When was boys brigade founded

William Monk Gibbon, M. Matthias' Church, paid a short visit to Belfast to see the Rev. Cooper in connection with the work of the Dublin University Missionary Union. While waiting for Mr. Cooper, Rev. Other Companies were soon formed and on the 3rd March , representatives of eight of them met under the Chairmanship of the Rev. Monk Gibbon, when it was decided to form a Battalion.

Companies were formed in other parts of the country and we are pleased that to day Companies are operating in all parts of Ireland. Today The Boys' Brigade caters for children and young people from 5 - 18 years in four age categories.

The method used offers a comprehensive and enlightened programme of Spiritual, Social, Educational and Physical Activities, through a Badge Incentive Scheme and specialised activities having a wide appeal.

On Saturdays William Smith was an Officer in the Volunteers like our Army Reserves today and could get many men to do exactly as he wanted when he drilled them, but on Sundays he struggled to get the Boys in his class to settle down and work together. Then one day he had an idea. If the Boys in the Sunday School could be as well trained and behaved as his Volunteers through doing drill and other things, then he would be able to teach them how to get more out of life.

Boys enjoyed it so much, that soon other Companies were formed in Scotland and then spread to the rest of the world. But this movement was for Boys who were between 12 and 17, mainly because it was the age group that Mr Smith had in his Sunday School class. When Mr. Smith, who was later knighted and became Sir William Smith, started the Boys? Brigade he chose as its emblem an Anchor and for its motto the words "Sure and Stedfast. In both these organisations joined together and in addition they joined their emblems.

Younger Boys of course wanted to be part of BB also and do similar exciting activities. When the B. The B. In a Company was formed at the St. The next Company to be formed was at the Wesley Church, Perth in and this was very quickly followed by Companies in each of the other States on a fairly scattered basis. In Tasmania by that year efficient Companies were operating in Launceston and Hobart. Gibbon emphasises the distrust William Alexander Smith had for evangelistic missions and pledges Gibbon The organising church took him into the Mission Sunday school as a teacher, and later he became secretary.

Nine years of the YMCA, and, in parallel, teaching bible study to unruly young people shows him a gap. The YMCA depends on the self discipline and motivation of responsible young men. The opportunity for unselfishness and team spirit is missing: attendance is erratic, they are there only for an hour and listen, there is no active participation… there is no form of work or play in which teamwork is called into action Gibbon His work of regularly writing, collecting, and distributing resources to youth workers set a standard for the support, development and encouragement of youth work.

William Smith was knighted in for his service to boys. He continued to work hard for the Movement up until his death on May 10, His body was taken to Glasgow where it is said over , people lined the route for his funeral. Whilst being Secretary William Smith remained Captain of the 1st Glasgow company and rarely missed a meeting. In many respects William Alexander Smith was yet another man doing something useful where he lived and yet the movement caught fire and he stopped his day job to lead and administer the Boys Brigade.

Why did it attract others so effectively? What is it about aspects of the Brigade that we find hard to stomach that link to important themes in youth work? To begin, however, it is important to recognize that the life of the Brigades contained many convivial aspects.

William and Amelia Smith invited the boys they worked with into their house and fed and entertained them. For a large proportion of those who visited mean streets and entered unclean dwellings for the first time, slumming provided a new excitement, and it gave a delicious, if transient thrill to feel that they were engaged in good works and at the same time following the fashion.

They visited the homes of the poor but the idea of encouraging a return visit never entered their heads. The example set by Mr and Mrs Smith has been followed… Gibbon Alongside the emphasis upon military organization.

William Smith strongly insisted that both Officers and Boys should share in the life of the Brigade. At camp, for example, all should join in the fun, adventure and activities. This included sharing in the hardships and eating together. There is much truth in the transfer of a military pattern.

How far this causes difficulty and offence now is interesting to consider. Military personnel have been important to youth work: General Gordon undertook committed work with a Ragged School in Gravesend when he was posted there in Eager ff and his spectacular death at Khartoum was sufficiently attractive to attach his name to the Boys Club in Bermondsey.

The army and the other services have provided an opportunity for a developing understanding of how to motivate, encourage, and work together.

The approach of an officer to a group of soldiers is one model of how an adult engages with a group of young people. The army also produced some of the first human resources management tools in their officer selection and training, and it was shell shocked soldiers that gave Bion his material for his classic analysis of group work Bion However, today there are significantly less officers with military experience.

Resistance to the ordered behaviour of Brigades by other young people has been notorious from the earliest days. In the North East there remains a strong tradition of Brigades and it may in part be due to the fact that this small region 1,, people in the England and Wales workforce population of 23,, [ONS ] makes up about a quarter of the Armed Services workforce. Respect for the forces, based on personal links, seen as a possible route out of poor job prospects, may mean that the militaristic element is simply seen as smart and organised.

Where there are good job prospects the intrusion of a military structure can be seen as disruptive Osgerby William Smith took what he was familiar with and what had by then been developed.

It is certainly the case that there was an anxiety about the fitness of recruits for the Boer War Black and MacRaild , but there is a more long-standing quest for health and fitness in work with young people. In part it is that people wanted to develop their ideas about physical activity.

Drill of various sorts such as Swedish Drill, devised in was becoming more widespread and people wanted advice and guidance on what to do and this is what William Smith provided.

Century see, also, muscular Christianity. There are a variety of activities that are part of this development such as camping, day trips to the sea, games, playing fields, swimming pools, gymnastics and drill.