The History of the Boys' Brigade

William Smith had started as 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.

During the first year, the 1st Glasgow Company was alone, but shortly afterwards this new method of dealing with boys began to spread. By the end of the third year, the movement numbered 2000 boys, mostly in Scotland, centred around Glasgow, with companies ranged from Ayr to Inverness.

Shortly afterwards the movement filtered southward into England, all the way to London itself. In 1887, the BB's advance crossed the sea, with the formation of the 1st Jersey Company, and then across the Irish sea, when the 1st Belfast Company was formed in 1888 and the 1st Dublin Company formed in 1890.

It was not all plain sailing though. There was often opposition and criticism, and many boys were rough and unruly and not as civilised as those today. The Glengarry cap would sometimes attract the scornful cry of "Scotchie! Scotchie!", and in the worst cases drill parades were conducted under a fusillade of stones and bricks thrown upon roofs and through windows!

From the early years, the leaders of the companies had come together to form the Council of the Boys' Brigade, providing the machinery for the administration of the movement. In 1887, William Smith was appointed as the first full-time Brigade Secretary, and he dedicated his time to the organisation. He brought many influential people into the organisation to strengthen its advance, including the Duke of York, who filled the position of Patron as prince and King for forty years.

One early innovation was to hold a camp - at the time, public opinion was aghast at the idea of Boys camping out in the "wilds"! The first camp by the 1st Glasgow Company was held in a building at Tighnabruach on the Kyles of Bute in 1886. William Smith was an experienced yachtsman, and each squad had its own craft - it was a sight indeed to see the boats in nautical array on the placid waters of Bute. Camping spread rapidly and camping under canvas soon became the normal order of the day. Often camping became looked to as the crowning of the company's year.

In 1903, the annual display at the Royal Albert Hall was of special significance - from it can be traced the very start of the Boy Scout movement! General Baden-Powell, back from his exploits in Mafeking, agreed to preside over the forthcoming display and began a sincere friendship with the founder. Baden-Powell saw the possibility of teaching the Boys the art of Scouting. The seeds of the Scout movement had been sown and were soon to spread like a prairie fire.

In 1909, William Smith was knighted for his services to boys. He continued his work within the organisation throughout. During 1913 the question of union with the Boys' Life Brigade was discussed - but a dozen years were to pass before this effort would be successful. On May 8th 1914, the founder fell ill during a meeting of the Brigade Executive in London, and two days later he passed to rest.

The Boys’ Briagde in Northern Ireland

William McVicker was the young and enthusiastic Secretary of the Mission Sunday School, connected with St. Mary Magdalene Parish, in Belfast’s Donegall Pass. In March 1888, he read an article in The Sunday at Home Family Magazine, entitled ‘The Problem of the Poor’, about the work that William Smith was doing in Glasgow with an organisation formed there in 1883 and known as the Boys’ Brigade.

That summer, he sailed from Ireland to Scotland, to meet William Smith, with a burning desire to start such work in Ireland. He returned to Belfast, bubbling over with enthusiasm, to start a company of the Boys’ Brigade. Application for enrolment of the first company to be formed in Ireland was made on 29th October 1888. Objections from Dublin Castle proved a delaying factor, and enrolment was not granted until the 31st December 1888.

By 1890, there were 12 companies in and around Belfast, and a Battalion was formed. In the early years, all companies in what was then the north of Ireland were members of this Belfast Battalion, and received a Belfast designation (e.g. 90th Belfast, which was in Millisle, 30 miles away). The Boys’ Brigade in Northern Ireland had begun!