HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE BOYS' BRIGADE
HOW IT STARTED
Sir Williams Alexander Smith had started as
a teacher in the Sunday School, which was held in the free College Church,
North Woodside 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 it to the time he spent on a sabbath, afternoon as a
lieutenant with the volunteers when he had no difficulty in making a hundred
men obey his word on the nearby drill ground
With the help of two friends namely: John
B. Hill and James R. Hill devised a unique system of giving the Boys an
organization, which would be part of the church based on religious discipline
The inspirational words
“
If I can control 500 men on weekdays, why the difficulty of managing a hundred boys on Sundays?”
He then introduced a program that combines
games, discipline, gymnastics and sports, hymns, and prayers to the boys.
On 4th October 1883, the three
leaders invited the boys of 12 years of their church to join the BOYS’ BRIGADE
THE BOYS’ BRIGADE BADGE, MOTTO, AND
METHOD
THE BADGE
The new organization badge was an anchor,
and the motto was “sure and steadfast” which was taken from Hebrews 6:19
The OBJECT
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
BIBLICAL VERSES
·
Ecclesiastes 12:1
·
Proverbs 3:6
·
Proverbs 22:6
THE EARLY YEARS AND SPREAD OF THE
BRIGADE
For the first year, the 1st
Glasgow Company was alone. But shortly afterward this new method of dealing
with boys began to spread. Bu the third year the movement numbered 2000 boys
mostly in Scotland centered around Glassgow with companies ranging from Ayr to
Inverness. Shortly afterward the movement filtered southwards into England to
London itself. In 1887 the BBs advance across 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 1st Dublin in 1890.
source: The Boys' Brigade, Ghana, officers' manual.
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