The Boys brigade is a Christian youth organisation founded in Glasgow Scotland in October 1883 by Sir William Alexander Smith. The idea was to combine military drill and fun activities with Christian values. The Boys brigade spread rapidly across the U.K. and became a worldwide organisation by the early 1890’s and by 1910 there were 2,200 companies connected with different churches throughout the U.K. British empire and the U.S.A. with 10,000 officers and 100,000 boys. Today they are in excess of 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 toward a true Christian manliness. In some countries the word manliness is replaced by the word Character but otherwise this object has remained the same for over 100 years. The motto and crest were designed at the same time and draw their inspiration from Hebrews 6:19 "Which hope we have as an anchor for the soul both sure and stedfast". The motto "Sure and stedfast" in most countries retains the old spelling of the word, the more modern steadfast minus the a. The crest was originally a plain anchor with a capital B on either side but following a merger with the boys life brigade in 1926 the red Greek cross from the boys light brigade emblem was placed behind the anchor to form the current crest.
Robert Baden Powell founder of the scout movement became vice president of the Boys brigade in 1903 and used his position to promote camping and outdoor pursuit’s. The first experimental camp was on Brownsea island with boys from Eton college. Silver and gold badges were awarded in the Boys brigade through scout sections. Members wore blue uniform with shorts and the smokey bear hat most traditionally associated with the scouts. William Smith who was knighted in 1909 drew from his military experience to extend camping into the summer holidays and in order to reassure the concerns of the boys mothers, the 1st Glasgow company held the first camps at Auchinlochan hall with a roof over their heads. In later years they camped outdoors at Portavardie until 1974 when the construction of oil platforms began to take place there, the camp site was moved 100 yards to Stilliag farm which is now used by many Boys brigade companies for their summer camps. A tradition developed whereby boys who were marching home on the last day of camp would be greeted with cheers from local residents with each being presented with a bouquet of flowers. Early publications of the Boys brigade gazette contained many accounts of these camping expeditions.
The boys brigade has five different age groups called sections Anchors 4-8 yrs, Juniors 8-11, Company 11-15, Seniors 15-18, Amicus 15-22yrs. The organisation is divided into four regions U.K. wide which are then divided into districts and battalions. The leadership are all qualified officers and called lieutenants to avoid a system of hierarchy. Leaders in training are called warrant officers and captains are appointed positions to lead battalions but revert back to lieutenants after their period of office. The boys can become non –commissioned officers Lance corporal, Corporal, Sergeant and Staff Sergeant in preparation for leadership and 17-21 year olds may also undertake KGVI youth leadership training. Each section has awards that can be gained by fulfilling achievements. Anchors gain red green and blue triangle badges, Juniors gain a target award followed by bronze silver and gold in areas such as body, mind, spirit, community and creativity. The company section completes a target badge followed by five badges in areas such as interests, adventure, leadership, physical and community. This leads to the Presidents badge and the brigades highest award The queens badge. The award for the seniors is called challenge plus and incorporates the queens badge.
It is extraordinary that the Boys brigade continue to thrive with its quasi military approach in the modern age. Words such as obedience, reverence, discipline and manliness that appear in the object are not popular in culture right now but the Boys Brigade continue to be an important part of the development of young people. Jesus tells us the importance of obedience and reverence for God and by implications those aspects of his nature that help us in our daily lives. In being reverent and obedient we are identifying with his characteristics such as love, forgiveness, kindness, peace and these are lived out through various activities designed to promote team work and achievement. The Christian idea of manliness is closely linked with the idea of leadership particularly within the family.