-respect and all that tends towards a true Christian manliness." Except for the addition of the word "obedience" in 1893, the object has remained unchanged from the beginning.
When designing the Brigade's motto and crest, William Smith referred directly to Hebrews 6:19 in the King James Version of the Bible, "Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast...".
From this verse came the BB motto, "Sure and Stedfast", retaining the old spelling of the latter word. Today, some parts of the movement have adopted the modern spelling of "steadfast", whilst others continue to use the original spelling.
The crest was originally a plain anchor, bearing the BB motto with a capital 'B' on either side. Upon the merger between the Boys' Brigade and the Boys' Life Brigade in 1926, the red Greek cross was placed behind the anchor to form the current emblem. The cross originally formed part of emblem of the Boys' Life Brigade.
The first Boys' Brigade company was set up by Sir William Alexander Smith on 4 October, 1883, at Free Church Mission Hall, North Woodside Road, Glasgow, Scotland, to develop "Christian manliness" by the use of a semi-military discipline and order, gymnastics, summer camps, and religious services and classes.
Being the earliest of all youth organizations, a simple rosette was worn as an identifying uniform, shortly being replaced by the simple use of a belt, haversack, and pillbox cap (a popular military cap of the day) worn over the boys' everyday clothing. The pillbox cap was used into the 1960s, long after it had fallen out of use in the British Army, when it was replaced with a field cap.
The Boys' Life Brigade was one of many similar movements formed by the Boys' Brigade's influence, sometimes along denominational or religious lines, including the Church Lads' Brigade, the Jewish Lads' Brigade, or the Catholic Boys' Brigade. The merger also prompted the abandonment of dummy drill rifles that had been used in The Boys' Brigade, due to the Life Brigade's objection to use of weapons or their representations. For some time afterwards, the section covering members aged 8–12 years was known as Life Boys, before being restyled as the Junior section.
Drawing from his military experience, Sir William Smith introduced the concept of camping into the Brigade to allow boys and officers to remain in contact when other activities ceased for the summer break.
An older boy can gain promotion to become a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO). There are six ranks available, each being awarded when a boy is of a certain age and reaches a high enough standard of leadership. The five ranks are:
Private
Lance Corporal
Corporal
Sergeant
Staff Sergeant
In addition, there is the ceremonial rank of Drum Major who leads the band.
NCOs often play an important role in the Boys' Brigade, helping the officers and other adult helpers with organising activities and awards classes, particular in the Anchors and Juniors sections. NCOs wear chevrons on their upper right arm, a red sash is worn by Colour Sergeants and a Drum Major wears a badge on his right upper armband.
Staff sergeants act within the company as officers and do not stand in the ranks; however Staff Sergeants are boys of the Brigade. As they have received no formal training as officers and are not required to undergo the standard police checks as they are still serving ‘boys’, they can still partake in company activities and computations and still earn awards and badges. The uniform of Staff Sergeants is also different from that of the normal boy or NCO.
Each section within the Boys' Brigade has awards that can be gained by fulfilling achievements.
The stated object of the Boys' Brigade is "The advancement of Christ's kingdom among Boys and the promotion of habits of Obedience, Reverence, Discipline, Self-respect and all that tends towards a true Christian manliness." Except for the addition of the word "obedience" in 1893, the object has remained unchanged from the beginning.
When designing the Brigade's motto and crest, William Smith referred directly to Hebrews 6:19 in the King James Version of the Bible, "Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast...".
From this verse came the BB motto, "Sure and Stedfast", retaining the old spelling of the latter word. Today, some parts of the movement have adopted the modern spelling of "steadfast", whilst others continue to use the original spelling.
The crest was originally a plain anchor, bearing the BB motto with a capital 'B' on either side. Upon the merger between the Boys' Brigade and the Boys' Life Brigade in 1926, the red Greek cross was placed behind the anchor to form the current emblem. The cross originally formed part of emblem of the Boys' Life Brigade.
The first Boys' Brigade company was set up by Sir William Alexander Smith on 4 October, 1883, at Free Church Mission Hall, North Woodside Road, Glasgow, Scotland, to develop "Christian manliness" by the use of a semi-military discipline and order, gymnastics, summer camps, and religious services and classes.
Being the earliest of all youth organizations, a simple rosette was worn as an identifying uniform, shortly being replaced by the simple use of a belt, haversack, and pillbox cap (a popular military cap of the day) worn over the boys' everyday clothing. The pillbox cap was used into the 1960s, long after it had fallen out of use in the British Army, when it was replaced with a field cap.
The Boys' Life Brigade was one of many similar movements formed by the Boys' Brigade's influence, sometimes along denominational or religious lines, including the Church Lads' Brigade, the Jewish Lads' Brigade, or the Catholic Boys' Brigade. The merger also prompted the abandonment of dummy drill rifles that had been used in The Boys' Brigade, due to the Life Brigade's objection to use of weapons or their representations. For some time afterwards, the section covering members aged 8–12 years was known as Life Boys, before being restyled as the Junior section.
Drawing from his military experience, Sir William Smith introduced the concept of camping into the Brigade to allow boys and officers to remain in contact when other activities ceased for the summer break.
An older boy can gain promotion to become a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO). There are six ranks available, each being awarded when a boy is of a certain age and reaches a high enough standard of leadership. The five ranks are:
Private
Lance Corporal
Corporal
Sergeant
Staff Sergeant
In addition, there is the ceremonial rank of Drum Major who leads the band.
NCOs often play an important role in the Boys' Brigade, helping the officers and other adult helpers with organising activities and awards classes, particular in the Anchors and Juniors sections. NCOs wear chevrons on their upper right arm, a red sash is worn by Colour Sergeants and a Drum Major wears a badge on his right upper armband.
Staff sergeants act within the company as officers and do not stand in the ranks; however Staff Sergeants are boys of the Brigade. As they have received no formal training as officers and are not required to undergo the standard police checks as they are still serving ‘boys’, they can still partake in company activities and computations and still earn awards and badges. The uniform of Staff Sergeants is also different from that of the normal boy or NCO.
Each section within the Boys' Brigade has awards that can be gained by fulfilling achievements.
BB Songs
Will Your Anchor Hold?
BB Vesper
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