Ever Wondered how the BB started….read on…

FOUNDING OF THE BB

William Smith had started as a a teacher in the Sabbath School which was held in the mission hall, where he found that the older boys were bored and restless. They were suspicious of teachers who told them to sit still, make less noise, and generally behave themselves – in short, they were typical teenagers! He compared this with the time he spent on a Saturday afternoon, as a Lieutenant with the volunteers, when he had no difficulty in making a hundred men obey his every word of command on the nearby drill ground.

It was then he had his idea: ‘Drill and Discipline’. Why not turn the Sabbath School boys into a volunteer band or brigade, with the same military order, obedience, discipline and self-respect as the volunteers? A programme combining games as well as discipline, gymnastics and sport as well as hymns and prayers would appeal to the boys. William Smith planned the programme for this new idea with two friends, and on the 4th October 1883 the three leaders invited the boys of North Woodside Mission Sabbath School to join The Boys’ Brigade.

The new organisation’s badge was an anchor, and the motto ‘Sure and Stedfast’. This was taken from the Authorised Version of the Bible, from the Epistle to the Hebrews, chapter 6, verse 19: ‘Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast’. The Object was also quite clear from the beginning:

“The advancement of Christ’s Kingdom among Boys and the promotion of habits of Reverence, Discipline, Self-Respect, and all that tends towards a true Christian Manliness.”
(The word Obedience was added some ten years later).

For the first year the Boys only wore a Rosette as a badge, and the officers wore the civilian bowler hat. The following year the Cap, Belt, and haversack were brought together as the first complete uniform. The Pill-box in common use during these days had no chin-strap and fitted close to the head, but it had two distinguished rows of white braid worn at a jaunty angle. Soon afterwards the proper pill-box was brought in and the officers turned to the Glengarry for their headgear.

THE FOUNDER
William Smith was born on 27th October 1854 at Pennyland House, Thurso, Scotland. At 15 he moved to Glasgow to work in his uncle’s business. While there, he joined the volunteers and by 19 he had become a Lance Corporal in the 1st Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers. The very same year he joined the church after hearing the evangelists Moody & Sankey.

By 1883 William Smith had become a Lieutenant and was teaching in the North Woodside Mission Sunday School. The boys in his Sunday School class were a challenge, and he was open to new ideas about how best to deal with them. Someone suggested that the methods used in the volunteers might be appropriate, and by this inspiration the Boys’ Brigade was created.

William Smith took a leading role in the new organisation, accepting a full-time post as the first Brigade Secretary in 1887. He worked non-stop for the movement, on two occasions even crossing the Atlantic to promote the Boys’ Brigade in Canada and the U.S.A. Throughout he remained Captain of the 1st Glasgow company, rarely missing a meeting.

In 1909 William Smith was knighted by King Edward VII for his service to boys.

Sir William Smith died on 10th May 1914 after being suddenly taken ill at a Boys’ Brigade meeting in London. He was buried in Glasgow.

BB 125 Canterbury Parade

Some of you will remember that BB125 was a high speed train in the early ’70s – this however is not !

Here are just a few pictures of the 125 anniversary of the Boy’s Brigade service held at Canterbury last month.

For those who managed to attend in person , did anyone get the answers to the mister men quiz ?